Albert Cheng (executive)

Last updated
Albert Cheng
Born1970 (1970) (age 54)
Honolulu, HI
Occupation(s)Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Digital Media of Walt Disney Television

Albert Cheng is Chief Operating Officer of Amazon Studios. He was the executive vice president and chief product officer of digital media for Walt Disney Television. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Albert Cheng is an alumnus from Punahou School, in Honolulu, HI. [6] Cheng graduated with a Bachelor of Science from MIT and a M.B.A from Harvard Business School. [1] [2] He serves on the Board of Directors of BMI. [7]

Contents

Early career

Cheng started his career as an engineer at Boeing after graduating from MIT. [1] Following his stint at Boeing, Cheng obtained his MBA from Harvard Business School. [1] [2] [8] During his time at graduate school, he interned at Disney and BMG. [1] [8] He spent four years as an associate and business strategy consultant for the Boston Consulting Group before he landed a job with Fox Cable Networks Group. [1] [2] He served at Fox as director of distribution strategy and later as director of business development at Fox/Liberty Networks before moving to Disney in 2000. [1] [2] [8]

Walt Disney Television

Cheng became intrigued by the potential of digital media and video over the Internet as he gained experience in distribution business strategies at Disney. [1] He has served as the EVP and chief product officer of digital media since 2005. [1] [2] [3] Cheng and his digital media team oversee the development and operations of digital media content platforms and interactive television technologies. [9] [10] In addition, Cheng is responsible for new business ventures in digital planning to improve the company's digital distribution strategy. [1] [10] [11]

Work with the ABC Player app

In 2006, Cheng and his team made ABC the first network with its own online branded player to provide full ad-supported episodes online for free. [1] [5] Their work also led ABC to become the first network to stream full episodes on demand on a mobile platform with Sprint in 2007. [1] [2] [5] [12] In April 2010, Cheng's team made the ABC Player app the first iOS app to offer full episodes on the Apple iPad. [1] In 2013, Cheng led his team to make the Watch ABC app the first broadcast network to offer live streaming of local TV stations. [3]

Other works

Another contribution he and his team produced was the multiplatform application Oscar Digital Experience in February 2011, which used two dozen HD cameras to show live and behind-the-scenes Oscar footage. [8] [13]

In 2012, Cheng announced the launch of the WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH Disney XD and WATCH Disney Junior apps. [14] These applications targeted toward younger audiences providing content through a live linear digital network and on demand episodes. [14] He was elected to the Board of Directors of BMI in October 2013. [7]

Awards

Cheng received the 2006 Visionary Marketer Award at the Variety/iMedia Summit in April 2006. [9] Cheng and his team's contributions have also won numerous awards and patents. [1] In 2006, he and his team won the Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Interactive Television (New Delivery Platforms) at the 58th Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards for their ABC.com Full Episode Player. [15] In 2011, Cheng and his team received a Primetime Emmy for their ABC.com Oscar Digital Experience. [16] In 2013, Cheng received a Digital Leadership Award from Broadcasting & Cable. [17]

Personal life

Cheng was born in Honolulu, HI. [8] His parents are immigrants from Taiwan [18] Cheng is married to Dori Chang. [1] [6]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 George Winslow (2012-03-12). "Albert Cheng's group has produced a string of technical firsts". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Media Guru: Albert Cheng, HBS '97, EVP & Chief Product Officer, Digital Media, Disney/ABC TV Group". The Harvard Business School Club of New York. Archived from the original on 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  3. 1 2 3 Brian Stelter (2013-05-12). "ABC to Live-Stream Its Shows via App". NY Times. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  4. ↑ Louis Hau (2007-08-24). "ABC Digital Chief: The Network Still Matters". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  5. 1 2 3 David Kaplan (2008-07-19). "Interview:Albert Cheng, EVP digital media, Disney-ABC TV: Getting paid over getting syndicated". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  6. 1 2 Karen Elizaga. "Albert Cheng". Punahou Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  7. 1 2 "Albert Cheng, Dave Lougee & Michael O'Neill Elected to Board of Directors of Broadcast Music, Inc" (Press release). Broadcast Music, Inc. October 7, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "How did Albert Cheng discover the Disney magic?". China Personified. 2013-01-06. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  9. 1 2 Rebecca Weeks (2006-03-14). "Q&A with DIsney-ABC TV's Albert Cheng". iMedia Connection. Archived from the original on 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  10. 1 2 Roger Park (2006-03-06). "Disney's Cheng Wins Integrate '06 Award". iMedia Connection. Archived from the original on 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  11. ↑ James, Meg; Chmielewski, Dawn (2007-05-14). "ABC blazes own trail online". LA Times. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  12. ↑ Scott Kirsner (2008-01-04). "Albert Cheng". Variety. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  13. ↑ "INTERVIEW: ALBERT CHENG, EVP OF DIGITAL MEDIA, DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP, AND LORI SCHWARTZ, CO-GOVERNOR OF THE ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES INTERACTIVE MEDIA PEER GROUP, DISCUSS THE EMMY-WINNING ABC.COM OSCAR DIGITAL EXPERIENCE". InteractiveTV Today. 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  14. 1 2 Kara Swisher (2013-06-13). "Disney's Cheng Talks About New App that Let's You Watch "Phineas and Ferb" Live (Video)". All Things D. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  15. ↑ "Abc.com Full Episode Streaming Player". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  16. ↑ "CableFAX Digital Hot List 2012: Albert Cheng--Disney/ABC Television Group". CableFAX. 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  17. ↑ K.C. Neel (September 9, 2013). "Digital Leadership Awards: Disney's Albert Cheng" . Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  18. ↑ "The Apple-ization of Disney".
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