On 2004-4-21,[23] Disney announced a restructuring of the division with Anne Sweeney being named president of ABC parent Disney–ABC, and ESPN president George Bodenheimer becoming co-CEO of the division with Sweeney, as well as president of ABC Sports. This move added ABC TV Network within Disney-ABC.[24] ABC1 channel initially launched in the United Kingdom on 2004-9-27 as the first use of the ABC brand outside the US.[25] While ABC News Now was launched that year in the US on digital subchannel of 70 ABC owned & operated and affiliates.[26]
In November 2006, Disney's 39.5% share of E! to Comcast for $1.23 billion to giving full ownership of the network as part of a broader programming carriage agreement between Disney and Comcast.[14]
On June 12, 2007, Disney spun off its ABC Radio Networks and merged it into Citadel Communications with Citadel Broadcasting while retaining its ESPN Radio and Radio Disney networks and stations and a 10-year news provider licensing agreement with Citadel for ABC News Radio and the networks.[27][28]
On December 8, 2008, Disney made an agreement to increase ownership in Jetix Europe to 96%, with intentions to purchase the remainder and have Jetix Europe delisted from the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.[29]
On December 16, 2008, Disney established a joint venture in Russia with Media One to create a network of 30 channels.[30] On February 20, 2009, the Russian anti-monopoly commission blocked Disney of acquiring 49% of the Russian group Media One and then Catalpa Investments a Russian subsidiary of Disney sought the approval of the commission for the acquisition of 49% of the new company MO-TV Holdings, which gave the opportunity to hold the Russian television group Media One, which made Disney to launch a Disney Channel in Russia.
On January 22, 2009, Disney–ABC said it would merge ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios into a new unit called ABC Entertainment Group.[31][32] That April, ABC Enterprises took an ownership stake in Hulu in exchange for online distribution license and $25 million in the ABC network ad credits.[33] The Live Well Network (LWN) was launched on April 27, 2009, by ABC Owned Television Stations on the stations' subchannels.[34][35][36] Later that year, A+E Networks acquired Lifetime Entertainment Services with DATG ownership increasing to 42%.[37]
In July 2012, NBCUniversal confirmed plans to sell its 15.8% stake in A+E Networks to Disney for $3 billion (along with its previous owner Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, who became 50-50 partners in the joint venture).[39][40]
On August 21, 2013, Disney–ABC announced it will lay off 175 employees. The layoffs are expected to hit positions among technical operations as well as the unit's eight local stations.[41]
In August 2014, A+E took a 10% stake in Vice Media for $250 million, then announced in April 2015 that H2 would be rebranded into the Vice channel with an indicated early 2016 launch.[42] Disney also directly made two $200 investments in Vice Media in November 2015, then a week later in December, they directly invested in it again for 10% to assist in funding its programming.[43] ABC Family became Freeform on January 12, 2016.[44]
In September 2016, the group's president Ben Sherwood named Bruce Rosenblum, Television Academy chairman and former head of Warner Bros. TV Group, as president of business operations in s the newly created position, to reduce the number of direct reports from 17 to about 8. Roseblum would oversee ad sales in conjunction with channel heads, affiliate sales and marketing, engineering, digital media, global distribution, IT, research and strategy and business development. This allows Sherwood to focus on content and direct operating units that continue to directly report to him, ABC network units, cable channel units (Disney Channels Worldwide, and Freeform), ABC Studios and ABC TV Stations.[45]
On October 8, 2018, Disney announced during its acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets that Peter Rice, then-CEO and president of Fox Networks Group, would serve as the chairman and president of the second incarnation of Walt Disney Television (now Disney General Entertainment Content). Rice would also replace Ben Sherwood, who is scheduled to leave his post as co-chair of Disney Media Networks. Fox TV Group chairman and CEO Dana Walden would be named chairman, Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment. Within Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment, Walden would oversee 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios, plus ABC, Freeform and ABC's owned-and-operated television stations. FX Networks and National Geographic Partners would transfer over as is and report to President of Walt Disney Television.[2]
