Disney Shifts ESPN Remote Ops, ABC News Production Ops Under DMED Technology Division as Part of Restructuring

Dave Johnson and Chris Lawson get on critical management roles in Engineering and Operations at Disney, even though Chris Calcinari and Michael Cupo also get expanded roles
Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED), ESPN, and ABC News have declared a restructuring of their functions groups into a far more unified worldwide perform, which will sit inside of the DMED Engineering group (less than DMED CTO Aaron LaBerge) and help all of the company’s models. The reorg will result in the distant functions group from ESPN and the generation functions group at ABC News, becoming a member of the DMED Information Functions group, beneath the management of Chris Lawson (Sr. VP, Material Functions, who experiences to LaBerge). All DMED Generation Functions will now be led by Chris Calcinari and Complex Expert services will be led by Michael Cupo
This useful unification commenced final 12 months with all US-dependent studio and community functions groups, as nicely as transmission, information planning and packaging, and international operations capabilities.
As has been the circumstance in other areas, ESPN and ABC Information Manufacturing, Content material and Innovative groups will continue to lead written content and imaginative decision creating and established specifications. DMED’s global information operations firm will be responsible for operating carefully with content material groups and deliver the technological innovation and operational assistance for studio and remote functions for all TWDC articles groups, globally.
These alterations also consist of some alterations in DMED Media Engineering team – who work extremely carefully with Content Operations, to develop methods, detect opportunities and put into practice improvements in both of those approaches and infrastructure. Dave Johnson – who has been serving as the interim chief of DMED Media Engineering – is having on the leadership function permanently, as DMED carries on modernizing and innovating its engineering units, infrastructure and strategies.
Less than Chris Lawson, DMED Written content Operations will be construction to help this as follows:
- Manufacturing Functions – led by Chris Calcinari: DMED is combining manufacturing-and-resourceful-struggling with functions functions, across studio, remote and REMI operations, as effectively as news, application and visitors functions. Calcinari joins DMED Technology from ESPN, wherever he led Remote Functions considering that 2008. Calcinari and the Generation Functions group will keep on to have working day-to-working day accountability to all of Disney’s articles creation associates, together with the teams at ESPN (under Tina Thornton), ABC Information (underneath Derek Medina) and throughout Disney’s other brand names and companies.
- Complex Products and services – led by Michael Cupo: DMED is bringing collectively all engineering-experiencing operations features, together with community origination, transmission operations and media providers underneath Michael Cupo, who takes on a new and expanded part. Cupo has worked for The Walt Disney Organization for a merged 21 several years throughout a few stints, most not long ago leading Transmission and DMED Know-how Strategic Functions.
- Innovative Expert services – led by Doug Levy: Doug Levy, will go on in his present-day remit main production and put up manufacturing Imaginative Companies operations for clients together with Fx, Freeform and Disney Branded Enjoyment inside Written content Functions.
- Distribution Operations – led by Barrie Godwin: The Distribution Functions workforce beneath Barrie Godwin remains unchanged. Godwin and this workforce continue on to be dependable for the consolidated asset shipping and delivery to all of Disney’s immediate-to-purchaser and third-party endpoints. This consists of all mastering services, distribution preparing, localization functions, versioning, servicing, packaging, and achievement.
- Operational Analytics & BRM will be led by Holly Lutkenhouse, who will take on an expanded roll
- Workflow Transformation will be led by Marcy Lefkovitz, who will take on an expanded role
Beneath Dave Johnson in DMED Media Engineering:
- Becoming a member of Johnson’s team from ABC News are the Generation Programs Engineering group, the Know-how and Engineering teams (with the exception of Reside Desk), Audio Engineering and Washington D.C.-based specialized groups.
- Brian Kennedy will stay at ABC Information, but will do the job intently with Johnson about the following several months all through this transition.
- Kevin Plumb carries on in his vital world-wide leadership function underneath Johnson.
In accordance to the company’ announcement, generating these modifications permits Disney to leverage the abilities and expertise from across its a variety of segments to reward a person one more and the whole business develop, aid, and function really international platforms and devices and deliver opportunities for its people today to investigate, increase, and contribute more broadly throughout the complete organization.