ABC Family has named ABC/ESPN veteran Mark Silverman to the newly created
posts of senior vice president and general manager, officials said Tuesday.
Silverman, who will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the
channel, will report to ABC Family president Angela Shapiro.
His duties will include the development and execution of an overall business
strategy for ABC Family with an emphasis on ad sales, business affairs, business
development and finance.
Silverman
has held a variety of jobs at The Walt Disney Co.,
most recently as VP of planning and development at ABC Inc.
In that slot, he led planning for the ABC Television Network, ABC-owned TV
stations, ABC Cable Networks Group, ABC Radio, ESPN and Buena Vista
Television.
His responsibilities in that post included leading the launch of new cable
networks such as SoapNet.
Prior to ABC, Silverman developed and launched ESPN Zone, where he was
general manager and led all key analysis and negotiations, including real estate
and sponsorship deals.
'His overall knowledge of the entertainment industry and success in business
strategy and development will make him an ideal fit for this newly created
position,' Shapiro said in a prepared statement.
Silverman’s resume also includes a stint as VP of finance and planning for
Walt Disney Studios, where he facilitated the acquisition of Miramax Films.
In August, ABC Family’s primetime ratings dipped 13% to
a 0.7 from a 0.8 a year ago, according to an ABC Cable analysis of Nielsen Media
Research data.
