Warner Bros. Grabs Disney’s Ascheim to Head Kids Unit

AT&T’s Warner Bros. unit said it hired The Walt Disney Co. executive Tom Ascheim as president of global kids, young adults and classics at Warner Bros.

Tom Ascheim

Tom Ascheim

Ascheim, who had headed Freeform at The Walt Disney Co., will be responsible for global strategy for Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang, managing the Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. animation studios and overseeing Turner Classic Movies.

He will be assuming responsibilities formerly handled by Christina Miller, one of many former Turner executives who left after AT&T took over Time Warner last year.

Last week, AT&T's WarnerMedia unit named a new CEO, former Hulu founding CEO Jason Kilar. Warner Bros. is part of WarnerMedia.

RELATED: WarnerMedia Names Kilar CEO

“I am excited that Tom will be joining Warner Bros. He is an excellent executive and collaborative leader with an impressive track record and deep experience in the kids and young adult worlds. I had the benefit of seeing Tom’s skills firsthand when we were at Nickelodeon and really look forward to working with him again,” said Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff, to whom Ascheim will report.

Ascheim will join Warner Bros. this summer.

Ascheim was named president of Freeform in 2013, when it was still ABC Family. Before that he was chief strategy officer of Sesame Workshop. Earlier he was with Newsweek and Nickelodeon television.

"I am thrilled to be joining Warner Bros. and especially excited to be working with the deeply talented folks at Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, TCM and Warner Bros. Animation,” said Ascheim. “I've been watching their work since I was a child and it's thrilling to be part of such a storied group. I'm equally excited to be working again with Ann Sarnoff who remains one of the best people I've ever had the privilege to work with."

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.