The Walt Disney Company has abruptly fired Peter Rice, its top television content executive, alleging a mismatch with Disney’s corporate culture, according to three people who spoke on condition of anonymity. confidential information.
Mr. Rice, president of Disney General Entertainment Content, a division of the company that does more than 300 programs a year for platforms such as ABC, Disney Channel, Disney +, Hulu and FX, was fired by Bob Chapek, Disney’s chief executive officer, in a brief meeting wednesday, these people said. Mr. Rice, who has also overseen ABC News, recently renewed his contract with Disney in August. It worked until the end of 2024. Disney will pay for it, people said.
Mr. Rice declined to comment.
The expulsion of Mr. Rice came out as a sound boom in Hollywood, where he is much admired. Many people in the entertainment business (at least outside of Disney) have even seen Mr. Rice as a possible candidate to succeed Mr. Chapek as executive director of Disney. The decision of Mr. Chapek will surely raise questions about whether that talk got a little too loud; Mr. Chapek has had a difficult month, with Disney becoming a political punch, especially for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Disney’s stock price plummeted amid industry-wide concerns about the profitability of streaming services.
In April, Chapek fired the company’s chief communications and government relations executive; the executive, Geoff Morrell, had joined Disney in January on a multi-year contract. Disney also paid him. On Thursday, Disney shares closed just above $ 103, a drop of nearly 4 percent, which was more than the widest market crash of about 2 percent.
Disney Board Chair Susan E. Arnold said in an emailed statement that Mr. Chapek had the support of the council, a rare public comment indicating that despite the disorder, Mr. Chapek is heading for a contract renewal. His current contract expires in February.
“The strength of the Walt Disney Company business emerging from the pandemic is a testament to Bob’s leadership and vision for the company’s future,” Ms. Arnold. “At this critical time of growth and business transformation, we are committed to keeping Disney on the path to success today, and Bob and his leadership team have the support and trust of the Board.”
Another Disney board member, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss company issues, said the board had never considered Mr. Rice as a candidate for chief executive.
Disney confirmed that Mr. Rice would leave the company immediately, but declined to comment on why. Following the news of his dismissal, Disney announced that Dana Walden, who has been president of entertainment for Walt Disney Television, would succeed him. Mrs. Walden, who works in tandem with Mr. Rice has recently released hits such as “Abbott Elementary,” an ABC comedy, and “Only Murders in the Building,” a comic crime drama on Hulu.
“Dana is a dynamic and collaborative leader and a cultural force that in just three years has transformed our television business into a content powerhouse,” Mr. Chapek in a statement. “She and Peter have worked closely together for years to create the best programming in the industry.”
Mr. Chapek offered nothing more about Mr. Rice, shunning the brilliant pleasures that Hollywood is often resorting to right now. Nor did Disney give Mr. Rice a parachute in the form of a production agreement. (“I know we all wish Peter the best,” Mr. Chapek said in an internal email announcing Ms. Walden’s rise.)
Mrs. Walden said in a statement that it was “an incredible honor” to be promoted and praised the team gathered by Mr. Rice as “truly the best in every way.” The group includes Kimberly Godwin on ABC News and Ayo Davis on Disney Branded Television.
The sudden departure of Mr. Rice breaks a powerful trio that Disney inherited from 21st Century Fox, which he agreed to buy from Rupert Murdoch in 2017. Rice, Mrs. Walden and FX Networks president John Landgraf worked closely together on Fox for decades.
Mr. Rice, kind but often inscrutable to those who worked with him, began his entertainment career in 1987, when he was a summer fellow at Mr. Murdoch. For the next three decades, he approached Mr. Murdoch and became president of 21st Century Fox. Along the way, Mr. Rice turned Fox Searchlight into an Oscar and a box office superpower, offering idiosyncratic hits like “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Sideways” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”
The shock of Disney was a shock to both Mr. Rice and Mrs. Walden, people reported on the matter said. Three weeks ago, Disney sent Mr. Rice on its initial stage, the company’s annual showcase for the advertising industry. A prominent initial appearance usually indicates that the position of an executive in a company is strong.
Mr. Rice, who was presented on stage by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, the protagonists of “Only Murders in the Building,” spoke of Disney’s strong position in the market, noting that it was “the only company which has not been bought or sold in the last 100 years “.
The Disney TV division has had a good run. In addition to “Only Murders in the Building,” Hulu recently aired “The Dropout,” a critically acclaimed limited series about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. ABC News’ main programs, “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight,” remain the most-watched news programs in the morning and evening.
Mrs. Walden’s relationships in Hollywood, such as that of Mr. Rice, they are deep. Jay Sures, co-chair of the United Talent Agency, called her “probably the best creative executive in the television business,” adding that “talent loves her.”