Shannon Ryan

Shannon Ryan is president, DTC and Disney Entertainment Television Marketing. She leads all marketing and publicity strategies for Disney+ and Hulu, as well as Disney’s television content across ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Branded Television, Freeform, Hulu, National Geographic, Onyx Collective and Disney Television Studios, which include 20th Television and 20th Television Animation.

Ryan was named to The Adweek 50 for 2024 in recognition of her pivotal role driving growth at DET in an era of change. She has also been honored by Variety with their inaugural Entertainment Marketing Icon Award; has been lauded as an Adweek Brand Genius, Digiday’s Leader of the Year, and one of Forbes’ Most Entrepreneurial CMOs; and she has been recognized for her leadership in Variety’s Women’s Impact Report, Cablefax’s Most Powerful Women and Multichannel News’ Wonder Women of Los Angeles. In 2025, she was inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, received her first Emmy nomination for “Only Murders in the Building: Unlocking the Mystery” and was honored as a Communicators Champion by the Saban Community Clinic for her leadership in marketing and impact on the entertainment industry.

As a groundbreaking marketing leader, Ryan leads a team that executes creative, social, digital, publicity, experiential, talent relations, media buying, marketing strategy, partnerships and award campaigns across Disney Entertainment’s powerhouse streaming services — Disney+ and Hulu — and Disney Entertainment Television’s extensive portfolio of over 220 series, specials and original movies. Recent campaigns include hit ABC shows “9-1-1,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bachelor” franchise, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “High Potential” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Oscars®”; Hulu’s Originals “Good American Family,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Kardashians,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Paradise” and “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives”; Disney Branded Television’s family favorites “Bluey” and “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”; the Oscar-nominated National Geographic feature documentary “Sugarcane” and “Limitless” starring Chris Hemsworth; Onyx Collective’s “Deli Boys” and “Reasonable Doubt”; and the syndicated show “Live with Kelly and Mark,” among others.

In 2024, she and her team helped garner 284 Emmy® Award nominations and 75 wins across daytime, primetime, news and documentary and children & family categories; this year, their efforts have helped generate 186 nominations. Her team was also recognized across the top Marketing and PR awards lists in 2024, with 287 nominations and 153 wins – including 92 GEMA Awards and 41 Clio Awards.

Under Ryan’s leadership, ABC Entertainment claims the top 5 shows in multiplatform rankings in the demo, including the No. 1 drama, No. 1 comedy and No. 1 unscripted series across platforms. ABC News’ “World News Tonight with David Muir” and “Good Morning America” continue to lead as the most-watched evening and morning news programs in America, respectively. Hulu Originals has seen a banner run in the documentary and unscripted series space with “Devil in the Family” becoming the most-watched docuseries in the streamer’s history. Disney Branded Television continues to dominate with Disney Jr. ending 2024 as the No. 1 preschool network and Disney Channel as the No. 1 cable network in the key demographic. Disney also secured the top four most-streamed shows in the U.S. in 2024 – “Bluey,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy” and “Grey’s Anatomy” – all falling under Ryan’s purview.

Ryan joined The Walt Disney Company after serving as the chief marketing officer of the Fox Television Group, a post she had held since 2015. In that role, Ryan oversaw all creative, media, social, digital and affiliate marketing, as well as strategy, brand partnerships, publicity, corporate communications, creative services and talent relations. During her tenure at FOX, the network’s multiplatform viewership grew by +19%; and she oversaw campaigns for many hit series including “24,” “9-1-1,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Empire,” “Glee,” “House,” “Last Man on Earth,” “The Masked Singer,” “The Mindy Project” and “New Girl.”