Shannon Ryan

Shannon Ryan is president, DTC and Disney Entertainment Television Marketing. She leads all global marketing and publicity strategies for Disney+ and Hulu, as well as Disney’s portfolio of iconic brands and studios, including ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Kids & Family, Freeform, Hulu Originals, National Geographic, Onyx Collective, 20th Television and 20th Television Animation. Ryan oversees a team that oversees creative, social, digital, publicity, experiential, events, awards, talent relations, media buying, strategy and partnerships, supporting a portfolio of more than 220 series, specials and live events.

With a holistic view of Disney’s television content ecosystem, Ryan is responsible for driving visibility and growth across the company’s powerhouse platforms. From global franchises to breakout originals, campaigns under her purview include “Abbott Elementary,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “High Potential,” “Paradise,” “The Kardashians,” “Bluey,” “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” “9-1-1,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Oscars®” and “Tell Me Lies,” among many others.

Ryan is also responsible for Disney Entertainment’s first companion video podcast slate — a first-of-its-kind content extension designed to create always-on engagement and deepen fandom. With over 56 hours of podcast content launched, inclusive of hit series “Only Murders in the Building,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Paradise,” and Hulu’s unscripted brand “Get Real,” the inaugural podcasts amassed 427 million+ short-form clip views and over 40 million listens and views across all platforms.

This year, she and her team helped garner 293 Emmy® Award nominations across daytime, primetime, news and documentary, and children and family categories, with 32 wins thus far. Under Ryan’s leadership, ABC claimed five of the top six broadcast entertainment series among Adults 18-49 during the recent season, including the No. 1 drama (“High Potential”), No. 1 comedy (“Abbott Elementary”) and No. 1 alternative series (“Dancing with the Stars”). Additionally, ABC News’ “World News Tonight with David Muir” and “Good Morning America” remain America’s most-watched evening and morning news programs, respectively. Last year, Disney+ and Hulu were home to seven of the top 10 most-watched streaming series, while “Bluey” remained the most-streamed show in the U.S. for the second consecutive year.

In 2025, Ryan received her first Emmy nomination for “Only Murders in the Building: Unlocking the Mystery” and became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top Marketers of 2025, was a recipient of Adweek’s inaugural Visionary Award, and was recognized in Variety’s Women’s Impact Report. Additionally, she was honored as a Communications Champion by the Saban Community Clinic for her leadership in marketing and impact on the entertainment industry. Her team has also been recognized across the industry’s top marketing and PR awards programs in 2025, earning ADWEEK’s Team Visionary Award, GEMA’s Creative Marketing Team of the Year honor and Brand of the Year recognition at the Clio Awards — with 154 wins overall.

In 2024, she was named to the Adweek 50 and honored by Variety with its inaugural Entertainment Marketing Icon Award. She has previously been lauded as an Adweek Brand Genius, Digiday’s Leader of the Year and one of Forbes’ Most Entrepreneurial CMOs and recognized for her leadership in Cablefax’s Most Powerful Women and Multichannel News’ Wonder Women of Los Angeles.

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.”