Channing Dungey decided to leave ABC Entertainment despite direct appeals from incoming leaders Dana Walden and Peter Rice and a close relationship with Disney CEO Bob Iger, multiple insiders told TheWrap.
Dungey, the president of ABC Entertainment, informed her Disney bosses last week that she did not intend to renew her contract when it came up in early 2019. That led them to announce Friday that Karey Burke, head of original programming for Disney’s Freeform, would replace her.
“She was not pushed. She chose not to renew her deal which expires in February,” one knowledgeable insider told TheWrap. “As soon as she informed them that she wasn’t renewing, they made an immediate change to Karey.”