The Walt Disney Company has announced a reorganization of its publishing businesses. The Hyperion adult book group will become part of ABC, which is a division of Disney, and a new entity, Disney Publishing, Worldwide, will be created. The announcement was made by Bo Boyd, chairman, Disney consumer products; Anne Osberg, president, Disney consumer products; and Robert Iger, chairman of ABC Group and president of Walt Disney International.
Under the restructuring, Bob Miller has been promoted to senior v-p and managing director of Hyperion, while Steven Murphy has been promoted to senior v-p and managing director, Disney Publishing, Worldwide. Miller, who had reported to Murphy, will now report to Iger, and Murphy will report to Boyd and Osberg.
Miller told PW the reorganization will allow Hyperion to work even closer with ABC than it has in the past. Hyperion already has developed a number of imprints based on ABC units, such as Daytime Press and ESPN Books. "By being directly connected to ABC, we will be able to learn what other resources may be available that could provide material for books," Miller said. He observed that two recent bestsellers, The Greatest Generation and The Century, were developed in association with network news organizations. (Although ABC's Peter Jennings is the author of The Century, the book was sold to Doubleday nine years ago.)
Miller said there are no plans for Hyperion to move out of its present offices, although it is possible that in the future, the division may move closer to its ABC counterparts. The Time Warner Trade Group will continue to distribute for both Hyperion and the Disney Children's Book Group.
In his new role, Murphy will continue to be responsible for the children's book group and Disney-related adult titles in the visual and reference book areas, as well as continuing to oversee all magazine publishing. Miller will now also be in charge of all of Disney's international publishing operations. Murphy said the new structure should allow the company to create more global products and will permit more "cross pollination" among the different units.
