President, daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group speaks at Syracuse University Oct. 24

President, daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group speaks at Syracuse University Oct. 24October 10, 2007Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Brian Frons G’78 (Newhouse), president, daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group, will speak at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University on Oct. 24. Frons will begin his visit with a guest lecture in Newhouse’s “Principles and Practices: Television, Radio, Film Industries” class at 12:45 p.m.

After that, he will speak to Whitman’s “Marketing Communications” class at 2:15 pm. The lecture is part of Whitman’s Marketing Fall Speaker Series.

At 5:15 p.m., Frons will give a lecture titled “The Keys to LA: Adjusting, Surviving and Making it in the City of Angels” in Room 1A of Newhouse II. Only the 5:15 lecture is open to the public. The lecture is free; paid parking is available at the University Avenue Garage.

“The Whitman School is proud to host Brian Frons as part of the Whitman Marketing Fall Speaker Series,” says Melvin T. Stith, dean of the Whitman School. “We are excited that our students will have the opportunity to hear about Frons’ experience as president of a major corporation. He undoubtedly will have many insights to share about the business of entertainment.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Whitman students to be able to meet and hear from Frons,” says S.P. Raj, Distinguished Professor of Marketing. “His accomplishments exemplify success at meeting one of the biggest challenges in industry — connecting the creative aspects with the business savvy required to make a project successful. The career experiences Frons has had make him an ideal speaker on this topic.”

At Whitman, Frons will discuss the marketing tactics used to promote “The View” on ABC Daytime and will also describe marketing techniques for the network’s daytime lineup of “All My Children,” “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital.” The complete lineup on ABC Daytime continues to be number one in the key demographic of women 18-49.

Frons received a B.A. degree from the SUNY College at Fredonia and an M.S. degree in communications from the Newhouse School. He joined ABC Daytime from the London-based SBS Broadcasting, S.A., where he served as senior vice president of programming. Earlier in his career he was president of creative affairs for New World Entertainment in Hollywood, where he directed program development and production for network, first-run syndication and international co-production. Frons has also been vice president for creative affairs for NBC Productions. He began his career in 1978 as one of three program management trainees chosen during a national search by CBS Entertainment.

The Disney-ABC Television Group is home to all of The Walt Disney Co.’s worldwide entertainment and news television properties. The Group includes the ABC Television Network, Disney Channel’s worldwide portfolio of kids’ channels, ABC Family and SOAPnet, as well as television production and syndication divisions ABC Studios, Walt Disney Television Animation, Disney-ABC Domestic Television and Disney-ABC International Television. Disney-ABC Television Group also manages the Radio Disney Network in addition to the company’s equity interest in Lifetime Entertainment Services and A&E Television Networks.

For more information contact, Amy Mehringer, Whitman communications manager, at (315) 443-3834 or aemehrin@syr.edu, or Mitch Messinger, ABC Daytime Media Relations, at (323) 671-4863 or mitchell.c.messinger@abc.com.