Shannon Ryan

Shannon Ryan is president of Content Marketing for Hulu and General Entertainment. In this role, Ryan oversees all marketing, publicity and communications strategies for Hulu Originals, ABC Entertainment, Freeform and ABC News, including media, creative, social, digital, publicity, talent relations and awards. She also oversees the communications and marketing teams for Disney Television Studios, which includes 20th Television, 20th Television Animation and ABC Signature, managing the marketing, publicity, corporate communications, events, talent relations and awards strategies of the three entities. 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.

Under Ryan’s leadership, ABC Entertainment regained and holds the title of No. 1 entertainment network among Adults 18-49 for two consecutive seasons – the first time that has happened in 25 years. ABC delivered last fall’s No. 1 new series with “Big Sky” – the network’s most successful new drama in two years – along with three of the top five entertainment series across broadcast and cable with “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” Additionally, for the first time in its 18-year history, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” beat NBC’s “The Tonight Show” in Total Viewers. On the awards front, ABC has amassed 85 Emmy^® nominations and six wins, including two back-to-back Outstanding Variety Special (Live) wins for the critically acclaimed “Live in Front of a Studio Audience.”

Since Ryan’s arrival at Hulu overseeing the platform’s Originals marketing, the growing slate of Hulu Original series have seen a 15% lift in active subscriber engagement and a 6% lift in hours watched, driving record viewership for the fourth season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Original Films “Run” and “Happiest Season” in addition to season-over-season growth for comedy series “Pen15.” In 2021, Hulu Originals earned 25 Emmy nominations across three titles, including a record 21 nominations for “The Handmaid’s Tale” and the platform’s first-ever Outstanding Comedy series nomination for “Pen15.” Additionally, Hulu Originals received 10 Golden Globe^® nominations across five titles including “The Great,” “Ramy,” “Normal People,” “Palm Springs” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” This was the first Golden Globe nomination and win for a Hulu Original film, and also marked Hulu history as the most nominations the company has received.

Ryan and her team have also been instrumental in Freeform’s ongoing success as the No. 1 primetime cable network in entertainment among women 18-34. The young adult brand recently launched the breakout hit “Cruel Summer,” which quickly became the most-engaged new scripted cable series on social media as well as the network’s most-watched series ever across platforms. The network also recently earned its first Emmy nomination for hit comedy series “grown-ish,” which is cable’s No. 1 live-action comedy series among Adults 18-34.

While overseeing ABC News over the past year, the multi-award-winning brand received 22 News and Documentary Emmy nominations across 15 categories in 2021 – up from nine the previous year, more than doubling the news division’s showing from last season. Furthermore, “World News Tonight with David Muir” regularly ranks as the No. 1 program on all U.S. broadcast and cable television in Total Viewers, and “Good Morning America” ranks as the No. 1 morning newscast in Total Viewers. Also, for the first time in its 24-year history, “The View” ranked No. 1 for the season in Households and Total Viewers among the daytime network and syndicated talk shows and news programs.

Additionally, Ryan and her team oversees marketing and publicity for the Onyx Collective, a new content brand designed to curate premium entertainment by creators of color and underrepresented voices. Questlove’s award-winning documentary “Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” served as the first project to be released under the banner to much critical acclaim.

On the studio side, Ryan oversees the strategy behind Disney Television Studios’ awards dominance, with 42 recent Emmy nominations including an historic nomination for Mj Rodriguez, the first transgender nominee for the best actress category in Emmy history. During Ryan’s tenure (since November 2015), the studio has scored 224 Emmy nominations and 23 wins, 17 Golden Globe nods and three wins, and four AFI awards among numerous other honors.

As chief marketing officer for the Fox Television Group, 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, the FOX network’s multiplatform viewership grew by +19%. In her final year in this role, she and her team launched the No. 1 broadcast entertainment show and the No. 1 new show of the season, “The Masked Singer,” as well as hits “9-1-1,” “The Resident” and “The Orville.”

Prior to her promotion to chief marketing officer, Ryan was executive vice president, Marketing & Communications, for FTG, responsible for overseeing the company’s earned media strategy – including publicity, corporate communications, talent relations, creative services, special events, experiential marketing and off-air content teams. From 2011 to 2015, she was executive vice president of Marketing & Communications for FOX. Throughout her career at the network, she has overseen campaigns for such noteworthy programs as “Empire,” “Glee,” “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Grease: Live,” “The X-Files,” “The Last Man on Earth,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “New Girl,” “The Mindy Project,” “American Idol,” “House,” “Arrested Development,” “Masterchef” and “24.”

Ryan was recently chosen as one of Adweek’s 30 Standout CMO’s and celebrated by Variety as a “campaign czar” in their Digital Marketing Impact Report. In 2016, the national advocacy organization Girls Inc. honored Ryan for her leadership role and commitment to mentorship and inspiring the next generation of female leaders. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.