ABC hires new head of daytime programming

ABC Entertainment has chosen William Burton to take over as Senior Vice President and Head of Daytime, Sports and Syndicated Programming.

The behind-the-scenes formation of ABC Daytime has been a little murky since ABC Daytime head Rebecca Campbell stepped away from her position to take on the role of President of Europe, Middle East & Africa for the Walt Disney Co. earlier this year. But it seems the network has finally set a solid team lead.

William Burton, general manager and president of KGO, the ABC-owned TV station in the Bay Area, has been chosen to take over Campbell's former position and now has the title SVP and Head of Daytime, Sports and Syndicated Development/Production.

Burton has been overseeing the business operations of ABC Daytime as SVP Daytime since Campbell's exit, and now those duties have been formalized in the new role, which Deadline says includes expanded responsibilities.

The Denver native, who will be reporting to Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment, will oversee the creation and production of all syndicated programming across ABC platforms. This includes a new daytime talk show with Tamron Hall that is currently in development for fall 2019. In addition, Burton will work on maximizing all sports content on ABC and collaborating with departments and divisions within Disney|ABC, ESPN, and Disney's Direct-to-Consumer & International.

Burton has been guiding business operations of ABC Daytime, including 55-year-old drama General Hospital. The soap is currently the only ABC Daytime program after the recent cancellation of The Chew to make room for another hour of Good Morning America. While Burton will be shepherding the business aspects of GH, the creative aspects will be handled by ABC head of current programming, Vicki Dummer.

"Bill has a great track record within the ABC family. I'm excited to see him create new opportunities across divisions to further leverage our syndicated and sports content to deepen our engagement with viewers," said Dungey.

Burton's most recent role was serving as president and general manager at KGO-TV in the Bay Area, a role he's had since 2011. He previously served as EVP, Digital Media, for the ABC Owned Television Stations Group, from 2006 to 2011.

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Earlier in his career, he was VP, Programming, Advertising and Promotion, and director of Creative Services at ABC Owned KABC-TV in Los Angeles, from 1994 to 2006. Burton also served as director of Creative Services at then-Capital Cities/ABC's WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, where he began as a promotion writer/producer.

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