Peter Rice
Born1966 (age 57–58)
United Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham
OccupationEntertainment executive

Peter Rice (born 1966) is a British media executive. He is the former Chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content for The Walt Disney Company and former President of 21st Century Fox, where he worked from 1989-2019.[1]

Early life

Rice was born in the United Kingdom in 1966 and raised in Britain.[2] He earned a degree from the University of Nottingham in 1989.[2]

Career

Fox

Rice began his career at Twentieth Century Fox in 1989, working for Tom Sherak, then head of U.S. distribution and marketing for Fox Filmed Entertainment.[3] In 2000, Rice became President of Fox Searchlight Pictures, beginning in 2000.[4] From 2007 to 2008, he simultaneously oversaw Fox Atomic, which created comedy and genre films, including Turistas and 28 Weeks Later. Fox Atomic was closed in 2009, after Rice moved to Fox's television business.[5][6]

Rice became Chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group in 2012, supervising Fox Broadcasting Company, 20th Century Fox Television, FX Networks, Fox Sports (encompassing Fox’s national sports channels, FS1 and FS2 and its 22 regional sports networks) and National Geographic Partners (which includes the National Geographic channels and brands).[7][8]

Rice was appointed President of 21st Century Fox in 2017.[9][10] Rice continued to serve as Chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, which included all of Fox’s TV assets, with the exception of Fox News, which was run separately.[11] He was also the Chairman of the Board of National Geographic Partners and Fox's lead executive on the Board of Directors for Hulu.[12][13][14]

Disney

Rice joined The Walt Disney Company in 2017 following its purchase of many of the assets of 21st Century Fox.[15][16] Upon joining, Rice became the Chairman of Walt Disney Television (all of Disney's non-sports television businesses).[17][15][16] In this role, Rice oversaw ABC Entertainment, ABC News, ABC Owned Television Stations, Disney Branded Television, Disney Television Studios, Freeform, FX, Hulu Originals, National Geographic, and Onyx Collective.[18][19]

As Chairman of Walt Disney Television, Rice oversaw the production of over 300 shows and 4,000 hours of television per year across Disney’s family of networks and streaming platforms Disney+ and Hulu.[20] Disney earned 147 Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 2022 and 146 in 2021.[21][22] While with Disney, Rice served as Chairman of the Board of A&E Networks and continued to serve as Chairman of the Board of National Geographic Partners.[23]

On June 9, 2022, Rice was fired from The Walt Disney Company.[24]

A24

On June 1, 2023, Rice made a nonexclusive deal with the independent entertainment company A24.[25]

Personal life

Rice lives in Los Angeles with his family. He has two children. He serves on the Board of Directors of Southern California Public Radio[26] and the Board of Governors of the Motion Picture & Television Fund.[27]

References

  1. ^ Wyatt, Edward (7 April 2009). "Fox's Low-Key New Boss Is Looking Beyond 'Idol'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Inside Hollywood with Peter Rice". Archived from the original on 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  3. ^ "Fox's Peter Rice Recalls How He Learned the Biz From Tom Sherak". Yahoo Movies. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  4. ^ Ricj, Joshua (March 12, 2009). "Fox Broadcasting executive shakeup: Peter Ligouri out, Peter Rice in". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  5. ^ "Fox shutting down youth-focused film unit". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (12 March 2009). "Trio replaces Chernin at News Corp". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  7. ^ Szalai, George (March 26, 2014). "Fox Networks Group CEO Peter Rice Gets Contract Extension". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  8. ^ Crupi, Anthony (July 23, 2012). "Peter Rice Named Head of Fox Networks Group". Adweek. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  9. ^ Ng, David (6 September 2017). "21st Century Fox promotes Peter Rice to president". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  10. ^ Flint, Joe (6 September 2017). "Peter Rice Promoted to President at 21st Century Fox". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Peter Rice Elevated to Head of Fox Networks Group". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  12. ^ Hipes, Patrick (6 September 2017). "Peter Rice Promoted to President Of 21st Century Fox". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  13. ^ Maglio, Tony (6 September 2017). "Peter Rice Promoted to 21st Century Fox President". TheWrap. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  14. ^ Frommer, Dan (12 February 2018). "Fox didn't overpay for its new NFL rights, says Fox exec Peter Rice". Vox. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Members Hub". 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Disney Completes Its $71.3 Billion Purchase of Fox, Massively Transforming the Industry". Archived from the original on 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  17. ^ "The Walt Disney Company Announces New Organizational Structure for its Media Networks Business, Conditional Upon Closing of 21st Century Fox Acquisition". The Walt Disney Company. October 8, 2018. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  18. ^ Faughnder, Ryan (18 October 2018). "After 30 years in Murdoch's empire, Peter Rice faces new challenges in Disney's kingdom". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  19. ^ Koblin, John (8 October 2018). "Disney's TV Division Makes Room for Fox Executives". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  20. ^ Koblin, John (8 October 2018). "Disney's TV Division Makes Room for Fox Executives". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  21. ^ "The Walt Disney Company Gets 147 Primetime Emmy® Award Nominations in 2022!". ABC.com. ABC.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  22. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (13 July 2021). "Emmys: Disney Leads All Combined Nominations as HBO (Thanks to HBO Max) Tops Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Peter Rice Chairman, Walt Disney Television, and Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks The Walt Disney Company" (PDF). The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  24. ^ Barnes, Brooks; Koblin, John (2022-06-09). "Disney fires Peter Rice, its top TV content executive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  25. ^ Masters, Kim; Goldberg, Lesley; Galuppo, Mia (June 1, 2023). "Peter Rice's Next Act: Film, TV Producing Deal With A24 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  26. ^ "KPCC Board of Trustees". KPCC. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  27. ^ "MPTF Foundation Board of Governors". Motion Picture & Television Fund. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
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