Michael Riley
President, ABC Family
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Michael Riley is president, ABC Family, with oversight of original programming and acquisitions, franchise management, marketing, sales and operations, and responsibility for the overall strategic and creative direction for the channel. He joined the network in August 2010.
Under Riley's leadership, ABC Family has greatly expanded its original programming, with an unprecedented seven original series on air in Summer 2012. New series "Baby Daddy" ranked as the No. 1 cable comedy of Summer 2012 in several key demos, including Women 18-34, and ranks as the network's No. 1 comedy of all time in Adults 18-34. Signature hit "Pretty Little Liars" broke social media records again when its recent Summer finale was named the "most social" television episode ever, generating 36,000 tweets per minute at its peak, shattering previous records set by the series. Other returning programs include "Switched at Birth" -- which launched as the channel's No. 1 original series debut in the network's history in key target demos, including Total Viewers, Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49 -- top comedy "Melissa and Joey," "Bunheads," from noted producer Amy Sherman-Palladino, and "The Lying Game." Longstanding hit "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" recently became the network's first series to reach 100 episodes. "25 Days of Christmas," the network's signature programming event, recently delivered ABC Family's No. 1 most watched week in primetime in Total Viewers.
Riley previously served as senior vice president and general manager, Radio Disney, where he oversaw the strategic management of the Radio Disney network and its portfolio of 36 owned radio stations, leading them to record ratings through original multi-platform content achievements. He joined The Walt Disney Company in this role in April 2008.
Prior to that, Riley was senior vice president and general manager, Turner Broadcasting System, Europe, Middle East and Africa. In this post he was responsible for developing the CNN commercial strategy and the overall brand strategy for the entertainment channels Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TCM, TNT and Adult Swim in Germany, Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Other key responsibilities included the management of advertising sales, marketing and interactive commerce functions, as well as supporting the company's programming development and acquisition strategy.
From 2004-06 Riley was vice president and general manager, Turner Broadcasting System France, with responsibility for all Turner channels in that market. From 2000-03 he was vice president, Turner Classic Movies, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and from 1997-2000 was vice president, Business Development, Television and Interactive Media, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies.
From 1996-97 Riley was a strategy consultant with the global advertising and media conglomerate WPP Group in London and New York, where he conducted strategic reviews of the group's specialist communication companies, including Ogilvy and Mather, J Walter Thompson.
He was a business consultant for the Canadian Pacific conglomerate in Toronto from 1992-95, working across its Strategy and Information division on a range of interests, including hotels, real estate, oil production, resorts and railroads.
Riley, who is fluent in French, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a 1997 graduate of London Business School with a Masters in Business Administration, and completed an international program at Columbia Business School in 1996. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Administration and Commercial Studies from University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada in 1992.