Brian Frons is leaving his post as president of ABC Daytime.
Frons will be replaced by Vicki Dummer, currently the senior vice president of current series and specials.
Frons, who became a reviled figure to many viewers after canceling 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live,' will exit when his contract ends in January. His departure comes as ABC restructures under the new division Times Square Studios. Times Square will handle all daytime and syndicated productions.
"While my decision to try something new was not arrived at easily, nine years is a long time in television terms," Frons said in a statement. "I'm proud of the performance of ABC Daytime over that time, and of all of the accomplishments that our team achieved along the way. I'm especially pleased by the early results for 'The Chew' and excited for the launch of 'The Revolution,' which will be one more positive step in transforming ABC Daytime for our viewers. I'll miss my colleagues and the wonderful talent that makes our shows, but know they are in very capable hands with Vicki going forward."
'The Chew,' 'The Revolution,' 'Katie' and 'General Hospital' will continue to be part of the programming at ABC. 'Live! With Kelly' will stay with the ABC Owned Television Stations Group division. In April, Frons canceled 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live.' Despite a very publicized licensing deal with Prospect Park, plans to transition the soaps online never came to fruition. 'One Life to Live' ends in January.
"Brian Frons has been the driving force in our successful Daytime division since joining us in 2002, and while we understand his decision to leave at the end of his contract, we're sad to see him go," Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group, said in a statement. "We took this opportunity to rethink our business, and the result was the creation of Times Square Studios. Having it be part of the ABC Entertainment Group, under the supervision of proven executives Vicki Dummer and Paul Lee, provides us the opportunity to bring greater creative resources, development strength and operational flexibility to this key area of our business."
