Peter Rice built a reputation as one of the media industry’s quieter operating executives and let his subordinates take the spotlight
In an industry where many executives are quick to tout their own accomplishments, Peter Rice was known for turning down opportunities to take a public victory lap. The soft-spoken British executive, who was ousted on Wednesday from the top TV job at Disney, has a reputation for quietly cultivating relationships with producers and directors such as Baz Luhrmann and Danny Boyle. In the 2000s, he leveraged those ties to boost the performance of Fox Searchlight Pictures with hits such as “Moulin Rouge!” and “Slumdog Millionaire.” More often than not, Rice let the directors, producers and actors take the bows. That low-maintenance demeanor would serve Rice well in Murdoch’s empire as he became close to the family and rose in 2009 to oversee all of Fox’s entertainment networks. After the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney in 2019, Rice took over the largest swath of Disney’s TV operations (everything but the ESPN empire). On Thursday, he was formally replaced by his top lieutenant, Walt Disney Television entertainment chairman Dana Walden. Disney’s TV content engines had been revving high under Rice and Walden’s leadership, which makes Rice’s abrupt dismissal all the more head-spinning for industry insiders. Rice and Walden had worked together for years at Fox, and the two made the leap to Disney three years ago, becoming the only Fox executives to take over a division after the acquisition. By all accounts, Rice didn’t see it coming — at all. He was blindsided as he learned of his fate in what was described by a source as a conversation with Disney CEO Bob Chapek that lasted less than 10 minutes. Chapek simply felt that Rice was not, in fact, Team Chapek, according to multiple sources close to the situation. In Walden, Chapek saw an executive who was easily adapting to the Disney system, working the levers of its production, marketing and distribution machine to effectively turn out glossy and prestigious shows for Hulu, ABC, Freeform and the new Onyx Collective banner. Disney insiders said Chapek, who took the CEO reins from Bob Iger in February 2020, felt Rice was unhappy with the massive reorganization of TV operations that Chapek implemented in October 2020. Nonetheless, Rice had received only positive feedback and compliments about his leadership and operational decisions in the past at Disney. There was no indication that the corporate side was dissatisfied with his work — reinforced by the fact that he signed a new multi-year deal late last year.
