1. Too Kool for Skool: The Mighty Mice

Anne Sweeney
Title: Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks, and president, Disney-ABC Television Group

Rich Ross
Title: President, Disney Channel Worldwide
Age: 44
Years in industry: 21

Gary Marsh
Title: President, entertainment, Disney Channel Worldwide
Age: “A tad above our target demo!”
Years in industry: 22
Years left in the industry: “Depends on the price of Disney stock!”

Albert Cheng
Title: EVP, Digital Media, Disney-ABC Television Group
Age: 36
Years in Industry: 7

Why Them? “We’re All In This Together” is not only the title of the theme song from this year’s omnipresent “High School Musical.” It’s also the mantra Disney Channel chants when it makes a power play for the consumer psyche with help from its sister record label, Internet and radio divisions. Anne Sweeney, Rich Ross, Gary Marsh and Albert Cheng are all key players in making that happen. If there was any doubt of the potency of what these execs fondly call “Disney synergy,” it vanished in January when HSM hit the cable-waves. Aimed squarely at the red-hot tween (8-14) market, Ross and Marsh oversaw HSM’s stunning feat of reaching 36.5 million viewers during its 12 showings. The flick has become the undisputed poster child for multiplatform success, spawning the year’s top-selling album at 3 million units and counting (on sister Walt Disney Records, of course) and breaking DVD sales records for a TV movie when 1.2 million units were sold in the first six days. And the ride continues: Disney Channel’s rating among kids 2-11 was up 17 percent, to 2.7 percent, in September, according to Nielsen Media Research. And let’s remember Disney Channel original movie “The Cheetah Girls” and its sequel also hit paydirt, as have many of the network’s series for the young including “That’s So Raven,” “The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody” and sizzling new “Hannah Montana.” Simply put, Disney Channel has mastered the art of making multimedia stars of its shows’ finest—Raven-Symone, Miley Cyrus, the list goes on—and keeping them in the family. As the network takes such a proactive role in defining the next generation’s popular culture, we simply can’t help spending at least a little time in “Disney world.” - CAO

Rich Ross

I knew cable was for me when: “I could be hired right out of law school to be a talent broker!”
Top 2006 moment: “’High School Musical’ catapulting to cultural phenomenon and delivering the best-selling album of the year!”
Favorite TV show not on my network: “‘Project Runway,’ ‘House’ and ‘Ugly Betty’ (I guess I like pretty, pretty ugly and ugly!).”
Favorite city: “I love London especially this year when we added a ‘High School Musical’-wrapped double-decker bus to the city!”
Favorite restaurant: “Ammo, the restaurant (nothing to do with the right to bear arms).”
Favorite TV line: “‘Make it work,’ - Tim Gunn in ‘Project Runway’”
Favorite view: “The view of the Sydney Opera House, especially this year when I viewed it with the cast of ‘High School Musical’.”
Most embarrassing cable moment of 2006: “Making my karaoke debut in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with all the cable operators of Southeast Asia watching. I sung the theme from ‘Hannah Montana,’ called ‘The Best Of Both Worlds’.”
Favorite movie: “‘The Devil Wears Prada’—or was that an HR training film?”

Gary Marsh

Person I most admire in the cable industry and why: “Jon Stewart: He’s brilliant, funny and has created a forum to talk about things that matter.”
Biggest cable surprise of 2006: “The extraordinary global success of High School Musical.”
Top personal achievement in 2006: “The birth of my daughter, Zoey.”
Person (other than my current boss) who I’d most like to work for: Steven Spielberg
In my free time, I like to: “Make Zoey laugh.”
Favorite restaurant: L’Atelier De Joel Robuchon, Paris
Favorite city: Florence, Italy
Favorite line from a movie or TV show: “Aah, aah, ooh, ooh…” — Meg Ryan in “When Harry Met Sally.”
Three things I would take with me to a deserted island: “My wife Jody, my daughter Zoey and her Fischer Price Aquarium Bouncer.”
Favorite TV shows not on your network: “Dancing with the Stars,” “Entourage” and “Boston Legal.”
Favorite movie: “Broadcast News”
Favorite sports team: East High Wildcats
Favorite piece of tech: BlackBerry
Least favorite piece of tech: BlackBerry
The world would be a better place if: “Life really was like ‘High School Musical’.”

Albert Cheng

Defining career moment: “Winning a Primetime Emmy.”
Biggest cable surprise of 2006: “High School Musical”
Favorite city: London
Favorite line from a movie or TV show: “There's no crying in baseball!” – Tom Hanks, “League of Their Own”
Favorite sports team: San Francisco 49ers
I wish cable would: “Get me a new improved EPG.”
Favorite piece of tech: iPod
Least favorite piece of tech: Paper shredder
What is your favorite word? Alchemy
What is your least favorite word? Metadata
What turns you on? Integrity
What turns you off? Paris Hilton
What sound do you love? Laughter
What sound do you hate? Finger tapping
What profession other than yours would like to attempt? Songwriter
What profession would you not like to participate in? Politician
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Because you believed, I'll overlook that one little incident...”

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