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HRTS has added a new member to the Board of Directors. Paul Lee, President of ABC Family joins the HRTS board by executive appointment, taking the place of long time board member Rich Ross who was recently promoted to Chief of Walt Disney Studios.
 Paul Lee is President of ABC Family, overseeing the channel’s marketing, programming, operations and creative direction.
Upon arriving at the network in 2004, Lee conceived its mission to represent “A New Kind of Family,” with an ambitious slate of original and acquired programming that reflect today’s families and relationships and that tells relevant stories with diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. He launched a plan to target the young adult Millennial audience on multiple platforms, with relatable programming that is about family, not for family.
The network has shown five years of consecutive growth, is ad supported cable’s #1 destination for original movies, has the #1 event on cable with “25 Days of Christmas” and launched the highest rated original series in the history of the network “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” in July 2009. The ABC Family brand is among the most relatable on television with Millennials and Lee has begun the process of taking ABC Family global: “Greek” and “Kyle XY” have both been sold in over 200 countries around the world, and both series have been licensed to the BBC. “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” is now also being sold internationally.
Lee recently announced the addition of three new original series to ABC Family. The network’s ambitious summer 2009 programming slate includes the new smash hit “Make It or Break It,” which premiered this June. The network’s new half-hour comedies, “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Ruby & the Rockits” premiered in July, and “Greek” and “Lincoln Heights” will return in August and September, respectively.
Additionally, key to the network’s recent success is the result of Lee’s aggressive strategy in acquiring theatricals and producing original telefilms that connect with the Millennial audience. The original movie “My Fake Fiancé,” starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence; and the premiere movie event “Another Cinderella Story,” starring Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley, currently stand as the network’s most-watched movies in 2008/2009 season.
During Lee’s tenure, the network’s annual “25 Days of Christmas” programming event has become a dominant force in the cable industry. The hit animated film “CARS” made its ABC Family debut as part of the 2008 event and the telecasts of the “Harry Potter” franchise and “Polar Express” all contributed to December 2008’s record viewership. The 2007 original holiday movie “Holiday in Handcuffs,” starring Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez, stands as the network’s most-watched telecast in ABC Family history.
Understanding the significance of the web to the Millennial audience, Lee has pushed for creativity and innovation on the network’s websites. His efforts were realized at the 2007 Emmy® Awards, when ABC Family took home the prize for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television for the alternative reality game that was created to support the miniseries, “Fallen.” The following year (2008), “Kyle XY” Collective was nominated in the Emmy® category of Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media. Additionally, both “Greek” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” became #1 television downloads on iTunes, continuing to strengthen the network’s success on multiple platforms.
Prior to joining ABC Family in April 2004, Lee was chief executive officer of BBC America, and was responsible for the development and launch of the company in March 1998, starting as general manager and chief operating officer. During his tenure, the hit comedy series The Office garnered two Golden Globes®. Other shows under Lee’s supervision included the BBC’s Changing Rooms which formatted into TLC’s signature show Trading Spaces, the BBC version of What Not to Wear, and the Graham Norton show. BBC America, since its initial launch in 1998, is now in 50 million homes.
Before arriving stateside, Lee spent several years at the BBC, most recently serving as channel editor for BBC Prime, the company’s 24-hour entertainment channel. He started his career as a reporter assigned to Belfast, Northern Ireland, at a particularly critical period in the conflict. Upon returning to London in 1987, he became a producer and director, going on to earn for BBC's flagship series Arena a British Academy Award and a BANFF award for his documentary portrait of Woody Guthrie.
In 1990, Lee branched out into drama production, traveling to Moscow to direct Oblomov, starring George Wendt of Cheers fame. He also produced, directed and wrote TV movies. Before joining BBC in 1984, Lee worked as a production manager for novellas at the Brazilian national network Rede Globo in Rio de Janeiro.
Lee holds an MA in Modern Languages from Oxford University in England. Lee resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons.
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