Page 4 - DTCI Mentor Bios Burbank

As senior vice president, Communications, for The Walt Disney
Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment,
Karen Hobson oversees communications and public affairs
strategies focused on all key stakeholders including consumers,
employees, clients, communities, and shareholders.

Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment includes
Disney’s international media operations stretching from Europe to
Asia to Latin America and the Company’s direct-to-consumer
streaming businesses, including the upcoming Disney+ service set
to debut in the U.S. in late 2019 and ESPN+ which was launched
KAREN in April 2018. DTCI also houses global advertising sales and ad
technology for Disney media properties which include ABC, ESPN,
HOBSON Freeform, FX Networks, National Geographic, and the Disney
Channels. The Company’s content sales operations—including
global distribution of film and TV content to Disney+, Hulu and
SVP, other third-party platforms, as well as Movies Anywhere—are also

Communications part of the Direct-to-Consumer & International business segment.
Direct-to-Consumer Previously, Hobson served as vice president, Corporate
& International
Communications for Disney|ABC Television Group, where she
oversaw strategic corporate communication efforts including
consumer press campaigns. Prior to her vice president role,
Hobson oversaw communications and publicity related to
Disney|ABC’s distribution efforts, advertising sales and research
initiatives, digital media products and services, and broadcast
engineering and operations projects. She also led communications
for Disney Media Distribution’s international content sales efforts
and Disney|ABC Television Group’s eight ABC-Owned Stations.

Hobson joined The Walt Disney Company in 1997 as manager,
media relations for Disney Channel and subsequently held several
publicity positions with the Disney|ABC Cable Networks Group.

Previously, Hobson held publicity positions at Cartoon Network
and Hanna-Barbera Animation. She began her career at
Wilkinson/Lipsman Public Relations, a Los Angeles-based
boutique entertainment and lifestyle public relations agency.

She holds a BA in English from the University of California,
Los Angeles.

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