ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson Resigns

The president of ABC Entertainment, Steve McPherson, unexpectedly resigned from his post as chief of the company this past Tuesday after heading the corporation for just under five years—one year short of his six-year contracts end date in September 2011. The surprising move came a mere two months before the start of the pivotal fall television season and an alarming six days before ABC was set to debut its new shows to critics in Beverly Hills, CA. In a press statement late Tuesday, ABC announced McPherson’s leave, simply stating, “Steve McPherson today submitted his resignation as President, ABC Entertainment Group, and the Company accepted.”

While no explicit reasons for the departure were announced, McPherson resigned amidst rumors and speculation that his role as leading man for ABC resulted in more flops than fan favorites. According to Bloomberg.com, Brad Adgate, the director of research at Horizon Media Inc, had this to say on the subject: “McPherson has had a couple of bad seasons. He never got his footing back after the writers’ strike.”  Aside from the performance records, however, McPherson also allegedly experienced issues with his superiors at the company, problems which escalated over the course of the past few months and resulted in his decision to leave ABC.

But McPherson didn’t show signs of that purported tension in the statement he made on Tuesday, saying, “I want to thank the wonderful team of individuals who have worked with me throughout my time here and wish them nothing but the best.” And despite his sometimes less-than-idyllic moments as head of ABC (including the various sexual harassment allegations), McPherson did spearhead massively popular television hits such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate Housewives,”“Dancing with the Stars,” “Lost,” and last season’s breakout star, “Modern Family.”

So what could possibly be next for the former front man? “I will be announcing my future plans shortly which will include a new entrepreneurial venture in the spirits business,” McPherson said in his Tuesday statement. “While I will continue with my ongoing wine business, I’ll also reveal plans for my involvement in a new media company.”

Photo from goodrob13 via flickr