Ayo Davis, President Of Disney’s Branded Television Division, On Why She Makes Joy A Business Proposition – Essence

Nearly every time Ayo Davis walks into her Disney offices, she smiles.

As the president of Disney Branded Television, her walls are covered with posters of projects she’s worked on, with many of whom becoming that have become favorites in households.

Davis oversees the group that creates kids premium content airing across Disney’s streaming and linear platforms, including Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior. 

On behalf of the network, she’s helmed hit programming including Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, hit animated series Bluey, Ariel starring Amber Riley and Taye Diggs and  Descendants: Rise of Red starring Brandy and Rita Ora.

This is significant, as Walt Disney has shifted its investment and focus from traditional TV to streaming in an effort maximize audiences and profit.

Fortunately Davis’s Midas touch imprints on viewers wherever they are.

“All of our appetites are insatiable for good content nowadays regardless of where we are getting it––on TVs, phones, social media,” Davis tells ESSENCE. So far so good.

Despite the decline in linear TV, recent reports, Walt Disney Co.’s overall streaming business has reached profitability after facing some challenges in the changing media landscape, where legacy networks have have had to change their approach in reaching consumers. Davis partially attributes the breakthrough to paying attention to what her consumer sect really wants: happiness.

“There’s a lot happening in the entertainment industry right now,” Davis says. “And I think that people just want joy. With that, we’ve centered our business focus on storytelling through the lens of wonder and magic. And I think when you talk about those elements, it lends itself to escapism,” a phenomenon experts say is raking is millions for various industries.

“It’s joyful to see, because what this tells me is that our stories are piercing the zeitgeist,” referring the litany of successful shows she’s helped amplify on the network including the record-breaking Descendants musical. She says this uptick in viewership is not only due to children’s interest, but because adults are watching as well. “Families are yearning to have a commonality with their kids. They want something to talk about, something to be excited about. It’s like the water cooler event that we used to do way back in the day with all of our appointment television, but with your kids.”

Davis would know, as she’s worked with the company across various departments for more than two decades. Before holding her current role, she worked in casting for nearly 20 years before pivoting to a focus on content, a space she’s always been passionate about. Fortunately, she says the company made way for her to lean into that work, a move she doesn’t take lightly.

“I have been blessed being at the Walt Disney Company for as long as I have been, and having the ability to have worked in one area of business, right, for almost the majority of my career at the company, and then be able to share that, like, hey, I’ve done casting. I have loved being a part of this greater puzzle in terms of identifying and bringing talent together. But I have had this strong desire to produce, to develop, to have a larger impact and footprint around storytelling and what that means for audiences and to be able to share that desire comfortably with my colleagues and mentors has been monumental.”