Veteran television executive Beth Hoppe is leaving her role as general manager of PBS to join ABC News as its svp of long form. She begins in March.
In this new role, Hoppe will oversee all of ABC News’s long form programming, including Lincoln Square Productions, 20/20 and digital features.
Hoppe heads to ABC News after a 7-year stint at the public broadcaster, where in addition to being the gm, she was PBS’s chief programming executive, rolling out notable programming including Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War and The Roosevelts. She also partnered with the BBC to produce nature and science specials, cultivated independent movie projects, such as the Oscar-nominated film Last Days in Vietnam, and produced history specials on the assassination of JFK and The March on Washington.
Recently, Hoppe took on We’ll Meet Again, the six-part PBS docuseries reported and co-executive produced by Ann Curry.
PBS won more News and Documentary Emmy Award wins than any other network under Hoppe’s leadership in 2016 and 2017.
“Beth joins our long form teams at a time of great creative success and expansion,” ABC News president James Goldston notes in a memo to staff. “Our long form storytelling is one of the hallmarks of what makes ABC News so distinctive. Bringing together all our long form assets will position us to produce our very best creative and journalistic work in this moment of extraordinary opportunity across so many networks and platforms.”
Prior to her time at PBS, Hoppe was executive producer at Discovery Networks.