• by Wayne Friedman , August 1, 2010

Just 36 hours on the job, Paul Lee -- the new president of ABC Entertainment Group -- speaking at the Television Critics Association meeting in Los Angeles, says few if any immediate changes will be made to ABC's prime-time lineup.

"We are locked and loaded [for the new season]," said Lee. "We're literally weeks away."

He added there is still a lot to learn -- since he had literally been on the beach on vacation when he got the call to take over the top spot from Stephen McPherson, who resigned abruptly last week.

Lee, who has spent the last six years on the job building up ABC Family, as its president of network, says he has seen all the pilots -- as a part of the Disney-ABC Television Group -- but wasn't going to change anything heading into the fall.

"The reality is, as networks we have some defining brands," he said. "This job is about creating, new brand-defining hits. Everyone who sits in these jobs has to do that."

What are those "network" brands? Lee believes, for example, that Fox could be defined by young male-oriented shows; CBS is about crime/ legal procedural dramas.

As the president of ABC Family, Lee led an effort to create a few selective shows that defined the network, such as "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." But a broadcast network is different. "With cable you can do one thing and do it well," says Lee. "With broadcast you work for a bigger canvas."

Lee was asked about whether ABC would continue to look for serialized shows -- which has been its hallmark in recent years -- even though those shows don't repeat that well with good ratings.

In support of those efforts, Lee says serialized shows generally get higher ad prices when it comes to the CPM viewers. It's also good for Disney overseas: Dramas (including serialized cameras) sell much better internationally than comedies.

Under Lee's predecessor -- Stephen McPherson -- ABC launched a new night of comedy on Wednesday this past season. Lee said: "I love to add a second night [of comedy]."

Lee believes that during certain periods -- like sweep periods -- broadcast networks are particularly under the gun, perhaps unfairly so. "There is too much pressure on networks in specific months; it would be good to change that."

Lee said: "I'm clearly very excited about this opportunity. This is one of the iconic, storytelling brands."