ABC Family is narrowing down its choice for a new president, the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town reports. The job opened up in September, when Michael Riley said he would return to his home country, England.

“Among the candidates topping Disney’s short list [is] Salaam Coleman Smith, who had headed NBCUniversal’s Style Network until the channel was rebranded this fall as the Esquire Network and put under new management. Coleman Smith is also a former programming executive at E! and prior to that was at Nickelodeon,” the story reports.

Other candidates include Christina Norma, former president of OWN, and Dave Howe, the current president of Syfy.

“Though on the surface the jump from Syfy to ABC Family might seem unusual, Howe has boosted the channel’s ratings among ABC Family’s core audience of women with the drama ‘Eureka’ and the reality show ‘Ghost Hunters,’” the piece notes.

Coleman Smith is seen as the likeliest choice, given her background and track record, the story adds.

“While many have speculated that Kate Juergens, ABC Family’s chief creative officer and head of programming, was a logical choice to succeed Riley, she apparently will continue to stay focused on the content side of the channel,” the report notes.

Salaam Coleman Smith