In a major consolidation, Warner Bros. Discovery said Friday that it would shift oversight of its struggling U.S. Networks group to television studio chief Channing Dungey.
The move will become official at the end of the year when longtime Discovery executive Kathleen Finch, a former journalist and longtime Food Network chief, retires from the company.
Finch has spent 25 years at Discovery, dating back to when the company was a sleepy programmer located at the end of the M\metro line in Silver Spring, Md..
Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav entrusted Finch to lead the larger cable networks group, which includes HGTV, TLC, Food Network, TBS and Animal Planet, following his takeover of WarnerMedia in 2022.
Dungey, who has TV network experience from running Walt Disney Co.’s ABC, will become one of the most powerful executives within Warner Bros. Discovery, responsible for one of its largest units.
However, the group is under strain. Earlier this month, Warner Bros. Discovery took a $9-billion write-down of the value of its basic cable networks group. The channels have been reeling amid consumers’ embrace of streaming options including Netflix and Hulu.
“Channing is an unparalleled creative executive who has shepherded countless award-winning hit shows,” Zaslav said in a statement. “She has the ideal expertise and experience — as a content developer, platform programmer, and network executive — to lead the US Networks.”
Finch joined Scripps Networks in 1999 as a programmer at the startup Food Network, following 12 years as a journalist at CBS News. She helped turn the small food-focused network into one of the most beloved cable brands.
“I began my journey at the fledgling Food Network and am so proud to have helped turn it into a cable powerhouse, and then to lead the team developing some of the most addictive unscripted franchises across HGTV and TLC, creating household names out of chefs and house flippers, and capturing the cultural conversation with real-life stories,” Finch said in a statement.
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