Channing Dungey to Lead WBD’s US Networks, Finch Retires
At this time, Warner Bros. Discovery introduced that Kathleen Finch is retiring as chairman and CEO, US Networks, after 25 years with the corporate. She can be changed by Channing Dungey, Warner Bros. Tv Group chairman and CEO.
Amongst Finch’s duties at Warner Bros. Discovery, the manager oversaw animation cable networks Grownup Swim and Cartoon Community in addition to TNT and TBS.
“There isn’t a one higher at creating fascinating content material, compelling expertise, and significant way of life manufacturers than Kathleen, who has been my associate as we constructed our premier leisure networks at Discovery and created Warner Bros. Discovery as an unscripted powerhouse,” CEO David Zaslav in a press release. “Whereas I perceive her long-standing determination to retire, I’ll definitely miss her, as will your complete firm, which has benefited from her unmatched collaboration and distinctive understanding of what our audiences crave.”
In a press release, Finch mirrored on her profession, together with transferring from Scripps to Discovery alongside the way in which.
“I started my journey on the fledgling Meals Community and am so proud to have helped flip it right into a cable powerhouse, after which to steer the staff creating a few of the most addictive unscripted franchises throughout HGTV and TLC, creating family names out of cooks and home flippers, and capturing the cultural dialog with real-life tales,” Finch stated. “The best pleasure, and the half I’ll miss essentially the most, is the unimaginable individuals with whom I get to work day by day.”
Finch additionally threw assist behind Dungey as her successor, saying that the manager’s management would have “many successes to return.”
Dungey, ADWEEK’s 2024 TV Government of the 12 months, grew to become chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Tv Group in 2020, making her one of many premier Black executives main the cost within the tv business. Previous to that, she was president of ABC’s Leisure Group and vp of authentic content material at Netflix.
In 2023, she revitalized the long-running Bachelor franchise with the hit collection The Golden Bachelor. Excluding sports activities, that collection ended up turning into the No. 2 leisure collection, scripted or unscripted, on community tv in the important thing demos.
“Channing is an unparalleled inventive govt who has shepherded numerous award-winning hit exhibits,” Zaslav added. “She has the best experience and expertise—as a content material developer, platform programmer, and community govt—to steer the US Networks.”
The information of Finch’s departure comes on the heels of Warner Bros. Discovery’s second-quarter earnings report, which noticed the corporate report a $9.1 billion non-cash impairment cost on its TV linear networks division. Regardless of that write-down, WBD introduced it had a profitable upfront, rising Max quantity by 50%.
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