HGTV PRESIDENT JANE LATMAN ADDS FOOD NETWORK AND STREAMING FOOD CONTENT TO LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES
Current Food Network President Courtney White Departs To Launch New Company
NEW YORK - March 14, 2022 - Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISK) today announced that Jane Latman, President, HGTV and Streaming Home Content, will also assume responsibility for Food Network and streaming food content, effective April 30. In her newly expanded role, Latman, who has been with the company since 2003, will continue to report to Kathleen Finch, Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer, Discovery, Inc. Courtney White, the current president of Food Network, is stepping down to launch a new production company, Butternut Films.
HGTV and Food Network are two of the biggest and most valuable brands in the industry, ranking as Top 10 cable networks among A25-54 and W25-54 every night of the week. Together, Food Network and HGTV typically reach more than 55 million viewers per month in prime.
"Jane has more than proven her leadership skills at HGTV where, so far this year, she leads the industry in launching six of the top 20 freshman hits among A25-54 - more than any other cable network," said Finch. "She is the perfect choice to lead our important food and home content businesses and I'm confident she will bring the same creative magic to Food Network that she has to HGTV."
As President, Food Network and Streaming Food Content, White launched such top-rated series as Buddy vs. Duff, Tournament of Champions and Girl Meets Farm along with last year's scripted feature Candy Coated Christmas. She successfully led Food Network for four years and held senior content roles at HGTV and Travel Channel, driving growth for both networks and securing major Talent deals. She will leave Discovery on April 30.
"I've had the privilege of working with Courtney for more than 12 years while she led programming across the Discovery lifestyle portfolio - for HGTV, Travel Channel and Food Network," said Finch. " She's an extremely talented executive, content creator and successful hitmaker and we look forward to continuing to partner with her as she launches her own company."
Latman who has a long history at Discovery, Inc., joined HGTV in 2019 and helped develop a content strategy that delivered more buzzworthy tentpole series as well as an expanded roster of franchises and fan favorites. Blockbuster hits like Home Town Takeover, Celebrity IOU, Rock the Block, Ugliest House in America, Bargain Block, Unsellable Houses, No Demo Reno, Fixer to Fabulous and Married to Real Estate help HGTV maintain its position as the #1 non-news network among ad-supported cable in Total Day.
Prior to leading HGTV, Latman held tandem roles as general manager, Travel Channel, and executive vice president of development and research for Investigation Discovery and American Heroes Channel. She played a pivotal role in driving ID's meteoric rise from the #50 network to a #1 network for W25-54 in total day. Many of her series became the network's top hits, including Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda, On the Case with Paula Zahn, Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen, Vanity Fair Confidential, Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall, Disappeared and In Pursuit with John Walsh. Latman also developed the critically acclaimed documentary film Into the Abyss and subsequent television series On Death Row with legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog.
Before joining Discovery, Latman was a freelance producer, director, and writer for projects that included the award-winning series Nurses for Discovery Health Channel and Understanding Obesity for The Learning Channel's acclaimed Understanding... series. She also did development work for a variety of ventures including the PBS miniseries Stealing Time: The Science of Aging.
About Discovery
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is a global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world. Available in 220 countries and territories and nearly 50 languages, Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens, including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as discovery+, Food Network Kitchen and MotorTrend OnDemand; digital-first and social content from Group Nine Media; a landmark natural history and factual content partnership with the BBC; and a strategic alliance with PGA TOUR to create the international home of golf. Discovery's portfolio of premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and the multi-platform JV with Chip and Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Network, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across Europe. For more information, please visit corporate.discovery.com and follow @DiscoveryIncTV across social platforms.
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