Food Network and Cooking Channel Programming & Development Team Restructured Under Courtney White Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
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Courtney White adds Food Network and Cooking Channel programming and development to her Travel Channel oversight as announced by Allison Page, general manager of U.S. programming for Scripps Networks Interactive.
White will oversee all series development and production for the three networks, identify and develop new network talent, as well as manage relationships with outside production partners. Her appointment further solidifies recent restructuring implemented in the last year and a half, bringing the six networks together under a single programming and content strategy intended to optimize resources and opportunities that benefit the whole Scripps Networks Interactive portfolio.
White will lead the newly merged Food, Cooking and Travel programming teams based in both the New York City and Knoxville, Tennessee offices.
“Courtney’s energy, instinct and passion have made her an invaluable contributor and a driving force behind Travel Channel’s most recent success,” said Allison Page. “I am confident that Courtney’s leadership of Food Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel will only further unify our team, as well as set the stage for long-term growth and future achievements across all three networks.”
White joined Scripps Networks in 2005 as a program development executive for HGTV and has created numerous hit series over the last 12 years, helping to drive record-breaking ratings success. Some of her long-running hit shows include: The Beachfront Bargain Hunt and Hawaii Life franchises, as well as special events such as Ellen’s Design Challenge and Selling Spelling Manor. Most recently, as senior vice president of programming at Travel Channel, Courtney has led the network’s first quarter 2017 ratings gains of 9 percent with several series posting best-ever performances including: Expedition Unknown, Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations and Mysteries at the Museum.
Food Network wrapped the first quarter of 2017 with a 4 percent ratings gain over a year ago and an increase in time spent viewing of four minutes, averaging 84 minutes a night. Worst Cooks in America and Spring Baking Championship both helped drive recent increases, each having their best seasons ever. Worst Cooks in America finished up 34 percent from the previous season, and Spring Baking Championship is on track to conclude its season up 16 percent. Cooking Channel had its highest-rated quarter ever, as well as its highest-rated and most-watched March in 2017. The net marked its tenth straight quarter and twelfth straight month of year-over-year growth with recent programming highlights including Carnival Eats, Cheap Eats, Dinner at Tiffani’s, Food: Fact or Fiction? and Unwrapped 2.0.
Prior to joining Scripps Networks Interactive, White spent more than a decade developing and producing Emmy Award-winning documentary television. Her credits include the acclaimed HBO documentaries Dealing Dogs, Through A Child’s Eyes: September 11, 2001 and ‘Twas the Night. She also produced several series for History, A&E, National Geographic Channel and PBS. Courtney holds a B.F.A. in film and television from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
About Scripps Networks Interactive
Scripps Networks Interactive (Nasdaq: SNI) is one of the leading developers of engaging lifestyle content in the home, food and travel categories for television, the Internet and emerging platforms. The company's lifestyle media portfolio comprises popular television and Internet brands HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country, which collectively engage more than 190 million U.S. consumers each month. International operations include TVN, Poland’s premier multi-platform media company; UKTV, an independent commercial joint venture with BBC Worldwide; Asian Food Channel, the first pan-regional TV food network in Asia; and lifestyle channel Fine Living. The company’s global networks and websites reach millions of consumers across North and South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn. For more information, please visit scrippsnetworksinteractive.com.
