Warner Bros. Discovery Networks U.S. President Kathleen Finch will retire at the end of the year, to be replaced by Warner Bros. Television Group Chairman and CEO Channing Dungey.
News of Finch’s impending retirement comes on the heels of Warner Bros. Discovery’s second-quarter earnings report on Aug. 7, which revealed a significant writedown of the company’s cable network portfolio. Those networks include HGTV, Discovery, CNN, TBS, Food Network, TNT, Investigation Discovery (ID), TLC, Animal Planet, Cooking Channel, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, truTV and others, all of which fall under Finch’s watch.
Finch joined Discovery in 2018 as part of the acquisition of Scripps Networks (home of the now 30-year-old Food Network), where she was a senior programming executive, becoming one of Zaslav’s key lieutenants in the pre-merger days with WarnerMedia, tasked with leading Discovery’s 12 lifestyle brands, including HGTV, TLC and Food Network.
After Warner Bros. Discovery was born in April 2022, Finch was given oversight of nearly all of the U.S. networks, including the so-called “T-Nets,” TBS, TNT, truTV, and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim.
The added channels that traditionally dealt largely with scripted dishes have seen numerous cancellations and shakeups in the post-merger period, in addition to a new focus on sports, acquisitions, and airing existing Warner Bros. movies and series.
“There is no one better at developing compelling content, compelling talent and meaningful brands than Kathleen, who has been my partner in building our premier entertainment networks at Discovery and establishing Warner Bros. Discovery as an unscripted powerhouse,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said Friday. “While I understand her long-standing decision to retire, I will certainly miss her, as will the entire company, which has benefited from her unparalleled collaboration and unique understanding of what our audiences crave. Channing is an unparalleled creative executive, having overseen countless award-winning, successful shows. She has the ideal expertise and experience — as a content developer, platform programmer and network executive — to lead the U.S. networks.”
Dungey has been President of Warner Bros. Television Group since October 2020. She oversees the studio’s leading live-action scripted programming unit, which has produced hit shows such as “Abbott Elementary” and “Ted Lasso,” as well as its unscripted group (home of “The Bachelor” franchise, including “The Golden Bachelor”) and alternative programming production units. Additionally, she oversees animated programming produced through Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.
Dungey joins WBTV after serving as vice president of original series at Netflix; previously, she was president of ABC Entertainment, where she oversaw projects including “The Good Doctor” and the return of “American Idol.”
“It has been an honor to spend the past 25 years at Scripps, Discovery and now Warner Bros. Discovery,” Finch said Friday. “I began my journey at the fledgling Food Network and am so proud to have helped transform it into a cable powerhouse and then led the team to develop some of the most addictive unscripted franchises across HGTV and TLC, creating household names from chefs and home architects, and capturing the cultural conversation with real-life stories. The greatest joy, and the part I will miss most of all, is the incredible people I get to work with every day. Starting with David and throughout the organization and of course all the incredible on-air talent, this is one of the smartest, most creative groups imaginable. I am so proud of what the US Networks group has accomplished together, and I know that under Channing’s leadership there will be many more successes to come.”
