Kathleen Finch: Last News

Ahead of tomorrow’s expected close of the $43 billion WarnerMedia-Discovery merger, the executive leadership structure of the new company has been set.

As Discovery and WarnerMedia are set to close their $43B merger later this week, the attention has been focused mainly on the deal’s ramifications for WarnerMedia’s movie and scripted television businesses. There’s been much industry chatter about the importance of Casey Bloys’ scripted television empire and whether Toby Emmerich continues to oversee The Batman film studio.

David Zaslav will have a tight grip on the operations of Warner Bros. Discovery under the management structure unveiled for the new company that is set to emerge on Monday, Variety has learned.Zaslav, as longtime observers predicted, has opted to have a direct-report relationship with the leaders of the businesses he doesn’t know as well as he does cable channels and advertising sales, per individuals close to the situation.

HGTV veteran Jane Latman will be taking the helm of Food Network, expanding her responsibilities as President, HGTV and Streaming Home Content. The move comes as current Food Network President Courtney White departs to launch a new production company, Butternut Films, and as parent company Discovery prepares for the merger with WarnerMedia, which is expected to close in April. Latman begins her expanded role on April 30, and will continue to report to Kathleen Finch, Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer, Discovery, Inc.

HGTV veteran Jane Latman will be taking the helm of Food Network, expanding her responsibilities as President, HGTV and Streaming Home Content. The move comes as current Food Network President Courtney White departs to launch a new production company, Butternut Films, and as parent company Discovery prepares for the merger with WarnerMedia, which is expected to close in April. Latman begins her expanded role on April 30, and will continue to report to Kathleen Finch, Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer, Discovery, Inc.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorDiscovery’s cable powerhouses Food Network and HGTV are undergoing a management shuffle as the company prepares to merge with WarnerMedia in a deal that is expected to close in April.HGTV veteran Jane Latman is taking over management of Food Network in addition to the home-focused lifestyle cabler. Courtney White is exiting her post as president of Food Network to launch a new content banner, Butternut Films.“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 ages 25-54 — more than any other cable network,” Kathleen Finch, chief lifestyle brands officer of Discovery, said in a statement.

EXCLUSIVE: Discovery+ announced its first-ever cross-brand, cross-platform Halloween programming offering dubbed Ghostober, which includes more than 50 hours of shows from 14 series and specials.

long-running show “The Pioneer Woman,” is trying her hand at acting: The carb-adoring “wife of a cowboy” is set to star in the first-ever Food Network-produced scripted film, “Candy Coated Christmas,” Variety reported. “It’s been a dream of ours to do this for a long time,” Kathleen Finch, chief lifestyle brands officer for Discovery — which will air the movie on its Discovery+ network — told the publication of venturing into the realm of lighthearted holiday flicks.

Americans stuck at home staring at fading furniture and wondering what to cook for dinner have been a boon for television networks like HGTV and the Food Network.