Kathleen Finch assumed the role of CEO and Chief Content Officer, US Networks Group, at Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. in April 2022. The group comprises over 20 US networks that delivered more than 117 million total viewers on average per month in the third quarter of 2023, with six ranking among the top 10 cable networks. Together, the networks are viewed by nearly one-third of all Adults 25-54 watching cable during prime. To date this year, networks in Finch’s group have delivered more than 40 nights of a 40 percent share of primetime cable viewing among Adults 25-54 and 18-49. The Adults 18-49 demo also boasts 16 nights with more than a 50 percent share and three nights with a 60 percent share in 2023. Finch’s networks, which include TBS, TNT, Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, TCM, Travel Channel, Investigation Discovery, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, OWN and many others, will produce more than 4,000 hours of lifestyle and entertainment programming this year. As of September 2023, nine of the top 10 highest rated unscripted freshman titles in primetime year-to-date were from Finch’s group, including: 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? Tell All: No Limits (TLC), 90 Day: The Last Resort (TLC), Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing (Discovery), The Curious Case of Natalia Grace (ID), Jared From Subway: Catching a Monster (ID), Naked and Afraid: Castaways (Discovery), Match Me Abroad (TLC), MILF Manor (TLC) and Summer Baking Championship (Food Network). Finch also leads the Digital Lifestyle Studios Group which is responsible for producing hundreds of video and social assets. Following Discovery’s acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive in 2018, Finch was named Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer and led the company’s portfolio of 12 lifestyle networks. Finch’s portfolio developed some of the biggest hits on television, including HGTV’s Home Town and Celebrity IOU; Food Network’s Tournament of Champions and Buddy vs. Duff; ID’s On the Case with Paula Zahn and In Pursuit with John Walsh; TRVL’s Ghost Adventures; and the #1 program for women on Sunday nights, TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé franchise.
Prior to Discovery’s acquisition of Scripps Networks, Finch served as Chief Programming, Content & Brand Officer for Scripp’s linear and digital media brands, including HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country, and launched notable talent-driven series Fixer Upper, Flip or Flop, Ellen’s Design Challenge featuring Ellen DeGeneres, Property Brothers, Love It or List It and DIY Network’s Blog Cabin, the first ever interactive home renovation series produced on-air and online. Prior to joining Scripps Networks in 1999, Finch worked as a broadcast and print journalist, highlighted by a 12-year career as a CBS Network News producer, traveling the world to cover breaking news and events. A graduate of Stanford University, Finch has received multiple honors, including: Hollywood Reporter’s Top Dealmakers, Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100, Cablefax 100, Variety Reality TV Impact Report, Variety500, Alliance for Women in Media Women Who Lead, Time’s 100 Innovators to Watch, Adweek’s Television Executive of the Year and WICT’s Woman of the Year. Finch contributes her time and expertise to the industry as a member of The Committee of 200 and the Fast Company Impact Council and serves on the board of NCTA – The Internet & Television Association. She resides with her family in New York City.
