A+E Names DeBitetto to New Post Running Studio

A+E Networks is giving A&E Network head Bob DeBitetto a
new role at the company and promoting the programming heads of its three big
networks to general managers.

The company also officiallyannounced that BBC executive Jana Bennett has joined the company to run its
Bio and LMN channels.

DeBitetto has been given the new title of president, brand
strategy and business development, A+E Studios, reporting to the company's new
CEO Nancy Dubuc. A+E Studios will create content across all networks and
platforms, said the company, which has increasingly turned to original
programming in primetime.

Under the new management structure, Dirk Hoogstra will be
executive VP and general manager of History and H2; David McKillop will be
executive VP and general manager of A&E; and Robert Sharenow will be
executive VP and general manager of Lifetime. In addition to programming and
development, the networks' marketing and brand development teams report to the
new GMs.

"These are the people who have led their
teams to some of the biggest successes on television over the last two
years," Dubuc said in a statement. "I am extremely pleased that we
are entrusting them to take our flagship brands into the next phase of our
success. I am also thrilled that Bob will be overseeing A+E Studios -- leading
the charge for original content, working with evolving models and shaping the
future of our company across all platforms."

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.