Discovery Names White President of Food Network

Discovery has named Courtney White president of Food Network.

White had been executive VP and general manager of HGTV and Food Network. Allison Page had been president of Food Network and HGTV. Page will continue to run HGTV and will also be working with Chip and Joanna Gaines on the new channel they are creating with Discovery.

White will focus on Discovery’s food brands, which in addition to Food Network includes the Cooking Channel.

“Courtney has been instrumental to the growth of both Food Network and HGTV, turning talented home experts and everyday chefs into treasured, household names,” said Kathleen Finch, chief lifestyle brands officer for Discovery. “With her strategic eye on Food Network and Allison’s on HGTV, we’ll ensure these iconic brands continue to delight our passionate fans and maximize their unique value to our advertising and affiliate partners.”

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White will report to Finch and move to New York.

“I relish the opportunity to lead such an amazing group of innovative storytellers, inspiring people everywhere through the power and joy of food,” White said. “It is an exciting time to be in the food capital of the world, where the team is making food-centric entertainment more tantalizing and inspiring to our fans than ever before.”

Before being named GM of HGTV and Food Network, White served as senior VP of programming for Travel Channel at Scripps Networks Interactive, which was acquired by Discovery earlier this year.

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.