Cablefax The Magazine - August 2021 - 86

CONTENT LEADERS
58. STAR POWER
Courtney White | President
Food Network & Cooking Channel
Years in Media & Broadband: 20+
Education: BFA, Film & Television,
New York University's Tisch
School of the Arts
You could call White a foodie, but not
in the traditional sense. She not only
recognizes the power of food through
two dynamic lifestyle brands, but she
also inspires people to see it, too. She
has brought some big-name talent to
the Food Network and Cooking Channel,
including Amy Schumer, Kristin
Chenoweth, Melissa McCarthy, Mary
McCartney and Ludacris. When COVID
crippled production across the country,
under her leadership, the network
innovated on the fly by self-shooting
series episodes. Cooking Channel had its highest-rated year in L3
in network history last year, while Food Network ranked as the #1
overall cable network on weekends for P25-54 in 2Q.
MY PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT OVER
THE PAST 12 MONTHS IS... Reinventing production models
during a pandemic.
WHAT HABIT ARE YOU KEEPING POST-PANDEMIC?
Cooking dinner and sitting down to eat with my family is definitely a
habit I look forward to continuing.
HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC FOREVER CHANGED
PROGRAMMING? The relationship between Food Network viewers
and our star chefs has never been more intimate and authentic than
this past year. Family members shot shows and we built productions in
chefs' home kitchens. That authenticity and intimacy is here to stay.
WHAT SHOW/MOVIE HASN'T BEEN REBOOTED THAT
YOU WISH WOULD BE? " My So-Called Life "
MY COMFORT TV BINGE? " Schitt's Creek "
STATUS OF YOUR SOURDOUGH BREAD STARTER? I
would say my sourdough starter is on continual replay.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS
SUMMER? S'mores.
LAST PODCAST LISTENED TO: " We Can Do Hard Things With
Glennon Doyle " ■
59. YES, HE CAN!
Jon Litner | CEO
YES Network
Years in Media & Broadband: 31
Education: Bachelor's Yale University; JD, Cornell University
My personal superpower is: Intellectual curiosity
While focused on keeping employees safe throughout the pandemic, Litner managed to
expand programming at YES. From when sports ceased between March and July, YES
added embedded interviews and " Twitter Takeovers " in Yankees Classics programs,
launched the " Yankees Summer Camp " series, and created " YES, We're Here " digital
content-all with most employees working remotely with cutting-edge tech. More
recently, Litner's team launched Michael Grady's digital interview show, " I Appreciate
You, " and YES' first standalone app. Sports has long been part of his life-check out
his photo from his football days at Yale.
NUMBER OF TIMES HAVE YOU FLOWN IN THE PAST YEAR? Once.
WHAT SHOW/MOVIE HASN'T BEEN REBOOTED THAT YOU WISH
WOULD BE? " Get Smart "
NEW SLANG WORD OR PHRASE YOU'VE LEARNED? Get lit.
LAST PODCAST LISTENED TO: " Spittin' Chiclets " ■
86
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August 2021
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