Latest news with #Dungey
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Channing Dungey to Remain With Warner Bros. Discovery Studios and Streaming Post-Split
Channing Dungey, the chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group and Warner Bros. Discovery's U.S. Networks, is set to remain with the Studios & Streaming business following its separation from the media giant's Global Networks business, which is expected to take place in mid-2026. 'Warner Bros Television Group will become part of Streaming & Studios, and I'm thrilled that I will continue to have the privilege of leading WBTVG,' the executive said in a memo to employees on Monday. As head of Warner Bros. Television Group, Dungey oversees WBTV as well as its unscripted television division, which includes the Warner Horizon, Telepictures, and Shed Media labels. Dungey also has oversight of animated production from Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. As of March, WBTVG's divisions were producing more than 80 projects for nearly 20 platforms, including HBO, Max, U.S. Networks, external streaming services, the broadcast networks and local stations. Notable series include 'Ted Lasso,' 'Abbott Elementary', 'All American,' 'The Bachelor' franchise, 'Batman: Caped Crusader,' 'Creature Commandos,' 'Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage,' 'Harley Quinn,' 'Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking,' 'The Jennifer Hudson Show,' 'The Penguin,' 'The Pitt,' 'Presumed Innocent,' 'Running Point,' 'Shrinking,' 'Teen Titans Go!,' 'The Voice,' 'You,' and many more. Following the retirement of Kathleen Finch at the end of 2024, Dungey officially took over the role as U.S. Networks head, giving her additional oversight of Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Cooking Channel, HLN, OWN, Science Channel, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, and Turner Classic Movies. Also currently leading the U.S. Networks division with Dungey are chief operating officer Brett Paul, chief creative officer Howard Lee, chief financial and strategy officer Susan Kolar, who has been named chief financial and strategy officer and global chief marketing officer Karen Bronzo. In addition to WBTV, the Studios & Streaming business will include Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO and HBO Max, Warner Bros. Games, Tours, Retail and Experiences, as well as studio production facilities in Burbank and Leavesden. Executives have said that the streaming business is on track to generate at least $1.3 billion in profit by the end of 2025 and reach at least 150 million streaming subscribers by the end of 2026, which it plans to achieve through a combination of expanding Max internationally, strategic distribution partnerships and driving higher penetration of its ad-supported tier. Meanwhile, the studios business is targeting at least $3 billion in annual profit, with a specific timeline for achieving that unclear. Global Networks will include CNN, TNT Sports in the U.S., Discovery, top free-to-air channels across Europe, Discovery+ and Bleacher Report (B/R). It will retain a 20% stake in the studios and streaming business to help the company deleverage and is expected to take the majority of WBD's roughly $37 billion in gross debt. The post Channing Dungey to Remain With Warner Bros. Discovery Studios and Streaming Post-Split appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Channing Dungey To Remain With Studios & Streaming Post-WBD Split; Few Executives With Dual Responsibilities Make For Clean Break
One of Warner Bros Discovery's top TV executives, Channing Dungey, who is Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks, has found herself straddling the two sides of the company that will become separate entities next year: Streaming & Studios and Global Networks. Pre-empting speculation about her future, Dungey addressed the matter in an internal memo soon after the WBD split was announced Monday morning, sources tell Deadline. More from Deadline Warner Bros Discovery To Split Into Two Companies, Streaming & Studios And Global Networks WBD's David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels Break Down Split That Will See Standalone Companies 'Free And Clear' For M&A Warner Bros Discovery Initiates More Layoffs In Cable TV Divisions 'Warner Bros Television Group will become part of Streaming & Studios, and I'm thrilled that I will continue to have the privilege of leading WBTVG,' Dungey wrote in the memo, Deadline has learned. Dungey is the highest-profile TV executive with dual responsibilities across the studio and cable networks. One of her top lieutenants, WBTV veteran Brett Paul, is in a similar position in his role as President of WBTVG and Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Networks. There is no clarity on his future as of now, but sources indicate Paul would also likely stay with Studios & Streaming as the chief dealmaker for Warner Bros TV and a key member of Dungey's senior team. Unlike Comcast's spinoff of cable networks into Versant — a split from NBCUniversal that has to untangle decades of shared history and close ties — the WBD separation is a lot less complicated. Following Discovery's 2022 acquisition of WarnerMedia, all cable networks, including WarnerMedia's TNets, were put under Kathleen Finch, Chairman and CEO, U.S. Networks, in a unit that has functioned largely independently from Warner Bros TV, HBO and streamer HBO Max. It was not until Finch announced her retirement at the end of last year that the line between divisions was crossed, with Dungey taking over Finch's role and Paul adding COO for U.S. Networks to his duties of WBTVG President. There have been some joint programming initiatives since including a run of The Pitt, WBTV's drama series for Max, on TNT. It is unclear whether Dungey would get additional responsibilities as she continues in her role as Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Television Group post-split, which also is a question for Paul should he also remain in his WBTVG role as expected. Besides Dungey and Paul, there is little executive overlap between the two soon-to-be stand-alone divisions as most operations, including programming, finance, marketing and PR, have been kept separate. Suzanna Makkos, who served as head of Original Comedy & Animation at Max and Adult Swim, left in January to become head of comedy for ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals. There is no longer a hybrid comedy role across both Max and Adult Swim, a block on Cartoon Network, which will be part of the Global Networks company. Also, David Leavy, longtime close confidant to WBD Discovery David Zaslav, recently departed as COO of CNN — another Global Networks brand — to return to parent WBD. That would allow him to continue to work for Zaslav, who has been named CEO of Studios & Streaming, with WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels named CEO of Global Networks. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Where To Watch All The 'John Wick' Movies: Streamers That Have All Four Films
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Channing Dungey To Remain With Studios & Streaming Post-WBD Split; Few Executives With Dual Responsibilities Make For Clean Break
One of Warner Bros Discovery's top TV executives, Channing Dungey, who is Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks, has found herself straddling the two sides of the company that will become separate entities next year: Streaming & Studios and Global Networks. Preempting speculation about her future, Dungey addressed the matter in an internal memo soon after the WBD split was announced Monday morning, sources tell Deadline. More from Deadline Warner Bros Discovery To Split Into Two Companies, Streaming & Studios And Global Networks WBD's David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels Break Down Split That Will See Standalone Companies 'Free And Clear' For M&A Warner Bros Discovery Initiates More Layoffs In Cable TV Divisions 'Warner Bros Television Group will become part of Streaming & Studios, and I'm thrilled that I will continue to have the privilege of leading WBTVG,' Dungey wrote in the memo, Deadline has learned. Dungey is the highest-profile TV executive with dual responsibilities across the studio and cable networks. One of her top lieutenants, WBTV veteran Brett Paul, is in a similar position in his role as President of WBTVG and Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Networks. There is no clarity on his future as of now, but sources indicate Paul would also likely stay with Studios & Streaming as the chief dealmaker for Warner Bros TV and a key member of Dungey's senior team. Unlike Comcast's spinoff of cable networks into Versant — a split from NBCUniversal that has to untangle decades of shared history and close ties — the WBD separation is a lot less complicated. Following Discovery's 2022 acquisition of WarnerMedia, all cable networks, including WarnerMedia's TNets, were put under Kathleen Finch, Chairman and CEO, U.S. Networks, in a unit that has functioned largely independently from Warner Bros TV, HBO and streamer HBO Max. It was not until Finch announced her retirement at the end of last year that the line between divisions was crossed, with Dungey taking over Finch's role and Paul adding COO for U.S. Networks to his duties of WBTVG President. There have been some joint programming initiatives since including a run of The Pitt, WBTV's drama series for Max, on TNT. It is unclear whether Dungey would get additional responsibilities as she continues in her role as Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Television Group post-split, which also is a question for Paul should he also remain in his WBTVG role as expected. Besides Dungey and Paul, there is little executive overlap between the two soon-to-be stand-alone divisions as most operations, including programming, finance, marketing and PR, have been kept separate. Suzanna Makkos, who served as head of Original Comedy & Animation at Max and Adult Swim, left in January to become head of comedy for ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals. There is no longer a hybrid comedy role across both Max and Adult Swim, a block on Cartoon Network, which will be part of the Global Networks company. Also, David Leavy, longtime close confidant to WBD Discovery David Zaslav, recently departed as COO of CNN — another Global Networks brand — to return to parent WBD. That would allow him to continue to work for Zaslav, who has been named CEO of Studios & Streaming, with WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels named CEO of Global Networks. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Where To Watch All The 'John Wick' Movies: Streamers That Have All Four Films
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Pitt' Will Make Its Linear Premiere on TNT This Fall
As expected, a second run of Max's (soon to once again be 'HBO Max's') smash freshman medical series 'The Pitt' will make its way to TNT this fall, exposing the drama to linear viewers who perhaps haven't caught it quite yet on streaming. The TNT run of 'The Pitt' is meant to serve as a bit of a snack for viewers in preparation for Season 2 of the series. Channing Dungey, chairman and CEO of the Warner Bros. Television Group and US Networks, announced the news on Wednesday during her portion of the Warner Bros. Discovery 2025 upfronts — along with the rest of her early plans for the networks, which she added to her oversight in January. More from Variety 'Dancing With Sharks' and 'Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' Among First Orders as Channing Dungey Shares Plans for Warner Bros. Discovery's U.S. Networks HBO Max Lives! Max to Change Its Name Back After Two Years Warner Bros. Discovery Ready to Offer Batman, Harry Potter, 'Friends' as Figures for Ads Dungey and her team aren't yet ready to share how they plan to roll out the 15 episodes of 'The Pitt' on TV (remember, it's produced in a real-time format like '24'), but she does say she wants to make sure it gets an 'eventized'-level launch. 'When we put Max programming on the T-nets, we want to make sure that we're telling the audience, 'this is something special, you want to tune in for this,'' she said. 'And so we want to make sure that the schedule reflects that kind of event feel, and that we can make it feel consistent. And so people will hopefully tune in, and we can build a real cadence around it.' News of 'The Pitt' on TNT isn't a complete surprise; HBO Max boss Casey Bloys referenced it recently in an interview he did with Vulture. But this is still the first time it's been officially announced that the show will indeed make its way to its linear WBD sibling. It's also not the first HBO Max show to get a run on the Turner nets, which has become a bit more common. HBO's 'True Detective: North Country' recently ran on TNT, while the first season of 'Hacks' aired on TBS. Coming up, the first season of 'Peacemaker' is also expected to run on TNT ahead of its Season 2 launch. 'Those were really good experiments for us,' Dungey said. 'We're learning a little bit about how to platform the shows, how to make them feel more like an event. These have been some very good learnings for us as we go towards The Pitt launch in Q4 this year. Doing things like that, it's great for us, and it also is helping Max as well. If it drives viewers to Max for the new season, that's a win/win.' This is a unique case where, Dungey serves as the seller of 'The Pitt' as the head of Warner Bros. TV. And now, as head of TNT, she's also the acquirer of the show's second run. The series has been a critical success, and a breakout hit for Max as it gave the streamer a 15-episode medical juggernaut. Noah Wyle, Tracey Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell and Shabana Azeez star. Each episode follows Wyle's character, Dr. Robby, during his 15-hour shift as the chief attendant in a Pittsburgh hospital emergency room. R. Scott Gemmill created the series and serves as an executive producer. Wyle is also an executive producer along with John Wells and Erin Jontow of John Wells Productions, Michael Hissrich and Simran Baidwan. Warner Bros. Television, where John Wells Productions is under an overall deal, is the studio. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Dancing With Sharks' and ‘Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' Among First Orders as Channing Dungey Shares Plans for Warner Bros. Discovery's U.S. Networks
Channing Dungey is five months into her new dual job as chairman and CEO of both the Warner Bros, TV Group and US Networks, having taken over most of the company's basic cable portfolio in January. Now, prior to WBD's upfront presentation on Wednesday, Dungey spoke to Variety about strategy for the networks and her first round of announcements — including two that harken back to her days as ABC's entertainment prexy. Among the programs revealed by Dungey at the Madison Square Garden event: Discovery's 'Dancing With Sharks' (working title) — yep, a cheeky play on the Alphabet net's 'Dancing With the Stars' and even hosted by that competition series' former emcee, Tom Bergeron. The special, which will naturally run during Shark Week, is described as an 'unprecedented underwater dance competition between expert divers and their shark partners.' More from Variety HBO Max Lives! Max to Change Its Name Back After Two Years Warner Bros. Discovery Ready to Offer Batman, Harry Potter, 'Friends' as Figures for Ads Disney's Upfront Went Hard on Sports - With an Off-Key Manning Brothers Musical - but Hardly Mentioned ABC Also in the works: HGTV's 'Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' (working title), in which former 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' contestants compete in design challenges to win a cash prize and help the 'Bachelor' estate the facelift it needs after more than 40 seasons. (As an ABC exec, Dungey programmed 'The Bachelor,' and now as studio chief, she oversees the Warner Bros. franchise.) Other series Dungey was set to announce at the WBD upfront included two new entries for Food Network: 'Family Recipe Showdown,' produced and hosted by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, and 'Guy's Flavortown Games,' a new competition show hosted by Guy Fieri, in which he builds a real 'Flavortown.' Over at Investigation Discovery, Dick Wolf's Wolf Entertainment is partnering with Vanity Fair for an untitled anthology series looking at high-profile true crime cases; plus, Jennifer Love Hewitt will narrate and exec produce 'They Know What They Did,' looking at how a murder impacted a variety of interconnected people. Dungey also announced a new OWN series, 'Heart & Hustle: Houston.' Beyond those new series, Dungey confirmed that Max hit 'The Pitt' will get a linear run on TNT this fall, before the Season 2 return of the show on the streamer. 'I have a couple of goals more broadly in terms of what we're trying to do here at the U.S. networks,' Dungey, whose remit now includes Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, TBS, TNT, TLC, Adult Swim and OWN, told Variety. 'The first is to create the next generation of culture-shaping programming within these brands, and tapping into what we do best, which is making shows that people love to talk about, and creating stars — whether they be on Food or HGTV or TLC — that audiences love to connect with. The second one is leaning into our 'One WBD' philosophy, which for me, means deepening our relationships with Max and also hopefully leveraging my position as head of Warner Bros. Television Group to do more WBTV programming on the U.S. nets. And then third, looking for ways to enhance and extend the power of our brands.' 'Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' is an example of that kind of cross-pollination: 'that is a nice collaboration between the US networks and Warner Bros. Television Group, because it's our unscripted studio that will be producing that show,' she said, noting that they previously did that with Food Network's 'Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking,' which will be coming back for another season. In expanding franchises, besides the expansion of the Fieriverse with 'Guy's Flavortown Games,' Dungey also pointed to the new TLC entry '90 Day: Hunt for Love,' the latest in a string of '90 Day Fiancé' shows. Dungey's early focus appears to be more on the lifestyle channels that continue to make waves with original fare, like HGTV, Food, ID and TLC. 'Some of those brands, like HGTV and Food, they're bigger than television,' she said. 'I would go as far to say that they're like a cornerstone of culture. A lot of our U.S. networks are a part of audiences' daily lives in so many ways, even with all of the noise about the decline of linear. Obviously that's true. Facts speak for themselves. But I do believe that our brands are going to continue to command attention and be influential, and that is part of what makes me so excited about being in this role.' Scripted, on the other hand, is still a work in progress. And that means Dungey didn't have much to report yet on TNT and TBS, other than sharing an update on the upcoming TNT scripted limited series now titled 'High Value Target,' about the interrogation of Saddam Hussein in 2003. That project, previously called 'Debriefing the President' (and based on the book of that name by former CIA officer John Nixon), marked TNT's first scripted series pickup in several years. 'Right now, we're just evaluating what the right balance of scripted and unscripted fare will be on the T-nets,' Dungey said, adding that she's asked Warner Bros. TV creative affairs president Clancy Collins White to see if there are opportunities to do the kind of shows the studio used to do for The CW (back when Warner Bros. was a co-owner), but for TNT and TBS instead. 'I think that's something that we would be very excited to figure out,' Dungey said. 'Part of the CW strategy involved very successful output deal that we had going with Netflix. Are there ways for us to do that with Max, so that Warner Bros. could produce something that would go on the T-nets and then live on Max? It's about figuring out what the type of programming is and what the budget around that programming is.' Dungey noted that Warner Bros. Discovery research showed that audiences still identify TNT with the 'We Know Drama' tagline, and TBS with 'Very Funny' — even though neither has used those slogans in several years. That could also come into play as Dungey and her team ponder more comedies on TBS and another tentpole drama for TNT. In the meantime, TNT is looking to turn its run of Max (soon to once again be 'HBO Max') hits like 'The Pitt' into primetime events. The cabler previously aired HBO's 'True Detective: Night Country,' and will run the first season of 'Peacemaker' ahead of the Season 2 launch. 'Doing things like that, it's great for us, and it also is helping Max as well,' Dungey said. 'If it drives viewers to Max for the new season, that's a win/win. As we look at developing programming, we're always thinking about what would resonate, both for the linear networks and also for Max. The more we learn about the types of programming that we do that perform well on Max, that's a real score.' Among other networks in her portfolio, Dungey also points to the importance of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim in the mix. 'We're going to continue to develop new programming there as well,' she said. ''Rick and Morty' is doing great. That's our No. 1 series. And then we just renewed 'My Adventures with Superman.' Going back to that 'One WBD' philosophy, the opportunity for us to be doing DC programming in that space is great.' Dungey said she also is looking to continue to lean into events like Puppy Bowl and Shark Week, and that doing more live events is under consideration. One thing she can't discuss is recent reports that WBD might consider spinning off its cable networks in the same way that Comcast is moving many of its linear properties to Versant. 'What I've got to do is keep my eye on the prize,' Dungey said. 'I stepped into this role, not really knowing what to expect. And what I have discovered, besides the fact that we have some of the most passionate and engaged people working at the U.S. nets, is we have incredible brands. And the reach of the programming, still, even in this environment, is very large. I look at sort of the power of these brands, the quality of the content, the strength of the team. And I still feel really bullish. I have a lot of faith in our future.' Here are the new shows Dungey announced on Wednesday: Food Network 'Guy's Flavortown Games': 'In the new competition series 'Guy's Flavortown Games' (wt), slated to premiere in early 2026 on Food Network and Max, two fearless chefs accept Guy's invitation to the epic restaurant row at the heart of Flavortown Square. Their goal: to prove they have the cooking cred to prepare a winning dish in any type of kitchen imaginable.' 'Family Recipe Showdown': 'Octavia Spencer hosts a multi-generational home cooking competition that celebrates secret family recipes and traditions—where pride is on the line and the stakes are deeply personal as duos compete for a $10,000 prize. Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, Southern cooking royalty and expert judge Edgar 'Dook' Chase is joined by guest judges and Octavia's celebrity friends, including Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Chastain, Danielle Brooks, Eric Stonestreet, Tina Knowles, Kandi Burrus, Tim Gunn, and Al Roker with his daughter Leila. Family Recipe Showdown will debut in late 2025 on Food Network and Max.' OWN 'Heart & Hustle: Houston' (wt): 'Produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, the show follows a dynamic sisterhood of successful Black women in the vibrant heart of Houston. These women are redefining what it means to be a boss, a wife and a mother, while navigating a labyrinth of unique daily challenges. The series will premiere in Summer 2025 on OWN.' Discovery 'Dancing With Sharks' (wt): 'Hosted by Tom Bergeron, 'Dancing With Shark's (wt) is a new Shark Week 2025 special that features an unprecedented underwater dance competition between expert divers and their shark partners. Blending skill, grace and the daring pursuit of the ultimate underwater thrill, five divers—all trained by a world-class underwater choreographer—will compete to show off their skills during epic underwater dances.' Investigation Discovery 'They Know What They Did': 'Narrated and executive produced by Jennifer Love Hewitt, each episode charts the journey to confront what really happened, revealing secrets and uncovering the truth. The stories unfold through first-person accounts of friends, family, locals, journalists and law enforcement. The series will premiere in Summer 2025 on ID and Max.' Vanity Fair/Dick Wolf Series: 'Vanity Fair, Dick Wolf and Wolf Entertainment are joining forces to present some of the most impactful stories with unparalleled access and exceptional reporting. Coming to ID and Max in 2026.' HGTV 'Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' (wt): 'In the new competition twist premiering in 2026 on HGTV and Max, former 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' contestants who possess expert reno skills return to the house to duke it out in various design challenges with the hope of winning a cash prize.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
