Animal Planet Media Names Whitney Holland Vice President of Program Planning and Scheduling
-- Television Veteran Brings Vision and Expertise to Animal Planet’s
Line-up --
September 16, 2008
(New York, N.Y.) Rick Holzman, senior vice president of programming and scheduling for Animal Planet Media, named television veteran Whitney Holland to the position of vice president of program planning and scheduling for Animal Planet. Based in New York and reporting to Holzman, Holland is in charge of optimizing the network's current programming lineup and steering long-term development needs.
"Whitney's experience in the industry and intuitive strategic nature are a perfect match for Animal Planet's revolutionary programming goals," notes Holzman. "Her strong track record in programming for entertainment destinations such as TLC will be critical in continuing to build the Animal Planet audience."
In her new position, Holland will work closely with the program development team to guide programming needs in the genres of natural history, pets and general entertainment to ensure the network's development and scheduling strategies work hand-in-hand to support Animal Planet's long-term strategic goals.
Before joining Animal Planet, Holland was director of scheduling for TLC in Silver Spring, Maryland. She paired her expertise as a research analyst with her strong managerial abilities to maximize network performance by scheduling and directing long-term program planning.
Prior to joining the ranks of Discovery Communications, Holland was the vice president of Nielsen Entertainment, heading up the West Coast division and working with clients such as CBS, UPN and Discovery. She came to Nielsen from Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television, where she worked as vice president in charge of research. Holland was able to rise quickly at Paramount because of her innovation in marketing Paramount shows based on Nielsen data.
Holland is originally from Phoenix, Arizona, and attended the University of Arizona, where see received a B.F.A. in Media Arts with an emphasis in television management. While in school, she worked as a programming assistant and production operator for KGUN, a local television station in Tucson.
Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 93 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.