Jane Latman serves as president, HGTV & Streaming Home Content for Discovery, Inc. In addition to establishing an overall strategy for the top 10 cable network, she leads activities related to programming, content development, marketing, public relations, digital, creative, and operations. Since joining HGTV in 2019, Latman helped develop a content strategy that delivers more buzzworthy tentpole series as well as an expanded roster of franchises and fan favorites. Blockbuster hits like Home Town Takeover, Celebrity IOU, Rock the Block, No Demo Reno, 100 Day Dream Home, Bargain Block, Unsellable Houses, Fixer to Fabulous and Windy City Rehab are just a few of the newest series that help HGTV maintain its position as the #1 network among ad-supported cable in Total Day with W25-54.
In 2021, four of the Top 10 highest-rated W25-54 unscripted freshman series in all of cable — and 15 of the Top 30 — were HGTV series. Home Town Takeover, No Demo Reno, Farmhouse Fixer, Bargain Block, Battle on the Beach, Self-Made Mansions, Home Again with the Fords, Ty Breaker, Inside Out, Everything but the House, $50K Three Ways, Happily Wherever, Houses with History and Cheap Old Houses were among those on the lists.
Prior to leading HGTV, Latman held tandem roles as general manager, Travel Channel, and executive vice president of development and research for Investigation Discovery and American Heroes Channel. She played a pivotal role in driving ID’s meteoric rise from the #50 network a decade ago to the #1 network for W25-54 in total day and #1 in cable in length of tune for seven years running.
Latman has worked in nonfiction television for more than 20 years and has been with Discovery since 2003, when she joined the programming department for what was then the Discovery Times Channel. After a stint in development for the Military Channel, Latman was tapped to help transition Discovery Times to Investigation Discovery, giving her the challenging privilege of designing content for the
network that would ultimately drive its astounding growth. Many of her series have become the network’s top hits, including Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda, On the Case with Paula Zahn, A Crime to Remember, the American Murder Mystery franchise, Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen, Vanity Fair Confidential, Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall, Disappeared and In Pursuit with John Walsh. Latman also developed the critically acclaimed documentary film Into the Abyss and subsequent television series On Death Row with legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog.
Prior to joining Discovery, Latman was a freelance producer, director, and writer for projects that included the award-winning series Nurses for Discovery Health Channel and Understanding Obesity for The Learning Channel’s acclaimed Understanding… series. She also did development work for a variety of ventures including the PBS miniseries Stealing Time: The Science of Aging.
During her childhood, Jane was introduced to the world of planning and designing houses when her Mom, a now-retired architect, took her along to open houses on weekends. Before launching her television career, Jane was a freelance theater director in Washington, D.C., specializing in the development of new plays.