With David Zaslav moving into the Above It All section this year, Finch becomes our highest-ranked WBD exec. She’s been a star at the company with her portfolio growing year after year. It now features nearly 20 networks, which accounted for 20 of the top 25 highest-rated freshman series, such as TLC’s “90 Day: The Last Resort” and HGTV’s “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.” Long a darling of lifestyle programming, Finch’s purview expanded in recent years to include brands such as TNT, which grew ratings by 15% among 25-54s thanks to NBA, NHL and All Elite Wrestling. She has pledged to keep the momentum going in 2024 with thousands of hours of scripted and unscripted content, including adult animation, in development and production.
Was Charter’s Disney deal precedent setting? It absolutely was. Coming together to formulate new ways to partner is what this industry needs if we’re going to continue satisfying our customers. The old rules don’t work anymore; we need to get creative, which Disney and Charter did.
What’s your position on Stanley cups (not the NHL kind)? The only Stanley Cup I care about is the NHL kind – especially when it’s on TNT.
Favorite way to de-stress? Very long weekend walks with my husband, friends and our collective dogs. Moody winter treks on the empty beach are my absolute favorite.
Fast food guilty pleasure: Salty, greasy french fries. Don’t tell my Food Network colleagues.