A Conversation with Ken Lowe, Chairman, President and CEO, Scripps Networks Interactive

Ken Lowe, Chairman, President and CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive, discussed how he built the company into one of the world’s fastest growing and most successful creators of unique brands for television and the Internet. Lowe talked about how he turned Home & Garden Television (HGTV) into the United States’ third most-watched cable network in 2016. He also discussed why Scripps channels -- HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel -- appeal to their audiences, how they are reaching out to new and younger audiences, and how they are expanding internationally in places such as Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, the Middle East, North Africa and Poland.



Ken Lowe
Chairman, President and CEO, Scripps Networks Interactive


Ken Lowe is Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive, a leading global lifestyle media provider for television, the internet and other media platforms. Previously, he was President and CEO of The E.W. Scripps Company from 2000 until 2008, when Scripps Networks Interactive became a separate, publicly traded company.

Prior to 2000, Lowe was Chairman and CEO of Knoxville-based Scripps Networks. He built the company into one of the world's fastest growing and most successful creators of unique brands for television and the Internet. He founded and launched HGTV in 1994; oversaw the acquisition and transformation of the Food Network into an American pop culture icon; presided over the launches of the DIY Network and the Cooking Channel as well as the acquisitions of the Travel Channel in 2009 and Great American Country television network in 2004. Since 2009, he has directed the company’s rapid expansion as a global media company, including the 2015 acquisition of Poland’s premier multi-platform and multi-channel media company, TVN. Lowe also guided the development of the company’s growing portfolio of interactive content services in the food and home lifestyle categories. The company’s media businesses now collectively engage more than 190 million consumers worldwide each month.

Lowe joined the E.W. Scripps Company in 1980 as General Manager of the company's radio properties. He began his career in radio with Southern Broadcasting in 1969 and continued with various management positions in radio and television with Harte-Hanks Broadcasting in the late 1970s.

Lowe serves on the Board of Directors for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, The Paley Center for Media and The Cable Center.

Lowe received a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio, television and motion pictures from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Moderated By:
David Westin
Anchor, Bloomberg Daybreak

David Westin anchors Bloomberg Television’s morning program, Bloomberg Daybreak, airing weekdays from 7-10 am ET. Westin provides viewers with what they need to know, together with facts and perspectives they can’t get anywhere else. Each day, Westin draws upon the vast resources of Bloomberg—news, intelligence, data, analytics, reporters, experts, influences, and decision-makers—from every corner of the globe in the goal of making smart people smarter.

Westin was president of ABC News from 1997 through 2010. He oversaw the network's global coverage including the 2008 economic crisis, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath.

Before taking the helm at ABC News, Westin was President of the ABC Television Network and General Counsel of the parent company, Capital Cities/ABC. He was a partner and associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington and, immediately after law school, clerked for J. Edward Lumbard on the Second Circuit and for Lewis F. Powell on the Supreme Court. He serves on the boards of the Newseum, Save the Children, and the City University of New York Journalism School.

During Westin’s tenure at ABC News, the organization earned 11 George Foster Peabody Awards, 13 Alfred I. DuPont Awards, four George Polk Awards, more than 40 News & Documentary Emmys and more than 40 Edward R. Murrow Awards. He is the author of Exit interview, which was published in 2012 and tells the story of what went on behind the scenes at ABC News in covering the biggest global news events.

Westin graduated from the University of Michigan with a Philosophy degree with honors and distinction. He went on to earn a JD degree summa cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.

This event is exclusive to Media Council members and other invited guests. To find out more about Media Council membership, contact mediacouncil@paleycenter.org.