Country Radio Broadcasters Inc. (CRB) announced that Ken Lowe, CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI). That may seem strange, since SNI owns not a single radio station, but Lowe explains the connection.
“It’s no coincidence that a lot of folks who had a hand in the development of cable networks came out of radio,” says Lowe. “They had a better understanding of a more niche type of programming. Radio was truly that, whereas in [TV] broadcasting, so much of a local station’s content came from the network. Radio folks tended to be more hands-on and more promotion and marketing driven.”
Lowe comes from a radio background. He joined the E.W. Scripps Company in 1980 as General Manager of the radio properties it then owned. In 1988 he became vice president of programming, promotion and marketing for the company’s nine network-affiliated television stations. He founded and launched HGTV in 1994; oversaw the acquisition and transformation of the Food Network; presided over the launches of DIY Network in 1999, Fine Living Network in 2002 and Cooking Channel in 2009; and the acquisitions of GAC in 2004 and the Travel Channel in 2009. Lowe previously served as president and CEO of The E. W. Scripps Company from October 2000 to June 2008.
“Ken Lowe brings an amazing perspective on the innovation, leadership, product development, marketing, risk taking, and accountability it takes to build great companies in today’s new media marketplace,” said CRB Executive Director Bill Mayne,
The keynote Wednesday, March 2, 2011 will kick off the three-day Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.
