Addition of Kuharsky to New Business Development Group Will Accelerate Scripps Networks' Opportunities

Addition of Kuharsky to New Business Development Group Will Accelerate Scripps Networks' Opportunities

Marketing veteran will focus on licensing, merchandising and other key areas of company's brand extensions

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With the successful execution of several acquisitions, merchandising partnerships and licensing deals over the last 12 months, Scripps Networks is making a move to further accelerate the company's new business opportunities. Sergei Kuharsky, a marketing veteran who joined Scripps' Food Network early in 2007, has been named general manager, Scripps Networks Enterprises.

In his new position, Kuharsky will report to Ron Feinbaum, executive vice president of New Business Development, while working closely with each of Scripps Networks' lifestyle brand executives to expand the company's initiatives in licensing, merchandising and publishing (books, DVDs, magazines and video games).

Scripps Networks is the leader in lifestyle media, comprised of the most popular lifestyle brands in television - HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living Network and country music network Great American Country. In addition, the company is the top-ranked content provider on the Internet in both the home and food categories. In the last year, Scripps Networks strengthened its grip on the home, food and lifestyle categories with a number of new business initiatives. The company acquired RecipeZaar.com, a leading user-generated recipe site, and bolstered its interactive functionality with the purchase of Incando, better known as Pickle.com. Most recently, Scripps Networks launched an online real estate business, FrontDoor.com. On the retail front, the merchandising partnership between Food Network and Kohl's Stores also is ahead of plan, while HGTV has partnered with the National Home Furnishings Association to introduce a branded marketing and consumer education program to that industry.

"We have some momentum, fueled by the continuing growth of our television networks and websites, and this move will only accelerate our opportunities," said John Lansing, president of Scripps Networks. "Sergei has demonstrated great leadership at Food Network over the last year, overseeing the brand's merchandising partnership with Kohl's and exploring several other opportunities that are on the horizon. This move will allow Sergei to apply his expertise across the home, food and lifestyle categories, putting all of our brands into the deal flow."

Before joining Scripps Networks, Kuharsky served as executive vice president in charge of sales and marketing for In Demand Networks, the cable industry's largest provider of video-on-demand and high definition TV entertainment. There, Kuharsky led many successful initiatives including INHD, a suite of linear high definition networks, Howard Stern On Demand and the Emmy Award winning Nascar In-Car, cable's first exclusive, interactive subscription sports package.

"With the heightened emphasis and improved organizational structure that accompany Sergei's move to the New Business Group, we are even better equipped to recognize more opportunities earlier and to negotiate from a position of strength," said Feinbaum. "The result, I believe, will be the creation of a significant new revenue stream for the company."

About Scripps Networks

Scripps Networks is comprised of the lifestyle television brands HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living Network and country music network Great American Country (GAC). Scripps is the dominant media and marketing company in the home, food and lifestyle categories, developing content for television and the Internet, where on-air programming is complemented with an array of broadband video, social media areas and e-commerce components on companion Web sites that attract more than 18 million unique visitors each month.

In addition, Scripps Networks has launched HGTV and Food Network in high definition and is aggressively developing its emerging media platforms for broadband and video on demand. Scripps Networks also acquired popular recipe Web site Recipezaar.com and Incando Corp. in order to deepen its user- generated content capabilities. Scripps Networks' brands collectively are available in more than 175 countries and territories on all seven continents. They also are distributed to more than 1,000 outlets on U.S. military bases and U.S. embassies around the world via the American Forces Radio and Television Service.

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Nashville and San Francisco, Scripps Networks is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, national television networks and interactive media. Scripps operates daily and community newspapers in 15 markets, 10 broadcast TV stations, Scripps Howard News Service, United Media, Shopzilla.com and USwitch.

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Source: Scripps Networks

CONTACT: Lee Hall of Scripps Networks, +1-865-560-3853,
lhall@scrippsnetworks.com

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