Former Food Network president Courtney White has teamed with media company Wheelhouse to create a new company focused on food, home and lifestyle content.

The Butternut joint venture will create original content for all platforms, said the company. As Butternut president, White will collaborate with Wheelhouse and its various divisions, including Wheelhouse Entertainment, marketing arm Wheelhouse Labs, digital division Wheelhouse DNA, and investment arm Wheelhouse 360. Wheelhouse was founded in 2017 by Brent Montgomery and Jimmy Kimmel.

Prior to Butternut, White served as president of Food Network, as well as general manager of HGTV and Food Network. 

Also: Wonder Women of New York 2022: Courtney White

“The single, common element across all successful lifestyle content is passion – talent must project it, creators must harness it, audiences must feel it,” said White in a statement. “Personal passion for the lifestyle genre has been the essential factor in my own career trajectory and will be a fundamental tenet for Butternut as we work to create signature content born out of our vast enthusiasm for, and as, makers. Partnering with Brent and the Wheelhouse team supercharges our mission; Brent’s signature energy and infectious excitement for bold innovation in media and beyond will empower Butternut to fully realize its ambitions to deliver the genre’s very best to audiences and partners.”

Added Wheelhouse CEO Montgomery: “It’s thrilling to spot industry leaders at the top of their game and partner up to support them further as visionaries and entrepreneurs. There are very few in our business who know the lifestyle arena as well as Courtney, and who are trusted more by talent. We see Butternut not only as our lifestyle stronghold in content, but in other potential businesses, from culinary to consumer products. This is an inspiring collaboration and we’re looking forward to rolling up our sleeves to support Courtney and her creative and business goals.” ■ 

Wheelhouse Entertainment said it has agreed to purchase a majority interest in Den of Thieves, the live-event, scripted and non-scripted production company responsible for producing MTV’s Video Music Awards and E!’s People Choice Awards.

Den of Thieves was founded by Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager, and is known for producing the VMAs for 13 consecutive years and the upcoming People's Choice Awards (Nov. 10) for the second straight year. Other company productions include the "Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour” concert special for Netflix, the iHeartRadio Music Awards for Turner Broadcasting, the Radio Disney Music Awards on Disney Channel, The Gong Show on ABC, the Peabody Awards, and Ken Jeong’s Netflix Special “You Complete Me, Ho.”

The deal is expected to bolster both companies’ programming slates -- including on the live-event, concert and awards, and experiential marketing fronts – and via multi-platform original series and features, both scripted and unscripted. They will also pursue a range of content and media deals with talent across entertainment, sports and culture.

“What Jesse and Evan have accomplished is beyond extraordinary,” Wheelhouse CEO Brent Montgomery said in a press release. “...At a time of so much disruption in our industry, uniting with Den of Thieves not only allows us to scale instantly across the content and event landscape, it also offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with key brands, something we believe will be an integral force in media going forward. ”

The deal was brokered by Ed Simpson, chief strategy officer at Wheelhouse Group, and Evolution Media Capital.