Animal Planet Tuesday named Whitney Holland as its new vice president of program planning and scheduling.
Holland, who will be based in New York and report to Rick Holzman, senior vice president of programming and scheduling for Animal Planet Media, will be responsible for the network’s current programming lineup and for steering long-term development needs.
“Whitney’s experience in the industry and intuitive strategic nature are a perfect match for Animal Planet’s revolutionary programming goals,” Holzman said in a statement. “Her strong track record in programming for entertainment destinations such as TLC will be critical in continuing to build the Animal Planet audience.”
In her new position, Holland will work closely with the program development team to guide programming needs in the genres of natural history, pets and general entertainment to ensure the network’s development and scheduling strategies work hand-in-hand to support Animal Planet’s long-term strategic goals.
Before joining Animal Planet, she was director of scheduling for TLC in Silver Spring, Md.
Prior to joining the ranks of Discovery Communications, Holland was the vice president of Nielsen Entertainment, heading up the West Coast division and working with clients such as CBS, UPN and Discovery. She came to Nielsen from Paramount Pictures Worldwide Television, where she worked as vice president in charge of research.
