Wonya Lucas to Join TV One as President and CEO
Wonya Lucas has been named President and CEO of TV One, effective Monday, August 8. The cable industry programming veteran succeeds Johnathan Rodgers, who has announced his retirement as of July 31.
Most recently, Lucas was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Discovery Channel and Science Channel, where she was responsible for strategy and operations for the networks as well as oversight of the networks' research and marketing departments. She joined Discovery Communications in 2008 as the Chief Marketing Officer.
Prior to joining Discovery, Lucas served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of The Weather Channel Networks, where she was responsible for corporate strategy and development, strategic marketing for The Weather Channel and weather.com, and operations and programming for The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel HD, Weatherscan, The Weather Channel Radio Network, and newspaper syndication.
"Wonya Lucas is the perfect choice to help us build on the terrific success we have achieved at TV One over the past seven years," said TV One Chairman and Radio One President and CEO Alfred Liggins. "Her successful career as a top-level, mainstream cable programming executive will be invaluable to us as we continue to grow the network and the company. Her expertise in marketing some of the best brands in television will also be a tremendous plus as we continue to define and strengthen TV One's brand in a constantly evolving media marketplace."
"It's an incredible opportunity to lead TV One, which in just a few years has become such a success story," said Lucas. "I am also personally passionate about TV One's mission to provide high quality entertainment and information to the African American audience that authentically reflects our lives, history and culture.
Most recently, Lucas was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Discovery Channel and Science Channel, where she was responsible for strategy and operations for the networks as well as oversight of the networks' research and marketing departments. She joined Discovery Communications in 2008 as the Chief Marketing Officer.
Prior to joining Discovery, Lucas served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of The Weather Channel Networks, where she was responsible for corporate strategy and development, strategic marketing for The Weather Channel and weather.com, and operations and programming for The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel HD, Weatherscan, The Weather Channel Radio Network, and newspaper syndication.
"Wonya Lucas is the perfect choice to help us build on the terrific success we have achieved at TV One over the past seven years," said TV One Chairman and Radio One President and CEO Alfred Liggins. "Her successful career as a top-level, mainstream cable programming executive will be invaluable to us as we continue to grow the network and the company. Her expertise in marketing some of the best brands in television will also be a tremendous plus as we continue to define and strengthen TV One's brand in a constantly evolving media marketplace."
"It's an incredible opportunity to lead TV One, which in just a few years has become such a success story," said Lucas. "I am also personally passionate about TV One's mission to provide high quality entertainment and information to the African American audience that authentically reflects our lives, history and culture.
"Through the leadership of Johnathan Rodgers, TV One is well positioned for the future and has tremendous growth potential. I look forward to working with Alfred Liggins, Cathy Hughes, and the TV One staff, as well as /Comcast and NBCU to chart the network on a path to achieve even greater success in the years ahead," Lucas added.
Before joining The Weather Channel in 2002 as Executive Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Lucas held several positions at Turner Broadcasting System, including Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing for CNN Domestic Networks and Vice President of Business Operations and Network Strategy for Turner Broadcasting's General Entertainment Networks, including TNT, TBS and TCM. Additional experience includes brand management for The Coca-Cola Company and The Clorox Company. She began her career as an engineer for Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
In 2010, Lucas was named among the "75 Most Powerful Women in Business" by Black Enterprise magazine, one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Cable" by CableFAX magazine and among "The Most Influential Minorities in Cable" by CableFAX. She received similar recognition by CableFAX in 2009, and has been honored as a "Woman To Watch" by Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT), received a Brand Builders Award at the 2006 Promax & BDA Conference, recognized as a "Woman To Watch" at the 2005 Multichannel News Wonder Women Awards, and received the Inspiration Award for "Woman of the Year" at the WICT-Atlanta's 2007 Red Letter Awards. Lucas has served on the Board of Directors of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, and she was the co-chairperson for the 2007 CTAM Summit. She also has served as a board member for WICT, Inc and is a graduate of the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute.
Ms. Lucas is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing.
Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvoneonline.com) serves nearly 53 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies, and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult African American viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves more than 10.3 million households. TV One is a joint venture owned by Radio One (NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com), the largest radio company that primarily targets African American and urban listeners; and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK; www.comcast.com), one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services.
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