20th TV Elevates Stephen Brown to EVP, Programming and Development

20th Century Fox Television's Stephen Brown has been promoted, effective today.

The executive, who joined the studio in 2005, will now serve as EVP of programming and development. He'll continue to oversee Fox's first-run slate.

"Stephen has not only successfully developed The Ricki Lake Show and Dish Nation for fall 2012, but his forward thinking ideas are making an impact across the industry," said president Greg Meidel. "He has executed a robust social media campaign simultaneously generating buzz and reintroducing Ricki Lake to daytime audiences. Meanwhile, Dish Nation, featuring the country’s top morning radio personalities, is positioned to reinvent the nightly strip by bringing laughs to the entertainment news genre.”

The Ricki Lake Show, a homecoming for the daytime veteran, gets its syndicated debut on Sept. 10 -- the same day as new efforts from Katie Couric and Jeff Probst.

Brown, who previously served as SVP of the department, has overseen the launch of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? and continued production of syndicated veterans Judge Alex and Divorce Court.