Shannon O'Neill Headshot - P 2014
Courtesy of Travel ChannelTravel Channel has promoted Shannon O’Neill to president of the network.
The news comes after the executive spent three years serving as the network’s senior vp and chief financial officer. In his new role, O’Neill will be charged with continuing the network’s ongoing transformation into a lifestyle media brand.
O’Neill will report to Burton Jablin, president of the company’s Scripps Networks operating division. He will begin at his new post immediately. O’Neill replaces Laureen Ong, who exited as president of the Travel Channel in October.
“Shannon is an outstanding leader and strategic thinker with extensive experience creating new media businesses, building audiences and growing revenues,” Jablin said. “His mission as president of Travel Channel will be to deliver programming that embraces and celebrates travel as a video content category, while increasing the network’s audience profile of upscale, educated and highly valued viewers.”
In his role as senior vp and CFO, O’Neill led strategic planning and core financial reporting while providing analysis and insight into Travel Channel’s overall performance. He has also led Travel Channel’s digital strategy and operations.
Before joining Travel Channel, O’Neill was senior vp and GM at Golf Channel’s digital media business, where he saw the network’s digital revenues grow tenfold. He also has served as senior vp emerging networks for Comcast’s programming group, where he was responsible for developing and launching new media businesses including that of FEARnet, the first multiplatform horror genre network. (FEARnet is a partnership with Sony and Lionsgate.)
“Our mission at Travel Channel is to build a team of engaging, expert hosts who accompany our viewers on amazing journeys, adventures and experiences,” O’Neill said. “We’re harnessing and building on travel’s power as a transformative force in our lives and its value as a growing consumer lifestyle category. With our focus on quality, original programming we celebrate the fundamental need human beings have to connect with other people, places and cultures.”
Travel Channel — which reaches more than 96 million U.S. homes, is one of three fully distributed TV networks owned by Scripps Networks Interactive. It focuses on developing lifestyle programming for TV, Internet and mobile platforms.
