Press release from Discovery, Jan. 16, 2019:

Discovery, Inc. today announced the promotion of veteran lifestyle programmers Loren Ruch, Betsy Ayala and Lynn Sadofsky within its HGTV and Food Network brands.

Ruch is promoted to Group SVP of Production & Development for HGTV based in New York, while Ayala is promoted to SVP of Production & Development for HGTV based in Knoxville, both reporting to network president Allison Page. Sadofsky is promoted to SVP of Production & Development for Food Network based in New York, reporting to network president Courtney White.

“Loren and Betsy are each amazing storytellers, with a knack for understanding what brings our viewers back every night of the week,” said HGTV President Allison Page. “These well-deserved promotions reflect our strategic efforts to further strengthen the brands with distinct leadership, ensuring our flagship networks continue to entertain and inspire our passionate fans.”

Food Network President Courtney White added: “As a respected and skilled leader in the industry, Lynn’s impressive career is a testament to her dedicated work ethic, attention to creative detail, and keen eye for talent. Her collaborative nature invigorates our team, which shows in the final product.”

Ruch most recently served as SVP of Programming, Partnerships and Special Projects across five Discovery lifestyle brands – HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, and Great American Country – where he has developed and overseen many of the networks’ high-profile series and pilots including My Lottery Dream Home, Property Brothers, Restored by the Fords, Boise Boys and Brother vs. Brother. He also worked on Haunted & Holiday Gingerbread Showdown for Food Network. Upcoming HGTV projects include A Very Brady Renovation, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, One of a Kind, and Unspouse My House, all highly anticipated premieres for 2019. Ruch is also the programming liaison for HGTV Magazine. With HGTV since 2008, Ruch started his career in the world of lifestyle, talk and game shows with programs such as Love Connection, Family Feud, Home & Family, Trivial Pursuit and That’s Amore and was a five-time Emmy Award winning senior producer at Good Day LA and Good Day Live.

Since joining the company in 2016, Ayala served as VP of Programming for HGTV and Food Network, managing the development and production of various series and specials for both networks, plus their flanker brands DIY Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country. Most recently, Ayala has overseen the hit series Good Bones and Mediterranean Life on HGTV and Food Network’s Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge. With more than 15 years in television and digital, she is experienced in all facets of programming from lifestyle and live daily shows to sports and docu-soaps. Ayala has worked for PTA Networks, Moxie Pictures, NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, NBC Sports and ESPN, and is credited with shows such as DIY’s Building Off the Grid, Animal Planet’s Ice Cold Gold, and FYI’s Arranged.

In Sadofsky’s previous post as VP of Programming and Development for Food Network and Cooking Channel since 2017, she worked with programmers to develop new series, manage show production and cultivate new talent. Her latest project, Buddy vs. Duff, is a long-awaited matchup of master bakers and Food Network’s first global series premiere. During her 20+ years in television, she’s worked on both the network and production sides of the business, producing a variety of series such as Wicked Tuna, Big Ideas for a Small Planet, Food Detectives, Whatever, Martha! and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, for which she received an Emmy Award and a Producers Guild Award. Additional programming credits include her work on several Peabody and Emmy award-winning HBO documentaries and Saturday Night Live.

HGTV and Food Network just completed a tremendous year in 2018, capturing the #2 and #3 cable spots for W25-54 in Total Day viewing. HGTV finished 2018 as a top-3 Primetime network among W25-54 and a top-10 Primetime network among A25-54, while Food Network closed out the year with Primetime ratings +4% for A25-54, +7% for W25-54 and +6% for Millennials.