Ken Lowe was elected chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. in 2008. Previously he was president and chief executive officer of The E.W. Scripps Company from October 2000 to June 2008 after being named president and chief executive officer and a director in January 2000.
Prior to rejoining the corporate office in Cincinnati, Lowe was chairman and CEO of Knoxville-based Scripps Networks. He built the company’s Scripps Networks division into one of the nation’s fastest growing and most successful creators of unique brands for television and the Internet. He founded and launched HGTV in 1994; oversaw the acquisition and transformation of the Food Network into an American pop culture icon; presided over the launches of the DIY Network in 1999 and the Fine Living Network in 2002, and the acquisition of the Great American Country (GAC) television network in 2004. Lowe also laid the groundwork for and guided the development of the company’s leading interactive food and shelter category businesses and oversaw the acquisitions in 2005 and 2006 of leading online comparison shopping services Shopzilla and uSwitch.
Lowe joined Scripps in 1980 as general manager of the company's radio properties. In 1988, he became vice president of programming, promotion and marketing for the company's nine network-affiliated television stations.
Lowe began his career in radio with Southern Broadcasting in 1969 and continued with various management positions in radio and television with Harte-Hanks Broadcasting in the late 1970s. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in radio, television and motion pictures - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Lowe serves on the boards of directors of the Associated Press, the Paley Center for Media, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation and the Cincinnati Business Committee. He also serves on the executive committee of the Commercial Club and is vice-chair of the executive committee and member of the Cincinnati Museum Center board of trustees.
In February 2009, The Paley Center for Media honored Lowe for his pioneering work in lifestyle entertainment in the food and shelter categories through the creation of HGTV and Scripps Networks. Lowe was the recipient of the NCTA’s coveted Vanguard Award in 2008 honoring his career as an innovative television programmer. He was inducted in 2007 into the North Carolina Broadcasting Hall of Fame; in February 2007, was the recipient of the 2007 Broadcasters Foundation of America Golden Mike Award; in October 2005, was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame; in January 2004, was among the first Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award winners presented by the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE); in August 2002, was honored with one of Pi Kappa Alpha’s highest alumni honors – induction into the Order of West Range.
