TV One’s Pinkney Resigns

Programming VP Departs After Two-Year Stint

By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 6/30/2008 4:59:00 PM

TV One Monday announced the resignation of its vice president of programming and production Rose Catherine Pinkney who spent the past two-and-a-half years overseeing the African-American targeted network’s programming fortunes.

Pinkney, who joined TV One in January 2006, is leaving the 43 million-subscriber network to “pursue other business interests,” network officials said.

While at TV One, Pinkney spearheaded the network’s move into original entertainment programming, bringing to the network such shows as Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes?,Baisden After Darkand David E. Talbert Presents Stageblack.

But the network has yet to develop a breakout, ratings-strong original series hit.

Prior to joining TV One, Pinkney was senior vice president of comedy development at Paramount Network Television, where over most of the past decade she developed more than 30 series for six networks, including the UPN and CW series Girlfriends.

She also served as vice president and head of television for Upton Entertainment, where she oversaw the creation of New York Undercover, which now airs on TV One.

Jeff Meier, TV One’s senior vice president of programming strategy and acquisitions, has been named acting head of programming and production.

“Rose Catherine has worked tirelessly on behalf of TV One for the past 2 ½ years, and we thank her for her contributions to the network in a critical phase of its growth,” Johnathan Rodgers, TV One’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Said Pinkney in a statement: “Working at TV One has been a labor of love for me, and I leave with mixed feelings. I am proud of what my team and I have accomplished over the past two years and confident that the groundwork we have laid will help make TV One an even bigger success in the years to come. Yet, on a personal basis, I am very much looking forward to moving back to the West Coast.”