DHX hires Turner vet for programming post

DHX Television has hired Turner veteran Gary Finnegan as vice president of programming strategy.

Finnegan, who will be based in Toronto, will be a key member of the DHX senior management team and provide direction and guidance on the creation and acquisition of content.

He will report to Joe Tedesco, senior vice president and general manager at DHX.

Finnegan joins DHX from Turner International, where he held various senior supervisory roles in programming, scheduling, acquisitions and content development across Turner’s EMEA and Asia kids’ business.

In his most recent role he oversaw content strategy for Turner Asia Pacific’s portfolio of pan-regional kids’ channels, including Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami and POGO.

“With many years of experience in the entertainment industry, Gary brings extensive knowledge and expertise of family entertainment to the television team,” said Tedesco.

“DHX Television is fortunate to add Gary’s vision and leadership to its existing projects as well as to its future endeavours.”

The news comes as DHX Media faces financial woes, which may lead to a company sale or merger in the near future.

DHX owns the Teletubbies, Inspector Gadget, Degrassi, Caillou and In the Night Garden brands.