• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 27, 2008

Scripps' HGTV has tapped an executive from the network's digital operations to shift into the top programming post. Freddy James becomes senior vice president, program development and production.

James had served as the site director for HGTV.com--a post to be filled by Jillian St. Charles, who played the same role for FineLiving.com, the site affiliated with the Scripps network by the same name. Scripps said James will work with HGTV president Jim Samples to craft a strategy and develop a pipeline in the programming area. During his 12 years at Scripps, he previously held a position heading programming at the DIY Network.

Samples said James has an "understanding of the HGTV brand and the network's relationship with our loyal viewers." James' roots at Scripps include producing programming such as Christmas and Tournament of Roses specials.

Along with Food Network, HGTV serves as a flagship among Scripps' linear TV portfolio and has a distribution in more than 90 million homes.