NEW YORK (AP) – Stepping away from the stage after outlining TLC’s future plans one recent morning, Marjorie Kaplan used the phrase “freak show” before anyone else could. It’s an image the network chief wants TLC to stay away from.
Yes, Honey Boo Boo is in the rear view mirror. The Gosselin children still appear occasionally, but there’s no more divorce drama with Jon and Kate. TLC’s latest star, Whitney Thore of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” is someone to root for.
The network’s shows fit broadly under an umbrella of family, style and life milestones, and Kaplan’s presentation exuded calmness and warmth.
“It’s kind of a relief to go back to something with a sense of purpose,” Kaplan, a veteran Discovery Communications executive who also oversees Animal Planet, said in a later interview. “The further the brand went from being The Learning Channel, the harder it got for people to see the purpose.”
Brands are important to Kaplan, who found it frustrating that while studies showed people tended to like TLC’s programs, they had no sense of what TLC stood for.