A+E Networks names Sharon Scott as President of Factual Division

A+E Networks has elevated Sharon Scott to President of A+E Networks’ Factual Division, where she will oversee the global media company’s expanding full-service nonfiction content creation unit, comprising Category 6 Media and Six West Media. Paul Buccieri, President & Chairman of A+E Networks Group, made the announcement. In addition, Steve Ascher, who previously served as Executive Vice President of Six West Media, has been elevated to oversee development for the entire Factual Division, reporting to Scott.

“Sharon is a well-respected executive with a proven track record of driving the creation of best-in-class factual programming across an expansive range of genres,” said Buccieri. “The Factual Division has been critical to A+E Networks’ continued growth as a leader in nonfiction storytelling, and I am confident in Sharon’s ability to drive its success into the future through the creation of quality, groundbreaking programming.”

A+E’s Factual Division has produced quality original programming under the Category 6 Media and Six West Media banners since its inception in 2017, including original nonfiction series and specials for A+E Networks’ portfolio of platforms, including A&E, The History Channel, and Lifetime, as well as a growing slate of external partners including Disney+, Discovery, HBO Max and PBS, among others. The unit has produced and developed programming in many genres, including crime, history, lifestyle, paranormal, competition, adventure/expedition, docu-series, and feature documentaries.

Projects produced by the A+E Factual Division to-date include the upcoming History Channel series “The American Presidency” with President Bill Clinton, the Lifetime special “Women Making History” featuring Vice President Kamala Harris, the reboot of A&E’s classic series “Cold Case Files,” and the three-part crime event, “Doomsday: The Missing Children,” for ID. Scott joined A+E Networks in 2020, serving as Executive Vice President of Category 6 Media, which along with Six West Media, make up the Factual Divison. In her role, Scott had oversight of all program development and production for internal and external buyers for Category 6 Media. Before joining A+E, she spent 27 years at NBCUniversal, where she focused on nonfiction programming. Scott was President and General Manager of Peacock Productions, a division of NBC News specializing in unscripted programming, for 11 years. Under Sharon’s direction, Peacock Productions produced multiple series and specials across NBCUniversal’s platforms and partnered with outside clients and global partners.

Before founding Peacock Productions, she was Executive Producer and General Manager of NBC News Productions and NBC Media Productions. She was a member of the executive team at “Dateline” for ten years and “Now, with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric” for the Magazine show’s duration. Scott’s honors include several national news Emmy awards in addition to a George Foster Peabody award, an Alfred I. duPont Award, and an Edward R. Murrow award for coverage of Hurricane Andrew.