Bonnie Hammer

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Bonnie Hammer was President of the U.S. cable channel SCI FI since 2001 and has been the president of USA Network since 2004 (both networks are owned by NBC Universal). She joined USA as a programming executive in 1989 and has held a number of positions at both companies since then.

On Wednesday, January 16, 2008, Hammer stepped down as president of SCI FI. David Howe, who started his career as a BBC executive, and formerly SCI FI's General Manager, is the new president of the channel. In 2001, Howe started at SCI FI as executive vice president of marketing and brand strategy. He was promoted to General Manager in 2004. [1]

Hammer first established herself professionally in New York as a programming executive at Lifetime Television, where she oversaw production of an award-winning series of documentaries. She is generally considered to be a successful executive by the business world but is reviled by large segments of the science fiction fan community, who cite the fact that wrestling airs weekly [2] on a channel supposedly devoted to the science fiction genre and the channel, with its B-movies on Saturdays, ignores sci-fi classics in favor of programming that appeals to the lowest common denominator of the viewing public. She has never stated whether she is a fan of science fiction or not.

She is a 1971 graduate of Boston University College of Communication; she also earned a master's degree in Media Technology from the University's School of Education in 1975. She launched her career in television at WGBH, the public television station in Boston, where she produced the critically-acclaimed series This Old House and ZOOM. She later executive-produced Good Day! for Boston's ABC affiliate, WCVB.

Hammer is a published author and an accomplished photographer.