Many producers involuntarily flinch when they learn a senior executive at a broadcaster is moving on, and Nick Catliff, managing director of London-based prodco Lion Television, may be able to explain why. He compares the ensuing unease in the production industry to living "under the court of Louis the XV." When a new channel head takes the throne, Catliff says producers are left to wonder 'Who's up, who's down? Am I in, am I out? Is this good news or bad news for me?'

Why are they so concerned? How much, after all, can one top-level exec affect a channel and its tone? What are those X-factor qualities that make one exec stand out from the last - or next - person filling their shoes? And, perhaps most critical for those who deliver programming to these channels, how can producers adapt to the never-ending game of executive musical chairs?

It's important to acknowledge the seismic change an incoming exec can create. Think back to 2004, when Jane Root moved from controller of BBC2 to EVP and GM of Discovery Channel. At that time, Root recalls, there was a sense that the abundance of car- and motorcycle-focused programming in the schedule was starting to be viewed negatively by advertisers. The audience, she furthers, also perceived Discovery's brand to be narrowing. Root's reaction? Steer Discovery away from those kinds of shows since, as she says, "They weren't right for that brand at that time."

Root helped lead Discovery towards series like Deadliest Catch and Planet Earth, and the channel achieved double-digit ratings gains in 2007. There was also a drop in prime median age from 41 to 37 between last November and the year before. Root, who recently left the channel to return to the uk to pursue other media opportunities, recognizes the positive in situations "where you hand the baton on and [a brand takes on] a slightly different flavor and mood."

Taking the baton at Discovery Channel is John Ford, who was announced as the new president and gm in November. In helping to set the tone of the channel, Ford emphasizes the importance of surrounding himself with a strong team and giving them "authority, responsibility and accountability." He dismisses the notion that Discovery revolves around the head of the channel: "I think rather the opposite," he says. "I'm not the best violin player, I'm not the best tuba player, I probably can't play the bassoon or the oboe, but I do know that we should have an orchestra that should have a wood section, a string section and a brass section, and we all have to be playing the same tune."

But leading a broadcaster entails much more than assembling the right team - it also takes individual vision. Eric Schotz, president and CEO of Encino-based LMNO Productions, has produced several shows for Ford, during both Ford's time at National Geographic Channel (where he was EVP of programming) and while he was with Discovery Health. "[Ford] knows what he's looking for," says Schotz. "He's come in saying: 'I want this, I want this. This is the direction I'm headed.'"