TV Guide is taking major steps to adapt to the interactive age, and Lucy Hood is at the helm of one of those efforts.

As senior vice president and general manager of the new TV Guide Sneak Prevue Channel, Hood will oversee a cable channel that reaches 34 million subscribers nationwide.

The original Sneak Prevue Channel presented a listing of current shows across the cable TV dial, and also ran previews of pay-per-view films. After gearing up for more than two years for the acquisition, United Video, a division of Tele-Communications Inc., acquired TV Guide Inc. from News Corp. which now owns a 40 percent stake in United Video.

Hood has been installed as chief of the L.A.-based operation. “My primary focus is on programming and on-air approach, which is our design segments,” she said. “I will also oversee branding the network. Our mission is to be the ultimate guide to cable viewing in-home.”

Hood says the network is a “unique mix of entertainment programming and information, while maintaining its power as a pay-per-view promotional tool.”

The network will look a little different in the coming months as Hood oversees the shift to more content, such as clips from films, interviews with celebrities, and special events. “We will be adding a celebrity mix to our coverage, and we’re looking at innovative, fun, short-form program concepts,” Hood said.

Hood will report to TV Guide Inc.’s new chairman, Joe Kiener, whose appointment was announced last week after the departure of Anthea Disney.

Hood was most recently senior vice president of entertainment publishing at Harper Collins. Before that, she launched the Web sites for Major League Baseball, Fox Studios and “The X-Files” while she was senior vice president of News Corp’s online ventures. She started her career in New York as a production assistant for Nickelodeon.

Jolie Gorchov