Discovery Communications has re-aligned the leadership for its portfolio of U.S. networks, dividing the portfolio among group presidents Eileen O’Neill, Marjorie Kaplan and Henry Schleiff.
The redistribution is intended to “build on the company’s strong ratings momentum, increasing investment in original content, and to create a more complementary set of portfolio groups overall,” Discovery said in a press release Thursday.
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Effective immediately, O’Neill will manage Discovery Channel, Science Channel and Velocity. Science Channel will continue to be led by general manager Debbie Myers and Scanlon will continue to lead Velocity as general manager, with both Myers and Scanlon reporting to O’Neill.
TLC and Animal Planet, meanwhile, will now be managed by Kaplan, with TLC general manager Nancy Daniels reporting to Kaplan.
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Schleiff has added Discovery Fit & Health to his portfolio group, meaning he will now manage that network, along with Investigation Discovery, Destination America and American Heroes Channel, the latter of which launches March 3. General manager Kevin Bennett will lead American Heroes Channel, which will focus on the events, history and people that shaped the world.
“Eileen, Marjorie and Henry are among the finest creative leaders in the media business today, with proven track records of building brands, creating compelling programming slates and leading strong creative teams,” Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav said of the reorganization. “I am confident, under their continued leadership, Discovery’s U.S. network portfolio will continue to grow market share, produce world-class content and fuel our international growth for years to come.”