Discovery has promoted Eric Phillips to the newly created role of president of global distribution strategy, the company announced Wednesday.
In his new position, Phillips will oversee strategy and relationship management for the company’s global digital platforms, including the newly launched Discovery+ streaming service.
AT&T’s Michele Barney has been tapped to replace Phillips as president of affiliate distribution. Both will report to Bruce Campbell, chief development, distribution and legal officer.
“Eric is an outstanding executive who has contributed enormously to Discovery’s growth into one of the most formidable TV brand portfolios among distributors,” Campbell said in a statement. “In his new role, Eric’s leadership will be key as our company accelerates its pivot to DTC while seizing opportunities to further scale our reach globally.”
Added J.B. Perrette, president and CEO of Discovery International, “Eric has unparalleled commercial partnership experience, and we will greatly benefit from having his vision and deal-making insights helping our international teams and growth.”
In her role, Barney will oversee domestic strategy and distribution for Discovery’s network portfolio and content. She most recently served as senior vice president of content and
programming at AT&T.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Michele to Discovery,” said Campbell. “As a longtime partner to this company, I have admired Michele’s business acumen and ability to get a deal to the finish line. She is principled, transparent and fair. We are thrilled that she will lead our distribution team, especially at this time of industry transformation, to ensure that our powerful brand portfolio reaches the widest audience possible across all platforms.”
“I have long admired Discovery, its beloved brands and the unparalleled network portfolio the company has built and nourished,” said Barney. “I look forward to working closely with Brue and Discovery’s other talented leaders and I’m honored to lead a distribution team that is one of the best in the business. Discovery’s brands and content have never been more core to the traditional bundle or created more value for partners, and I am thrilled to do my part to drive the next leg of this amazing growth story.”