Discovery Communications said Thursday that it has realigned leadership at its top channels, with three top executives, including Investigation Discovery chief Henry Schleiff, taking on expanded roles.
According to the programmer, Group President Eileen O’Neill, who has led TLC and Discovery Channel will now manage Discovery Channel, Science Channel and Velocity. Both Science and Velocity will continue to be run by their current respective general managers -- Debbie Myers and Bob Scanlon. Myers and Scanlon will now report to O’Neill.
Group President Marjorie Kaplan, who has led Animal Planet to perennial top-20 network status will add TLC to her portfolio. TLC general manager Nancy Daniels will report to Kaplan.
Group President Henry Schleiff, who has led Investigation Discovery, Destination America and soon to be launched (March 3) American Heroes Channel, will add Discovery Fit & Health to his portfolio. American Heroes Channel general manager Kevin Bennett and Destination America GM Marc Etkind will continue to report to Schleiff.
“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,” said Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav in a statement. “I am confident, under their continued leadership, Discovery’s U.S. network portfolio will continue to grow marketshare, produce world-class content and fuel our international growth for years to come.”
