New Leadership for Discovery U.S.

SILVER SPRING: John Ford is exiting his post as president and general manager of Discovery Channel in the U.S., with parent company Discovery Communications also announcing a new structure that groups brands targeting similar demographics under common leadership.

Announcing the realignment, David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Discovery Communications, noted: "Across our portfolio, Discovery’s U.S. networks have delivered solid ratings strength and revenue growth over the past year. With today’s announcement, we are recognizing the inherent operational efficiencies that exist between our brands and getting the most from the exceptional creative talent we have on our roster."

Under the new structure, Discovery Channel and Science Channel will be grouped together under Clark Bunting as acting president and general manager, reporting to Zaslav. He was most recently president and general manager of emerging networks. Debbie Myers will continue as general manager of Science Channel, reporting to Bunting. Investigation Discovery (ID) now will be grouped with male-targeted networks Military Channel and HD Theater, under the leadership of Henry Schleiff as general manager, reporting to Zaslav. Planet Green will now be grouped with female-targeted networks Discovery Health and FitTV, with general manager Laura Michalchyshyn at the helm, also reporting to Zaslav. Carole Tomko, currently the general manager of Discovery Health and FitTV, will report to Discovery’s new COO, Peter Liguori, and devote her full attention to Discovery Studios as president. Eileen O’Neill and Marjorie Kaplan will continue in their roles as president and general manager of TLC and Animal Planet, respectively, also reporting to Zaslav.