Discovery Channel Taps Former ITV Exec Andrew O’Connell

LOS ANGELES: Andrew O’Connell, who has been at ITV since June 2014, is joining Discovery Channel as VP of development and production.

O’Connell will officially join the network on July 11 and is based in the U.K. He will be reporting to Denise Contis, the executive VP of production and development for Discovery.

At ITV O’Connell was responsible for a wide range of factual programming, including Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport, Sugar Free Farm, Rookies, Britain’s Favourite Dogs and Life at the Extreme. Prior to ITV, he spent four years at Channel 5 as head of news, current affairs and factual.

In this new role at Discovery, O’Connell will work closely with the U.K. production community tasked with generating the next factual format hits for the U.S. network. He will also partner with Discovery Network International’s development and production team.

“Andrew brings an incredible depth of experience and expertise that is a perfect fit for Discovery,” Contis said. “He has developed strong relationships across the United Kingdom and worked on a wide range of successful programs. I’m incredibly excited to have him part of the team.”