Coda
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 12/21/2009 2:00:00 AM
Ford Out in Discovery Reorg
Silver Spring, Md. — Discovery Channel president and general manager John Ford is leaving the company as part of a major Discovery Communications networks reorganization.
Discovery Channel and Science Channel will fall under the oversight of DCI veteran Clark Bunting, with Debbie Myers continuing her role as Science Channel general manager, Discovery said.
Also as part of the reorganization, Planet Green, Discovery Health and Fit TV will now be combined under one business unit, led by Planet Green general manager Laura Michalchyshyn. Former Discovery Health executive vice president and GM Carole Tomko will now oversee Discovery Studios, reporting to recently appointed Discovery Communications chief operating officer Peter Liguori. She’ll also oversee Curiosity: The Questions of Life, the company’s five-year programming project — the brainchild of Discovery Communications founder John Hendricks.
ID: Investigation Discovery general manager Henry Schleiff will also take over male-targeted networks Military Channel and Discovery HD Theater, both of which were formerly under Bunting.
Bunting, Michalchyshyn and Schleiff will report to Zaslav.
TLC and Animal Planet will continue to be led by Eileen O’Neill and Marjorie Kaplan, respectively.
Also, government relations/public policy and standards and practices, led by Alexa Verveer, will now report to David Leavy, executive vice president of corporate affairs and communications.
Ford was hired by Zaslav in 2007 as part of Zaslav’s initial reorganization of Discovery Communications, taking over for Jane Root. Under Ford, Discovery was averaging 1.2 million subscribers in primetime this year, up 4% over last year.
He was at Discovery Communications earlier in his career, then went to National Geographic Channel in 2003 as executive vice president of programming and production. He then left Nat Geo to return to Discovery.
— R. Thomas Umstead
HGTV Revamps With Personality
Knoxville, Tenn. — HGTV in 2010 will turn the screws on a new programming focus beginning in January that emphasizes personalities along with its core building and decorating programming.
The network — which in 2009 is averaging 1.2 million viewers in primetime, an increase of 9% over last year with its home buying, decorating and improvement shows like My First Place and Divine Design — will look to increase its viewership by adding more personality-driven programming, according to senior vice president of program development and production Freddy James. First out of the gate is the Jan. 1 premiere of The Outdoor Room With Jamie Durie, featuring the Australian-bred home designer who helps homeowners create their ultimate outdoor sanctuary .
Among other shows set to debut in January is Curb Appeal: The Block, in which architect and designer John Gidding and his team budget $20,000 to spruce up neighborhood houses in an effort to enhance the property value of the entire block.
James said that the more personality-oriented shows follow the appeal of the network’s most popular competition show, Design Star. The show’s season-four winner, Antonio Ballatore, is currently in production for his new series, The Antonio Treatment, which premieres in March 2010.
“What you will also see next year is us adding more personality driven shows — not only with our hosts, but also our homeowners,” James said. “It’s not just about how the home is changing, but it’s about how their lives change in those environments. By telling those stories and broadening that net of storytelling, we feel like we’ll be able to serve our audiences in a much better way.”
— R. Thomas Umstead
Roy E. Disney Passes at 79
Newport Beach, Calif. — Roy E. Disney, nephew of animation legend Walt Disney and the architect of a shareholder revolt at The Walt Disney Co., died last Wednesday at 79 after a long battle with stomach cancer, the company said.
Disney’s father, Roy O. Disney, and uncle Walt formed the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in 1923, later renaming it the Walt Disney Co.
Roy Disney served as vice chairman of the company from 1984-2003 and chairman of the Studio’s Animation Department. In recent years, he held the title of director emeritus and consultant for the company. More recently, Disney was best known for leading a shareholder revolt against former company CEO Michael Eisner, resigning his board seat in 2003 and calling for Eisner’s ouster.
That unrest also played a small role in Comcast’s decision to launch a $66 billion unsolicited bid for Disney in 2004. Disney shareholders ultimately rejected the offer as too low.
— Mike Farrell
TiVo Provides DVRs To Small Canadian Op
Port Perry, Ontario — It’s not really going to move the needle for TiVo, but the company’s deal to offer HD DVRs to Compton Communications — a 5,000-subscriber cable operator based outside Toronto — is the kind of deal TiVo needs to strike on a larger scale.
Compton will offer TiVo HD DVRs through Evolution Digital, which is working with TiVo to streamline the process for small and midsize operators to launch the set-tops. The DVRs will provide TiVo’s broadband-connected content and features like remote scheduling.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Typically TiVo has negotiated for recurring per-subscriber monthly payments from service-provider partners.
Compton, founded in 1972, claims to be the smallest cable company in North America to offer VOD services.
— Todd Spangler
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