Discovery brings Eurosport sales team into fold

Oxana Yanushkovskaya

Pay TV giant Discovery Communications is merging some of regional distribution teams with those from its sports network Eurosport.

Discovery Networks Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa is merging with its Eurosport counterparts under the leadership of VP, distribution Oxana Yanushkovskaya.

The long-serving Benjamin Deshayes will continue to manage the Eurosport sales agencies, but has taken on a new post as Discovery’s deputy distribution strategy director, CEEMEA. He will report to Yanushkovskaya.

The combined group will now sell a joint portfolio of 22 pay channels across the CEEMEA, which is how Discovery dubs the operating region.

This comes after Discovery took majority control of Pan-European sports net Eurosport from French broadcaster TF1 in a US$1.2 billion (€911 million) deal in June.

Eurosport will now make up part of the portfolio, along with flagship factual net Discovery Channel, female-skewed TLC and mystery and suspense channel ID Xtra.

“Sports programming is the ultimate form of factual entertainment and a natural extension of Discovery’s nearly 30-year leadership in this genre,” said Yanushkovskaya.

“Combining our great brands, great people and great ambition we can focus on creating new value for affiliates, advertisers, audiences and shareholders, and we can do this by going to market as one portfolio.”