Anthem Sports & Entertainment said its TNA Wrestling has expanded its relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Eurosport India.

Under an exclusive multiyear agreement, Eurosport India will carry hundreds of hour of content including original series, pay-per-view events, and top matches throughout India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Earlier this year, Eurosports agreed to carry eight new TNA Plus Presents specials each year, plus new episodes of the Hindi-language TNA Impact! highlight series Pehlwani Patakha.

“This expanded deal is a testament to how powerfully TNA has resonated with audiences throughout India and its subcontinent,” Ariel Shnerer, senior VP of content, distribution and marketing for Anthem Sports Group, said. “WBD clearly recognizes the value that TNA brings to the Eurosport India platform, and we are proud to continue our successful partnership with them. We look forward to providing these loyal viewers with even more of the high-quality professional wrestling content they enjoy.”

The new deal includes the weekly flagship series TNA Impact! and PPV events such as Bound for Glory and Slammiversary. Oher highlights include access to legacy series such as Epics, TNA’s Greatest Matches, Legends, British Boot Cam, and TNA Unfinished Business.

“Pro wrestling has been an integral part of childhood in India, creating a nostalgic connection for many,“ Ruchir Jain, head of distribution and sports, South Asia, for Warner Bros. Discovery Distribution said. “Cultivating this connection has been key to the growth of Eurosport's passionate fan base. This collaboration underscores our commitment to delivering top-tier sports entertainment, and we look forward to providing our thrill-loving audience with exceptional wrestling experiences through this partnership.”

Discovery Inc., said it has named Paul Rehrig general manager, Eurosport Digital, the direct-to-consumer business of the European sports network. He will report to Discovery Global Direct-to-Consumer CEO Peter Faricy and will be based in London.

Rehrig spent the past eight years as EVP of digital and business development at AMC Networks. At Eurosport, he will oversee the development and growth of Eurosport’s digital direct-to-consumer products, including the Eurosport App, live sports streaming service Eurosport Player and Eurosport.com, which Discovery said engages more than 30 million unique users per month.

“We are thrilled to welcome such a distinguished leader with a proven record of launching and running successful direct-to-consumer businesses and products globally,” Faricy said in a press release. “Paul is the perfect fit to lead our outstanding Eurosport Digital team as we focus on building products that sports fans love. As we look to the exciting opportunities ahead, Paul will ensure Eurosport delivers the immersive multi-screen products and experiences that are essential for powering people’s passions and engaging targeted global communities around sport.”

While at AMC, Rehrig was responsible for building its direct-to-consumer team from the outset and launching and running two subscription-video-on-demand businesses: Sundance Now and Shudder. He previously served as SVP, global digital strategy and business development, at Warner Music Group.

“I have been hugely impressed by how Eurosport has become a digital pioneer and leader in sports under Discovery’s leadership,” Rehrig said in a press release. “Serving sports fans with programming and content across Europe is a significant responsibility and I’m thrilled to lead such a world-class team. There is a massive opportunity to enhance and expand Eurosport’s digital product experiences and innovate in myriad ways that more deeply engage fans and build audiences and subscribers across the region.”

Facebook made its much talked about hiring of former Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton official on Monday, naming him director, global live sports partnerships and programming at the social media giant, where he will help drive efforts to add live sports programming to its lineup.

Variety and The Guardian first reported in January that Hutton was heading for Facebook, part of the social media juggernaut’s push into live sports.

Hutton joined Eurosport about three years ago from MP & Silva Group, where he was co-CEO of the international sports rights giant. He has also served stints at Fox International Channels and Star Sports.

Hutton wasted little time during his tenure at Eurosport, a unit of Discovery Communications, securing MLS rights in Europe outside the U.K. in 2015 and landing European TV and multiplatform rights for the 2018-2024 Olympic Games in June of that year.

“Peter is uniquely qualified to lead our live sports partnerships...he knows the global sports rights landscape, owns strong relationships, and has a track record of delivering results on multiple continents,” Reed said on his Facebook page. “Plus, he's worked on behalf of both broadcasters and rights holders. He’ll help us continue to collaborate with both, including our great partners at Discovery, as we seek to deliver world-class live sports content to our global community of sports fans.”

Facebook has expressed interest in live sports in the past – it bid about $610 million for rights to Indian Premier League cricket matches last year, but was bested by a $2.5 billion offer from 21st Century Fox.

Facebook was expected to be aggressive in the bidding for NFL Thursday Night Footballrights but sat out that negotiation, which was won by Fox. It was also expected to be interested in possibly wresting WWE SmackDown rights from long-time rights holder USA Network, but apparently sat on the sidelines in that negotiation as well. But the internet company has reached deals with the WWE for a 12-episode show that airs on Facebook Watch called Mixed Match Challenge featuring Raw and SmackDown wrestlers.

“I've thoroughly enjoyed my three years with Eurosport, an incredible experience with some brilliant people, both in Paris and in the wider Discovery family,” Hutton said on his Facebook page. “However, the potential to work with Facebook to help the team and its partners unlock the power of live sports is too good an opportunity to turn down. I'm looking forward to an exciting journey and a bundle of new experiences, and hope I live up to the trust of Dan Reed and his team.”

Discovery Communications’ Eurosport unit and Snap have formed an agreement to create Olympic content for Europe on Snapchat’s Discover platform.

The companies said it was Snap’s first multi-language European deal.

Related: Discovery Selling Mobile TV Olympic Rights in Europe

The plan is to attract younger viewers with mobile content offering behind-the-scenes action from Olympic events including snowboarding, downhill and freestyle skiing, and ice hockey.

Discovery’s ad sales teams across Europe will be able to offer brands the opportunity to reach younger, digitally minded viewers through Snap ad packages.

“We are thrilled to bring the excitement and passion of the Olympic Games directly to Snap’s dynamic and engaged younger audience, allowing Discovery to deliver on its promise to bring the Games to more people across more screens in Europe than ever before" said Michael Lang, president, international development and digital for Discovery International. “This partnership delivers original content, through Discovery’s unparalleled and innovative storytelling of the Olympic Games, to one of the most powerful and influential social media platforms in the world.”

Ben Schwerin, vice president of partnerships for Snap, said “Snapchat gives sports fans an unparalleled way to experience the Olympic Games and engage with their favorite athletes and teams. Discovery has already been a great collaborator for us, reimagining their iconic Shark Week franchise into a show for Snapchat. We’re thrilled to be expanding our partnership to give Snapchatters across Europe the best Olympic Games experience possible.”

Discovery and Snapchat already work together in the U.S. where Discovery creates mobile shows for Snapchat’s Discover platform. During Discovery’s Shark Week, 17 million viewers watch Shark Week on Snapchat.

Snapchat is used by 57 million people daily in Europe, the company said.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be the ‘The Home of the Olympics’ on Snapchat in Europe, and to give our Olympics sponsors and advertising partners exclusive access to the audiences and conversations that only Snapchat can deliver during one of 2018’s most high-profile sporting events,” said Jonathan Davies, managing director, International advertising partnerships for Discovery and Eurosport.

Never mind the bundle. For Discovery Communications, it’s the platform, baby.

Turning a decade-old cable mantra on its ear — Cox Communications’s “It’s the Bundle, Baby” — Discovery is the latest programmer to test the digital content waters. By going all-in with the August nationwide launch of TV everywhere app Discovery Go and, more recently, striking deals to weave together short-form and long-form content from millennial- targeted websites and subscription video-on-demand, the programmer is looking to attract a younger, hipper and more lucrative audience.

Overseas, Discovery, which generates more than 50% of its revenue outside the U.S., is aggressively leveraging sports rights obtained via its Eurosport networks for a direct-to-consumer offering aimed at attracting and keeping younger viewers.

Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav said Discovery’s digital strategy was actually hatched four years ago as viewership trends were changing toward multiple screens, devices and digital services like Netflix, Amazon and YouTube.

“We looked at the landscape,” Zaslav said in an interview last week, “and we asked: If people could watch anything they wanted on any device, how strong would we be?”

THREE-PRONGED PLAN

At the time, Discovery was at one of its strongest points. Its international business was generating about $1 billion in revenue and the company was the leading programmer in nonfiction. “If long-term, we’re going to be a robust and compelling content company to all age groups, we’re going to have to be on every platform,” Zaslav said. “Our brands were strong, but if people could watch everything, we would have some challenges.”

The solution was to embark on a three-stage attack: strengthening its networks by creating “super fans” for channels like Velocity, OWN and ID; reaching avid sports fans in Europe with Eurosport; and getting in position to offer content direct to consumers for free.

The last part of that three-pronged effort revolves around making new and existing Discovery content available on a wider variety of platforms, including TV Everywhere apps, online and digital video and, in Europe, a full direct-to-consumer offering.

READ MORE: For Discovery CTO John Honeycutt, digital is in the details.

Leading the charge is Discovery chief commercial officer Paul Guyardo, who joined Discovery about a year ago after a 10-year stint as chief revenue officer at DirecTV. A savvy marketer who led the team that helped grow DirecTV’s subscriber base from 15 million to more than 20 million, Guyardo is the point man in Discovery’s ambitious new plan, not only in charge of U.S. digital operations, but also taking over its Eurosports. com digital initiative in Europe.

Guyardo knows the direct-to-consumer business — he worked for Barry Diller’s HSN for several years and was SVP and chief marketing officer at discount retailer Kmart before joining DirecTV — and is assembling a top team to attack the digital space, including executive vice president and general manager of digital media Karen Leever; SVP and general manager of OTT and digital syndication Michael Bishara; newly promoted SVP of emerging platforms and partnerships Rebecca Howard; and managing director of Eurosport Digital Ralph Rivera, who helped launch the U.K.’s most popular direct-to-consumer product, the BBC iPlayer.

The push to digital is partly motivated by the dwindling traditional TV market, and comes after years of resistance to online video — which Discovery partly attributes to past carriage deals. Discovery has weathered the same ad-sales and distribution pressures as other programmers. In the past 12 months, domestic ad sales reversed course from a 6% increase in Q3 2015 to a 3% decline in Q3 2016. Internationally, ad sales declines have improved from a 14% decrease in Q3 2015 to a 6% decrease in Q3 2016.

Like many of its peers, the uncertainty has affected Discovery’s stock, which has declined about 9% in the past 12 months. And while ratings have softened over the past few quarters, Discovery points out that it still attracts about 8% of total viewership but just 4% of affiliate dollars.

“Every programmer is challenged with an ecosystem which is slowly declining as a function of cord-cutting, cord-shaving and cord-nevers,” Guyardo told Multichannel News. “Like all media companies, we are doing what we can to fortify that traditional business. But by the same token, we have to aggressively pursue alternative business to reflect the fact that viewership trends are changing.”

That includes investing about $100 million for a 35% stake in short-form digital content producer Group Nine, the home of pop-culture site Thrillist, news site Now This and animal advocacy site The Dodo. The idea is that, along with Discovery’s own science-based site, Seeker, and its digital production studio, Sourcefed Studios, the programmer will house its millennial-focused digital content under a single umbrella and a single salesforce, allowing the company to sell the full package to advertisers.

While Discovery is obviously optimistic, not everyone is convinced it can make a big dent in the digital landscape.

Asked if the efforts were too little, too late, Pivotal Research Group senior research analyst Brian Wieser said, “it’s just little.”

“They made an investment in a niche business,” Wieser said, referring to Group Nine. “It’s not going to allow them to call themselves a digital company. The bigger issue is: Are they developing content that survives and thrives in a world where more and more content is being consumed through dedicated apps or otherwise through streaming services?”

Guyardo doesn’t claim the shift will be easy, but he said he believes Discovery’s advantage is two-fold: It owns most of its content, and that content tends to attract what he calls “passionate super-fans.”

That allows the programmer “to go narrow and deep,” Guyardo said. “I have the luxury in this job that we own so much of our IP it allows us to be platform-agnostic.”

The platform increasingly matters: programmers are finding that digital distribution brings in additional revenue streams and can lure a whole new universe of viewers.

Discovery started dipping heavily into the TV Everywhere market last year, and its Discovery Go app is available in about 72% of the country, with full coverage expected in the next few years. Guyardo said TV Everywhere has helped draw in younger Discovery viewers. He said about 60% of TLC viewers and 50% of Discovery Channel watchers on the Discovery Go app are aged 18- 34. That compares with just 11% of that age demographic watching on linear channels.

And the streamed content isn’t any different from what is being aired on traditional pay TV.

“It’s taught us that a lot of the content that our network presidents and network teams are producing is quite relevant to a younger audience,” Guyardo said. “We just needed to put get it on a different platform to get that younger audience to consume it.”

The Group Nine investment builds on that concept by aggregating younger viewers under one corporate roof. And it gives Discovery a major instant digital presence — its brands deliver about 3.5 billion views per month — and strong credibility with advertisers.

“That puts us right up there with the likes of Buzzfeed,” Guyardo said. “Scale is a real calling card with advertisers; it’s what gets you in the door.”

Those younger viewers are also ripe for targeted ads and other forms of advanced advertising, all which have higher revenue potential.

Discovery also is taking a different tack with SVOD, launching two new OTT subscription services on Amazon’s Streaming Partners Program — True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery and Destination Unknown.

Amazon Prime members will get access to Discovery library for a small incremental monthly fee. At launch, True Crime Files will include library content from ID shows like I (Almost) Got Away With It, True Crime With Aphrodite Jones, Most Evil and Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry. Destination Unknown focuses on the paranormal and will include content from linear networks like Destination America, and series available at launch will include: A Haunting, Ghost Asylum and Mountain Monsters.

Zaslav called the Amazon offering an experiment, much like the company’s attempt to create a “sports Netflix” offering in Europe through its Eurosport Player, an OTT service that launched about a year ago and has roughly 250,000 customers paying about $7 per month for live streaming of tennis, skiing, soccer, cycling and other sports.

Zaslav said the European sports market is much like the U.S. was about 15 years ago, when ESPN first began to assert its dominance.

“In the U.S., sports took all the money, and was able to generate significant incremental value on other platforms,” Zaslav said. “Europe feels fresh. There is only one pan-European sports channel, and that’s Eurosport.”

Zaslav said Eurosport is in the second stage of a direct-to-consumer strategy, building the infrastructure and the teams behind the Eurosport Player efforts. “We have real ambition that could be a game-changer for our company.”

But the Eurosport Player isn’t totally without problems.

RBC Capital analyst Steven Cahall noted in a recent report that while the product has been successful, its customer reviews have been poor — he cited Google Play data that showed just as many customers gave the service a 1-star rating as a 5-star nod — something that its recent deal with MLB BAMTech can hopefully address. BAMTech, which counts Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, HBO Now, the PGA Tour and WWE Network as clients, will provide the backbone for the Eurosport Player.

“If they can get it right, Eurosport’s vast portfolio of rights should drive growth from just 250,000 subs today to millions over time,” Cahall said.

Discovery Networks International CEO JB Perrette wouldn’t predict how much the Eurosport OTT Player could grow, but he said the potential, given the low pay TV penetration in the market — about 12% in Germany and 57% in the U.K. — is huge.

“We have 50-plus markets with over 700 million people,” Perrette said. “If we can get 1%, that’s 7 million people. “The numbers get big pretty quickly. And we feel like we’ve just started to rev the engine.”

Discovery first bought a 20% stake in Eurosport in 2012 and purchased the rest in a series of deals that ended in 2015. The sports channel committed $1.4 billion for European rights to the 2018 to 2024 Olympic Games and securing 45 Bundesliga soccer games in Germany beginning in 2017. It has also taken its nonexclusive Grand Slam Tennis rights exclusive and done the same for premier soccer rights in Norway.

‘REALLY MAKING PROGRESS’

Coupled with the opportunity to more aggressively market the product, Perrette said he sees ample runway for the direct-consumer service. “As we get the talent, as we get the product to be more world-class, we can actually start leaning into it and start driving the subscription funnel in a much more aggressive way.”

Discovery also is looking at different ways to exploit sports rights to create its “sports Netflix,” including offering season passes for particular sports, Zaslav said.

“Each of these initiatives is informing us of how do we approach a stronger relationship with consumers and how do we get more of our IP directly to consumers and which IP do we need more of to be successful,” the CEO said. “We’re excited because we think we’re really making progress. I think we’re really in the game of having Discovery be the media company that should be bigger and stronger in the next generation.”

SIDEBAR: Getting Game

Discovery’s Eurosport has invested heavily in sports rights over the past few years. Here are some of the properties it has purchased:

• Q115: Africa Cup of Nations (soccer), Australian Open (tennis), FISU Winter Universiade, World Championships (Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, superbike, biathlon), FIS World Cups (winter sports), European Season Start (cycling).

• Q215: Spring Classics (cycling), FIA WTCC (touring car), World Championships (snooker), Giro d’Italia (cycling), UEFA Women’s Champions League (soccer), French Open (tennis), FIFA Women’s World Cup (soccer), Le Mans 24 Hours (motorsports), ATP & WTA tournaments (tennis).

• Q315: FISU Summer Universiade Gwangju 2015, Tour de France (cycling), UEFA European U-19 Championships (soccer), Bundesliga (soccer), World Championships (swimming, athletics), Vuelta a Espana (cycling), U.S. Open (tennis), Australian Football League.

• Q415: International China Championships (snooker), WTA & ATP Tournaments (tennis),Eurocup (basketball), FIS World Cups (winter sports), Season end (motorsports), World Championships (weightlifting), World Cup (biathlon), U.K. Championship (snooker), Four Hills Tournament (ski jumping).

SOURCE : RBC Capital

Multiple World Cup and Olympic gold medal-winning skier Tina Maze will be the official face of Eurosport winter sports and Olympic Games coverage as the network moves closer to the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.

Eurosport parent Discovery Communications purchased the rights last year to the Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024. Its first broadcast will be the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeonchang, South Korea.

Maze, an Olympic gold medal and World Cup champion skier joins other top winter sports athletes on the Eurosport team including triple Olympic gold medallist biathlete Michael Greis and Polish ski legend Adam Malysz. Maze had earlier announced her retirement from the sport after a 17-year career. She is set to officially bow out of competitive racing at January’s Alpine Skiing World Cup event in her home town of Maribor, Slovenia.

Maze will draw on her experience to conduct pre- and post-race interviews with athletes and provide on-the-ground tactical and strategic analysis throughout the course of the season.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Eurosport family and am grateful to be given the opportunity to continue my career within the sport I love,” Maze said in a statement. “Nothing will replace the adrenalin rush of competing at an Olympic Games or World Cup event, but this is a new chapter in my life, one I am excited about, and I hope to give fans a different perspective of the action during competition time.”

In June 2015, Discovery Communications and the International Olympic Committee signed an agreement that will give Eurosport exclusive television and multi-platform broadcast for 50 countries and territories in Europe for the next four Olympic Games, including the Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

“At Eurosport, we pride ourselves on being the home of winter sports, presenting every World Cup and World Championship in every major winter discipline,” Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton said in a statement. “Adding Tina to our team of experts will give fans a first-hand insight into skiing at the very top level. “Tina is an important signing for us as we build towards the Olympic Winter Games. She is a unique character who is never afraid to share an opinion and I speak on behalf of everyone at Eurosport when I say we are all looking forward to working with her in the coming months and years.”

Kicking off with the FIS Alpine World Cup in Soelden on Oct. 22,Eurosport will broadcast more than 800 hours of live and delayed coverage between October and April with every alpine skiing, biathlon and ski jumping World Cup stage shown live or delayed on its channels. In total, 11 World Championships across all major winter sports will be covered on Eurosport this season. Eurosport will supplement action on the piste with Wintersports Extra, a magazine show broadcast every weekend and re-capping all of the best action from winter sports across the world as well as showcasing the all of the drama from the world of figure skating, curling and speed skating over the course of the next six months.

Tina Maze Career Highlights: Olympic Gold Medal, Sochi 2014, Downhill; Olympic Gold Medal, Sochi 2014, Giant Slalom; 2013 World Cup title; World Championship Gold Medal, Beaver Creek 2015, Combined; World Championship Gold Medal, Beaver Creek 2015, Downhill; World Championship Gold Medal, Schladming 2013, Super-G; World Championship Gold Medal, Garmisch 2011, Giant Slalom; Olympic Silver Medal, Vancouver 2010, Super-G; Olympic Silver Medal, Vancouver 2010, Giant Slalom; 26 World Cu

Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav sees big potential in its latest entry in the direct-to-consumer business, calling the programmer's Eurosport Player offering the international sporting world's answer to Netflix.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference Thursday, Zaslav called the DTC offering, the “Sports Netflix,” adding that it already has about 200,000 subscribers at $8 per month. With a potential market of 700 million residents in Europe, Eurosport’s direct-to-consumer opportunities are boundless.

Discovery has the European rights to the Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024 and owns a number of rights for other sports like skiing, skating and cycling in several other countries which it shows on its three Eurosport channels. But not all of that content can be aired on the networks. That’s where the direct-to-consumer offering could come in.

“If we can build that direct-to-consumer business for $8 per subscriber, we’re in a whole different game, and it’s a meaningful game,” Zaslav said. “For us, Eurosport direct-to-consumer fills the full circle.”

That strategy is similar to one ESPN is planning with BAMTech. At the Goldman conference Tuesday, Disney chief Bob Iger said that direct-to-consumer offering could allow subscribers to purchase specific seasons, teams or dates.

Discovery Communications said its Eurosport network has secured a five-year deal for live simulcast coverage of the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s and Ladies Singles finals and daily 90-minute highlight shows for the duration of the storied tennis tourney.

The deal gives Eurosport rights in the U.K. for all four Grand Slam tennis events – The French Open, The Australian Open and the U.S. Open are the others. The Wimbledon agreement is in line with British agency Ofcom’s Listed Events regulations, which allows a secondary broadcaster to acquire certain rights alongside the primary broadcaster, which in the case of The Championships is the BBC.

“It is fantastic to offer fans the chance to watch one of the most iconic events in British sport on Eurosport for the first time,” said Discovery Networks UK and Ireland EVP and MD Susanna Dinnage in a statement.” Adding the Wimbledon rights means we now have live coverage of all four top tournaments and cements our position as the Home of Grand Slam Tennis in the U.K.”

Eurosport’s Rob Curling will host the nightly highlights program in the U.K. from the All England Club from 10 pm every day of the tournament.

In addition to the four Glam Slams, Eurosport broadcasts the Davis Cup, known as the ‘World Cup of Tennis’ and the five British grass court tournaments that take place in the lead up to The Championships, Wimbledon.

The BBC will continue to broadcast continuous daily live coverage of The Championships in the UK across BBC 1, BBC 2 and online, and remains the AELTC’s primary UK broadcast partner for the term 2016-2020 inclusive.

Discovery Communications has signed a long-term deal for rights to televise the Olympics in England.

The BBC, which has the U.K. rights to the 2018 and 2020 Olympics, is sub-licensing the pay TV rights to those games to Discovery. Discovery, whose Eurosport has the rights to the 2022 and 2024 games, is sub-licensing the broadcast right to those games to the BBC.

Financial terms were not disclosed. U.K. newspaper The Guardian put the value of the deal at $1.3 billion.

“Discovery is a passionate and committed partner of the Olympic Movement,” David Zaslav, Discovery CEO, said. "Today’s agreement is a win for UK sports fans and marks an exciting new chapter in Discovery and the BBC’s partnership on major sporting events."

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Discovery Communications said longtime programming executive Marjorie Kaplan will lead the company's international content strategy, a key growth area, reporting to Discovery Networks International president JB Perrette. Kaplan, who has been with Discovery for close to 20 years, has been lately overseeing Animal Planet and TLC. The company did not say what will happen with those roles when Kaplan transitions to her new London-based job in October.

Discovery said that in her newly created role, Kaplan will be "the international content leader responsible for strategy, coordination, and execution of all the division’s content and brand strategies across the entire portfolio, and on all platforms worldwide." 

“There is no one more talented, dynamic and strategic to lead Discovery’s international content strategy than Marjorie Kaplan,” Discovery CEO Dvaid Zaslav said in a release. “She has an unparalleled track record of developing breakthrough content across brands and demographics that travels well internationally, receives critical acclaim, and brings in big audiences. Marjorie also has a sharp eye for content that is genre- and format-busting, which should serve the company extremely well in this new position. Discovery’s international business is the company’s key differentiator, and I am excited to watch Marjorie take our global content engine to the next level.”

“Marjorie is one of the most respected leaders externally and internally as a fantastic collaborator, creative programmer, and preferred partner to the production community,” Perrette said in the release. “Our global content capability and expertise is our most important asset, and I am thrilled to have Marjorie’s immense talent to help drive our international content strategy.”

“I am excited to join the international leadership team and to partner with them on a global creative culture that generates brand-building content and ambitious intellectual property that can help Discovery soar in all of the 220 countries and territories where our brands are already strong,” Kaplan said.

Here's how Discovery described her new role: Kaplan will be responsible for global brands and formats, female lifestyle, male factual, scripted, and kids – for all platforms, from linear to OTT to free-to-air. She will lead the DNI Production & Development team, working with Discovery’s regional managing directors and heads of content to ensure that the pipeline of content is strong, vibrant and forward-leaning. She will work closely with Discovery’s production companies betty, RAW and All3Media as well as the entire production community to unlock the creativity and untapped intellectual property.

Phil Craig, Discovery Networks International’s chief creative officer, and Rosemary Newell, senior vice president of programming & content operations, will report to Kaplan. Discovery noted the company recently acquired exclusive TV and multiplatform rights to the 2018-2024 Olympic Games across Europe, and that Kaplan will "look to create new content and storytelling ideas that maximize the value of the Olympic franchise across Europe, working closely with the Eurosport team."

Kaplan launched Discovery Kids and, in 2007, took over Animal Planet. In 2014, she also took on the leadership of TLC. Her oversight also includes Velocity, and she had been the interim head of Discovery Channel, now operating under president Rich Ross.

Discovery Communications Monday said it has secured European TV rights to the 2018-24 Olympics Games in a major programming deal with the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC awarded Discovery with exclusive Olympic rights across all platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription/pay-TV television, internet and mobile phone in all languages across 50 countries and territories on the European continent, said company officials.

Discovery, which owns the Eurosport sports network, has committed to broadcasting a minimum of 200 hours of the Olympic Games and 100 hours of the Olympic Winter Games on free-to-air television during the Games period. Discovery will sub-license a portion of the rights in many markets across Europe. 

“Today is a historic day as we proudly add the Olympic rings to Discovery Communications’ portfolio of offerings. The long-term programming commitment with President Bach and the IOC reaffirms Eurosport’s position as the leader in sports across Europe, and will significantly enhance Eurosport's presence on all platforms,” said Discovery Communications President and CEO David Zaslav in a statement. “With Eurosport’s proud and long-standing tradition of broadcasting many winter and summer sports showcased during the Olympics, adding the Olympic Games, the greatest live event in the world, is a perfect editorial and strategic fit. But most of all, this new partnership is an exciting win for European sports fans as we will deliver record amounts of content across platforms to ensure the Olympic flame burns bright all year long.” 

When the defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy open up the 2015 Major League Soccer against the Chicago Fire on March 6, UniMas and Univision Deportes Network will carry the action in the U.S. On The Continent, Eurosport will present the kickoff of MLS’s 20th season.

Discovery Communications’ controlled-Eurosport has signed a four-year, multimedia rights deal for MLS matches in all Eurosport’s European territorites outside the U.K., where the circuit has a new pact with Sky Sports.

Under the agreement covering the 2015 through 2018 campaigns, Eurosport has exclusive TV and digital rights for all regular-season matches, the All-Star game, the playoffs and the MLS Cup.  Matches  will  be  broadcast on  both Eurosport and Eurosport 2 and made available through the Eurosport Player, Eurosport’s online subscription service.

Eurosport says it broadcasts in 20 languages, reaching 136 million homes in 54 nations. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The programmer’s game plan calls for it televise up four matches will live each weekend on Eurosport and Eurosport 2, including one match live on Sundays at 23:00 (CET) and another at 01:00 CET (Monday, a.m.).

A 30-minute matchday preview programme will also be broadcast on Eurosport 2 each Friday in access primetime.

As for the start of MLS’s milestone season, the company’s schedule calls for coverage of the Galaxy-Fire live on March 7 at 4:00 (CET) on Eurosport, followed at 21:00 by D.C. United-Montreal Impact on Eurosport 2. On Sunday, March 8 new franchises Orlando City SC-New York City FC square off live at 22:00 on Eurosport followed by Sporting Kansas City vs New York Red Bulls live at 00:00 on the network.

Ahead of their MLS debuts for Orlando City SC and New York City FC, respectively, Kaká and David Villa sit down with Eurosport as part of a 30-minute exclusive preview at 21:30 CET.

“It is a pleasure to be able to announce our support for the long term vision of the MLS. We see the recent signings of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard as  further  proof  of  the  willingness of  the  league and  its  owners  to  invest  in  globally recognised names," said Eurosport Group Peter Hutton. This can only help us grow the MLS internationally, where we will look to show the league both live and in prime time to reach the maximum possible European audience. As we continue to improve the quality of Eurosport across the region, the new deal with the MLS is a significant step to increase our live football content as well as a sign of our belief in the potential of the league to continue to grow”.

“In what is a milestone season for MLS, we are excited to announce a partnership with Eurosport that will allow us to significantly expand our international footprint,” said Gary Stevenson, president and managing director, MLS Business Ventures.“Eurosport has built its reputation on delivering world- class content to viewers across Europe, and we’re excited to be their newest partner. With two new expansion clubs, New York City FC and Orlando City SC, global stars like David Villa, Frank Lampard and Kaká set to join the league, and players representing almost 60 countries, 2015 will be an exciting year for MLS.”

Discovery Networks International, the international arm of Discovery Communications, said it will reorganize its European business into three distinct divisions to unlock growth potential.

“Discovery Communications has achieved tremendous success outside the U.S. by driving organic growth and complementing it with targeted acquisitions, most recently Eurosport International,” said DNI president JB Perrette in a statement. “Our European business has expanded significantly over the past four years and the time is right to realign regional operations to build upon our significant strategic advantage and unlock further growth.”

With the European reorganization,  Discovery Networks International will be comprised of five major regional operational centers:  Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA), Latin America/U.S. Hispanic, and Asia-Pacific.

Discovery Communications’ international revenues now exceed those in the U.S., and the division has just delivered a third straight record quarter in viewership, reaching 643 million viewers outside the U.S. during 3Q14.

The three new European divisions are as follows:

Discovery Networks Northern Europe: This division will include Discovery operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the Nordic and Benelux countries and will be headed by Dee Forbes as president and managing director.

Forbes, who was an integral part of the integration of SBS Nordic,  DNI’s largest acquisition to date, will further consolidate SBS’s television networks into the new division. Henrik Ravn, who has successfully managed Discovery’s operations in the Nordics since the acquisition of SBS in 2012, will step-down at the end of the year.

Discovery Networks Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA):

This division includes DNI operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as operations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa and will be headed by Kasia Kieli as president and managing director. The division includes Discovery’s free-to-air channel in Germany (DMAX) as well as Eurosport. The new organization will establish Munich as an important regional hub for the CEEMEA business will bring additional expertise of running free-to-air networks in markets with significant scale and opportunity to the region. 

Discovery Networks Southern Europe:

Marinella Soldi becomes president and managing director of Discovery Networks Southern Europe by adding France to her current oversight of Italy, Spain and Portugal. Under Soldi’s stewardship, Discovery has become the third biggest broadcaster in Italy and she successfully launched Discovery Max in Spain during the height of that country’s recession, a channel that has gained 3.3% market share amongst viewers aged 25-44 in less than two years.  In France, Discovery’s portfolio historically has been relatively small but following the acquisition of the majority control of Eurosport International which has its headquarters in Paris, France has become even more strategically important.

“Dee Forbes, Kasia Kieli and Marinella Soldi are exceptional leaders with demonstrated track records of building value for our company and these changes will enable them to better capitalize on the benefits of having a mix of free-to-air and pay-TV businesses across Europe,” Perrett said in a statement. “I am grateful to Henrik for shepherding recent successes with the invaluable support of his talented management team and wish him every success in his future endeavors.”

Discovery Communications could be eyeing the creation of European regional sports networks built on the Pan-European sports networks it already controls through its recently acquired Eurosport channels.

Silver Spring, Md.-based Discovery bought a controlling (51%) interest in Eurosport in May. The service has several pay TV brands — Eurosport, Eurosport HD, Eurosport 2, Eurosport 2 HD, Eurosport Asia-Pacific and Eurosportnews — that generally have focused on lower-cost rights like German Bundesliga soccer outside of Germany, skiing and cycling. The channels recently scored ratings gains with French Open tennis matches, averaging about 1.36 million viewers, and broke the 50-million viewer mark in France with cycling’s Tour de France.

“We think we can build Eurosport by being strategic and working with our partners,” Discovery CEO David Zaslav said at the Communacopia conference last week. Eurosport “has one feed that is sold on a Pan-European basis; we can put it into all 70 countries without adding one sales person. We also have a strong local presence. In some cases we think we can build a very strong local sports channel.”

Zaslav coyly replied “maybe” when asked whether those channels would be based on a U.S. regional sports network model.

The time might be ripe for European regional sports, Lee Berke, CEO of sports consultancy LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media, said.

While most prestige rights are locked into long-term contracts with big European distributors — such as BSkyB’s and BT’s $4.9-billion, three-year lock on England’s Barclays Premier League soccer — Berke sees room for channels built around a particular sport or team. “That’s where I think you can get some traction,” he said.

The biggest questions are which rights, which sports and how much money would Discovery be willing to spend. But the programmer has been willing to open its checkbook. This year, it teamed with Liberty Global to buy production company All3Media for about $1 billion and is expected to team up with Liberty Media to bid on a 49% stake in Formula One Racing, worth about $4 billion.

Berke also said Eurosport could build channels around supplemental and shoulder programming from teams, as well as regional skiing, Scandinavian hockey and European basketball.

Other U.S. networks’ efforts to secure major rights in Europe have not had much long-term success. ESPN, for example, had Barclays Premier League rights for a time, but then sold its U.K. and Ireland channels to BT last year. ESPN still has a strong digital European presence through its espn.co.uk website and others, but has shifted international focus mainly towards Latin America.

That could mean the market has room for a well-run competitor, and Eurosport has the experience to possibly pull it off, Berke said. “They have navigated their way through distribution country by country,” he said. “ My guess is they’re saying some of the same things we’re saying here in the U.S. — more interest in developing a range of programming on a range of screens and a range of distribution outlets.”