Discovery Creates Unified International Ad Sales Team

Discovery Communications said it formed a new international sales division called One Discovery World.

The new division will offer advertisers access to Discovery’s portfolio of networks and sports programming, including the Olympic Games for 2018 to 2024.

“Advertisers and brands have evolved well beyond the ad break to embed effectively at the center of popular culture,” said Jonathan Davies, senior VP and managing director, advertiser partnerships, who leads the new Discovery Networks International and Eurosport Ad Sales team. “We have cultivated a strong ad sales leadership team to meet this changing dynamic, and coupled with Discovery’s incredible portfolio, including Eurosport and the Olympic Games, we are uniquely positioned to provide bespoke creative and strategic content solutions to the world’s top sponsors and advertisers, and at the highest levels of service.”

The One Discovery World team will include top executives from around the world. They include Viviane Paxinos, VP, ad sales, London; Sylvain Roger, VP, ad sales, Paris; Atsushi Saito, VP, ad sales, Asia Pacific; Deena Edwards, VP, Olympic & strategic partnerships; Tricia Thompson, director, Olympic and strategic partnership for the EMEA region; and Paul Harper, who joins Discovery as executive creative director, a new position, from Turner Broadcasting.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.