Discovery has named former Amazon executive Peter Faricy to the newly created role of CEO, global direct-to-consumer, overseeing the factual programmer’s global digital and direct-to-consumer businesses. He will start the new position on Sept. 17 and will report to Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
“Peter is a world-class executive, with an extensive track record of building some of the world’s most successful direct-to-consumer products and businesses,” Zaslav said in a statement. “We are excited to welcome Peter and his vision and skill set to the Discovery leadership team as we accelerate our pivot to become a next-generation media company engaging passionate communities of fans around the world on every screen with trusted, high quality brands and content.”
Faricy has more than 20 years of experience in technology and media, most recently leading Amazon Marketplace, the company’s third-party seller business, and previously led Amazon’s music and movies categories. Faricy has also held leadership roles at Borders Group, Ford, and McKinsey.
At Discovery, he will head the programmer’s efforts in the direct-to-consumer businesses, including Discovery’s GO TV Everywhere products, as well as Motor Trend, Eurosport Player, Discovery Kids, Dplay, and Discovery’s strategic alliance with PGA Tour.
Discovery Networks International CEO JB Perrette will continue to lead the overall Eurosport business and will work together with Faricy on direct-to-consumer product rollouts across international markets.
“Hundreds of millions of consumers love, trust and admire the iconic brands of the Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, Eurosport, TLC, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery (ID), Travel Channel and so many more," Faricy said in a statement. "As the media and tech industries increasingly converge, Discovery has positioned itself as a clear leader. Our mission is to delight customers by leveraging technology to provide access to the content they love, anywhere and anytime. I’m incredibly excited to join Discovery at this important juncture and to help accelerate the company’s ongoing evolution as a technology-powered media company reaching viewers around the world.”
