Discovery Communications has promoted 18-year company veteran Rita Mullin to general manager, Science Channel.
Mullin will begin the role on June 2, transitioning from her current position as executive vice president, programming and development at OWN. Mullin has been with OWN since 2012.
“I am excited to call myself the newest member of the Science Channel team. I want to ignite people’s passions with the stories we have to share. Science is now. We want to capitalize on people’s curiosity for the unknown with thought-provoking programming, bold talent and out-of-this-world entertainment,” Mullin said in a release.
In addition to her position at OWN, Mullin’s previous experience with Discovery includes a position as vice president, content strategy for Discovery Fit & Health, as well as positions with TLC and Discovery Health Channel. Mullin has been a key factor in the success of several series across multiple Discovery networks, including OWN’s Our America with Lisa Ling and Life with La Toya.
At the Science Channel, Mullin will assume the role held for six years by Debbie Adler Myers, who helped launch popular series such as Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman as well as The Challenger Disaster, the network’s first scripted series. Myers served in various programming roles for three years at Discovery before becoming the Science Channel’s general manger, helping develop series such as TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress and Investigation Discovery’s On the Case with Paula Zahn.
“Debbie helped make science fun, inspiring and fascinating for viewers and helped to strengthen Discovery’s worldwide content engine. Rita’s track record of success across networks has proven her ability to nourish viewers’ curiosity across multiple genres,” David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, said in a release, “Many thanks to Debbie for her passionate leadership and commitment to Discovery for the past nine years, and heartfelt congratulations to Rita, who is well positioned to lead Science Channel through its next phase of meteoric growth.”
