Vowing to be one of the top global media companies of the future, Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav Tuesday outlined how the company is positioned well to serve global consumers across platforms.
Zaslav opened Discovery’s Television Critics Association winter press tour presentation by stating the company is the second biggest in terms of media consumption behind only NBCUniversal. He added that its networks -- including the recently acquired Scripps services including Food Network and HGTV -- can serve all demos of viewers.
“We can own the kitchen with food and cooking, we can own home design with HGTV; we can own home repair with HGTV and DIY; we can own the garage with Motor Trend; we can own inspiration with Oprah Winfrey and living,” he said.
While consumers will be able to get scripted content in five to 10 places going forward including Netflix, HBO, Showtime and Starz, Zaslav said that Discovery will be able to serve viewers in all other areas. “[Scripted] is the ball; we are the rest of the field … and we think it's where the ball is going to be” he said. “We’re quality content that people love, whether it's food or home, or natural history -- its still what people spend more than 40% to 50% of their time viewing across all platforms,” he said.
On the international side, Zaslav said Discovery is the top media sports company, and he pointed to Discovery’s recent deal with Tiger Woods for its Golf TV SVOD service as an example of Discovery’s ability to serve sports fans with high quality content.
