David Zaslav To Be New Discovery CEO; Second Senior Exec NBCU Loses This Week

It’s official following a day or so of rumors and reports: David Zaslav, president of NBC Universal Cable, Domestic TV and New Media Distribution, will be the next president and CEO of Discovery Communications, succeeding Judith McHale, who announced earlier this year she would leave when a successor was found. Zaslav has been serving on the TiVo board with Discovery chairman John Hendricks, who chaired the search committee. Zaslav goes even further back with Hendricks, working for him as a lawyer in the early days of Discovery. Release.
This is a loss for NBC, where Zaslav has played a pivotal role in the integration and expansion of the cable networks acquired in the deal with Vivendi Universal. He had been president of NBCU Cable since 1999, managing NBCU’s own networks as well as its interests in other cable ventures, when his duties expanded in May. He reported to Randy Falco, the president and COO of NBC Universal Television Groups who is leaving to head AOL.
He had significant competition for the job; Billy Campbell, president of Discovery Networks, was among the likely candidates. He has a tough act to follow in McHale, who became CEO in 2004 after serving as president and COO since 1995. Discovery, which reaches 1.4 billion subscribers around the world, is owned by Discovery Holding Company, Advance/Newhouse Communications, and Cox Communications. It has a substantial and growing new media presence, including multiple broadband channels and Discovery Mobile.

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