Sports media industry veteran Peter Hutton has been appointed chief executive of pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport, it was announced this (Wednesday) afternoon.
Hutton will succeed Jean-Thierry Augustin, who has been appointed by Eurosport’s parent company, media and entertainment business Discovery Communications, to the newly-created role of president of sports strategy and development at Discovery Networks International.
Hutton, who will join Eurosport on March 1, has more than 30 years of experience in the industry. In November, MP & Silva announced that he would be leaving his role as co-chief executive of the agency to “return to the broadcasting industry” after 18 months at the helm.
At Eurosport, Hutton will oversee the broadcaster’s sports-rights negotiations and will lead a content strategy that will “bring renewed focus to programming, production, promotion and platforms,” according to a statement.
Both Hutton and Augustin will be based in Paris and will report to JB Perrette, the president of Discovery Networks International.
“As we approach the one year anniversary of Discovery’s acquisition of Eurosport in May, our focus is now on unlocking the full value of our must-have sports content for the entire Discovery Communications portfolio to benefit our advertisers, affiliates, audiences and shareholders around the world,” Perrette said. “Jean-Thierry has been at the helm of Eurosport for a number of years during which he has proved to be a tremendous commercial leader and this new role will harness his expertise to build Discovery’s global sports strategy and expertise.”
Perrette added that Hutton has “excelled in the sports media business” with “extensive experience in Europe, Asia and Middle East, and strong relationships with broadcasters and rights holders.”
Hutton said: “I look forward to building on the great work of Jean-Thierry Augustin and his team to ensure that we further improve our line-up of world-class sports relevant to our audiences throughout Europe and Asia.”
In May 2014, Discovery increased its interest in Eurosport International to 51 per cent from 20 per cent as part of a broader strategic partnership with French commercial broadcaster TF1 that began in December 2012. TF1 continues to be the majority shareholder of the Eurosport France division, in which Discovery has a 20-per-cent stake.