Yitz Shmulewitz and Dominic Coles have been appointed to senior positions as part of a management reshuffle of pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport following its takeover by US media company Discovery Communications.
Shmulewitz has been named as the new chief operating officer of Eurosport, while Coles will replace Schmulewitz as Discovery’s head of finance and operations in western Europe, according to the Guardian newspaper.
Coles (pictured) will move to Discovery after having served as director of operations at UK public-service broadcaster the BBC. Discovery completed the acquisition of Eurosport in June.
Anne Bulford, the BBC’s managing director of finance and operations, said: “He (Coles) has negotiated sports deals which have secured amazing events for the BBC and our audiences, and helped us make vital and significant cost savings.”
Coles will report to Dee Forbes, president and managing director of Discovery’s western European business, and Doug Baker, operations and finance chief of Discovery Networks International.
Forbes said: “The sports experience he obtained managing the BBC’s London 2012’s Olympic activities will also be invaluable to us as we align Eurosport’s assets with our own. The western Europe business is on a big growth trajectory and we have major ambitions over the coming months and years.”