Discovery

International media and entertainment company Discovery Communications has transformed the structure of its regional businesses across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and promoted Kasia Kieli to lead operations.

International sports broadcaster Eurosport has signed an advertising and content partnership with Snap Inc, the parent company of social media platform Snapchat, in a move designed to engage younger audiences in next year’s winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Uefa has increased the value of Europa League media rights in Scandinavia by about 45 per cent in deals with TV2 in Norway and Discovery Communications in Denmark and Sweden.

The Six Nations last week secured a long-term deal with media company NBCUniversal in the US, but is understood to have suffered a 40-per-cent fall in the value of its rights in Italy.

Last month’s Olympic Games sublicensing deal in Germany with ARD and ZDF has plugged a large gap in Discovery Communications’ revenue projections.

Olympic Channel-branded content will launch on international sports broadcaster Eurosport in August as part of a new partnership announced this (Friday) morning between the latter’s parent company, Discovery Communications, and the International Olympic Committee-operated channel.

Amaury Sport Organisation has increased the value of its Tour de France media rights across Europe by just under 20 per cent following a renewal with the European Broadcasting Union this month.

ARD and ZDF are close to a sublicensing deal with Discovery Communications for Olympic Games rights in Germany about nine months after negotiations between the parties broke down.    

Media companies Discovery Communications and Viacom have held separate merger talks with Scripps Networks Interactive, according to the Bloomberg news agency.

Dominic Coles is stepping down from his role as executive vice-president of strategic projects at international media and entertainment company Discovery Networks International.

The Regional Court of Cologne has ruled in favour of international media and entertainment company Discovery Communications in a dispute over pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland’s recent marketing campaign surrounding Bundesliga football coverage in the country.

Telecommunications group Telecom Italia (TIM) has agreed a first-of-its-kind partnership with media and entertainment company Discovery Communications that will grant it access to content from the Olympic Games.

Discovery Communications chose to sublicense free-to-air French Open tennis rights in Spain this year after previously keeping coverage for its Dmax channel in the country.

The Swedish football league earned an increase of about 120 per cent in the value of its media rights last month as Discovery continued its strategy of buying domestic football league rights in Scandinavia.

Jean-Thierry Augustin is to step down from his role as president, sports and Olympics development, at media company Discovery Networks International in order to pursue new ventures.

Group Nine Media has struck a deal with Discovery Communications that will allow the digital media company’s NowThis service to act as a social video production and distribution provider for Eurosport’s Olympic Games coverage.