Discovery hires Mike Rich as Head of Sports Marketing Solutions

Discovery, Inc. (“Discovery” or the “Company”) DISCA DISCB, DISCK))) announces the appointment of Mike Rich as Head of Sports Marketing Solutions, with particular oversight of Eurosport advertising sales.

In this newly created role, Mike will lead Eurosport's commercial sales organisation and help execute a strategy that leverages Discovery's premium sports portfolio, to create unique solutions for marketers and advertisers around the world. In line with Discovery's strategy of being the global leader in brands and products that power people's passions, Mike and team will be tasked with delivering premium value and experiences for clients around these deep connections with our passionate fans.

Rich, who will assume his position on September 23, will be based in London and report to Andrew Georgiou, who joins next month as President, Eurosport and Global Sports Rights & Sports Marketing Solutions, and work closely with the wider Discovery local market and direct to consumer leadership teams.

Rich joins Discovery from Fox Networks where he served as Executive Vice President, Sales & Content Partnerships in Asia. During his time at Fox Asia, he transformed the product portfolio and sales approach offering across Asia and the Middle East, building out their digital product offering, social media and digital video and created an in-house content creation studio the combination of which drove significant advertiser appetite & increased revenues.

Prior to joining Fox, Rich held senior positions at the two largest global media businesses – GroupM and Publicis – building creative content solutions for some of the world's largest advertisers and launching a number of internal divisions, focused on creative excellence in the use of content, including GroupM Entertainment Sports & Partnerships and Publicis Content Ventures.

Commenting on the appointment, JB Perrette, President & CEO Discovery International, said: “We are thrilled to welcome another world-class leader to our Group who knows the sports world and has a proven track record of delivering commercial success on a local, regional and global level. We have a big untapped opportunity to work much more closely with marketers to take advantage of our world class sports portfolio, and Mike is the perfect person to lead this.”

Rich commented: “Discovery's ambitious plans to change the way fans consume sports and their passions is an exciting journey to be joining. With a clear focus on powering people's passions, an existing portfolio of premium sports content, including next year's Olympic Games, and a range of products and services to meet the needs of all partners, there is a huge opportunity to leverage the scale and reach of the group's trusted brands.”

— WebWireID246606 —