TCA: Discovery Executives on Navigating Expansion

Zaslav noted that with the strong female skew of so many of the networks this expanded group is amp8220aggregating 22 25 percent of the audience of women in America on any particular nightamp8221amp160 Further the company can readily crosspromote between all the networksamp160 amp8220With the broad reach that we have now we have an ability day and date to tell people on HGTV and Food and ID that something great is going on over on TLCamp8221 he saidamp160 amp8220We39re kind of just growing into our new set of assets but we39re working together really well and things are going better than we expectedamp8220Kathleen was running all the Scripps Networks and we added to them for her TLC and IDamp8221 he continuedamp160 amp8220It39s the Lifestyle group but it39s a lot of our female networksamp160 When we look at all our networks that lean toward women it39s quite a collectionamp160 We have four of the top five channels for women in America with ID HGTV Food and TLCamp160 Actually we have the three top cable networks for womenamp8221Reminding the room that she is one of the legacy Scripps team members that moved over to Discovery Finch noted of the four months since the merger amp8220One of the things thatamp8217s been really fun is the way we39re able to sort of look across the landscape at the incredible audience that we now command and how can we work togetheramp160 On the legacy Scripps side Food Network leaned in really quickly to have a lot of fun with Nancy39s group around Shark Weekamp160 There are so many things that we can do now that we39re in the same family and not on opposite ends of the spectrum or competing with one anotheramp160 Itamp8217s really been exciting and invigorating to get all of our creative people together to think about how big we can make this as one teamamp8221amp160Asked about how the merger might alter programming development Daniels replied amp8220Our mission for Discovery Channel and Science Channel remains the sameamp160 There hasnamp8217t really been a shift in that because of the merger but what we have seen is that it39s been amazing to come together as a bigger company and understand how we do business together how we interact with the community and to be introduced to people we haven39t been working with beforeamp160 Thatamp8217s exciting and new for us as wellamp8221One definitive change is that Discovery is moving out of the scripted businessamp160 amp8220We did two big scripted projects both of which were critically wellreceivedamp8221 Daniels recalledamp160 amp8220But at the end of the day and before I came onto the network we decided to do what we do best and focus on nonfiction programmingamp160 There39s a lot of scripted content out thereamp160 It39s hard to break throughamp160 We decided to really focus on what we do best and what we39re known for which is nonfictionamp8221amp160Zaslav noted that putting Dinnage in charge of Animal Planet on a global basis is part of the expanded companyamp8217s decision to experiment with new business strategiesamp160 amp8220Directionally we think this may be a way that we want to go but rather than program a cable network in the US and then have teams around the world working with Kathleen and Nancy we have one person programming one channel everywhere in the worldamp8221amp8220I39m developing content very much with a global consumer in mindamp8221 Dinnage addedamp160 amp8220We have some of the strongest global brands in entertainmentamp160 Animal Planet alone is in 360 million homesamp160 The North American network remains our foundation and incredibly important to us but I39m throwing the doors open alongside Nancy and Kathleen to the whole worldamp160 We have great digital partners with Group Nine and the world39s our oysteramp160 We39ve been thinking about the globe not just about one marketamp8221Daniels said that she sees the widespread digital presence of the new network group as a big opportunity for the companyamp160 amp8220When I look at our digital presence and our digital platforms Discovery is a very strong brandamp8221 she explainedamp160 amp8220It39s really meaningful on a brand level and I see opportunities for us on digital platforms to build up our connections whether it be through Discovery GO or through our different social networksamp160 A lot of my focus is going to be on building those up and making those stronger in the years to comeamp160 We can cultivate a whole new different younger audience when we39re really firing on all cylinders across all platformsamp8221amp8220An example of that is Shark Weekamp8221 Zaslav notedamp160 amp8220Nancy and her team have had some great success this week with itamp160 We got over 750000 streams yesterday and the average age of the people that were streaming on Discovery GO was 26 years oldamp160 Thatamp8217s in one dayamp160 What it used to be was you39d wake up in the morning and you39d say amp8216What39s the Nielsen rating for what we did last nightamp8217amp160 Now it39s amp8216What39s the Nielsen ratingamp8217 and then we call up our Discovery GO team and say amp8216How many people were on Discovery GO yesterday and how many streams of content were consumedamp8217amp160 A very young demographic starting to approach a million streams a day of consumption at a very young age is a big positive for usamp8221Zaslav was asked if Discovery is now amp8220big enoughamp8221 or if he thinks the company needs to get even larger to compete in the digital worldamp8220I wish I knew how all the chips are gonna fall but we39ve placed a lot of chips as bets in areas of the field that most of our competitors haven39tamp8221 he repliedamp160 amp8220We39re feeling quite good about itamp160 If you look at our industry the majority of media players are playing in scripted series and scripted moviesamp160 It39s very competitive it39s very crowdedamp160 And you get one of the great leaders of our industry Rupert Murdoch saying he is gonna sell 21st Century Foxamp160 At first we were surprised but then we said with the competition of Amazon Apple and Netflix the competitive nature of that side of the business has really changedamp160 The amount of scripted content has changedamp160 The amount of dollars going against movies has changed amp160We really see the media business as being two sidesamp160 One side is scripted series and movies and we39ve moved away from thatamp160 We see what we have as everything elseamp160 We have all this great quality content and we own all of it globally we39re a global IP company and in terms of where are within the media business we have a lot of scaleamp160 In the US we39re the second largest TV company in terms of reach in the USamp160 NBC Universal is No 1amp160 We39re the No 2 TV company in the worldquotamp8220Eventually we can go directtoconsumer with some or all of thatamp8221 he continuedamp160 amp8220We think an offering of all our content for six seven eight dollars would look very different to consumers everywhere in the world that love and know our brandsamp160 As we see the future for five six seven or eight dollars you can get these great global brands with characters and shows and a fantastic libraryamp160 People are consuming more of our content our share is growing and so we feel good about where we are right nowamp8221amp8220One of the things that we really do like to do is figure out what our brand lens is and then we never veer from itamp8221 Finch saidamp160 amp8220We doubledown on something that feels authentic that feels like it belongs on our brand and it39s really all from a consumer39s view backamp160 So when we39re thinking about the brand what we39re thinking about is what does our viewer want to watch in the home space in the food space in the relationship space which is what TLC is all about or in the investigative space which is what ID is all aboutamp160 We are very very brandspecificamp160 We sit in a development room and the question is amp8216Will the viewer like itamp8217amp8220If it39s across the line a little bit if it39s outside the wheelhouse and if somebody else could do it if it39s a food show for instance that belongs on Bravo and Bravo has some great food shows we aren39t going to do it because Bravo has a way of doing food and Food Network has a way of doing foodamp8221 she continuedamp160 amp8220Keeping that lens really tight and really focused is really what we want to do because we superserve our audienceamp160 We want to make sure that our audience knows that 247 we39re going to give them the content that they expectamp160 That39s how we keep our audience as big as it isamp8221amp8220We39re not putting stuff on just for ratingsamp8221 Zaslav notedamp160 amp8220We39re trying to really nourish these audiencesamp160 But we39re also a very safe environmentamp160 More and more in media you go out onto the web and who knows what you39re going to find or what you39re going to be nearamp160 For a mom or a dad to be able to say amp8216I39m going to take the full portfolio that Discovery has in the US or around the world and we39re in 52 languages we have on average 12 channels in every country and I39m going to make that available to my family means a lotamp160 They never have to think twice about what they39re watchingamp160 In the current environment where itamp8217s hard to tell who produced what what it really is whatamp8217s going to come up when you type in what name on the web this environment that we39ve created globally at Discovery is one that we think is quite attractiveamp160 Itamp8217s safe and itamp8217s fun and we can grow itamp8221Click on the social media tiles above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively those of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160

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TCA: Discovery Executives on Navigating Expansion

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