Discovery Inc. has named veteran Amazon executive Peter Faricy to the newly created role of CEO, global direct-to-consumer, overseeing the company’s digital and direct-to-consumer businesses.
He will start on Sept. 17 and report to Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav. JB Perrette, president and CEO of Discovery Networks International, will continue to lead the overall Eurosport business and will work with Faricy on direct-to-consumer product rollouts across international markets.
“Peter is a world-class executive with an extensive track record of building some of the world’s most successful direct-to-consumer products and businesses,” said Zaslav. “We are excited to welcome Peter and his vision and skill set to the Discovery leadership team as we accelerate our pivot to become a next-generation media company engaging passionate communities of fans around the world on every screen with trusted, high-quality brands and content.”
Faricy, who Discovery said brings more than 20 years of “leadership experience at the intersection of technology and media” to the role, will lead the firm’s “current digital and direct-to-consumer businesses comprising U.S. Digital, including Discovery’s Go TV Everywhere products, as well as Motor Trend, Eurosport Player, Discovery Kids, Dplay, and Discovery’s strategic alliance with PGA Tour to create the global home of golf.”
Faricy is also tasked with steering Discovery’s “ongoing evolution and growth as a digital and direct-to-consumer media leader as it navigates the changing media and technology marketplace around the world.”
“Hundreds of millions of consumers love, trust and admire the iconic brands of the Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, Eurosport, TLC, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery (ID), Travel Channel and so many more,” said Faricy. “As the media and tech industries increasingly converge, Discovery has positioned itself as a clear leader. Our mission is to delight customers by leveraging technology to provide access to the content they love, anywhere and anytime.”
He added: “I’m incredibly excited to join Discovery at this important juncture and to help accelerate the company’s ongoing evolution as a technology-powered media company reaching viewers around the world.”
At Amazon, Faricy oversaw the growth of the Amazon Marketplace, the company’s third-party seller business, and previously led the e-tailer’s music and movies categories. He also held leadership roles at Borders Group, Ford and McKinsey.
