SILVER SPRING, MD.:Peter Liguori has been named chief operating officer of Discovery Communications. He’ll report to President and CEO David Zaslav. Liguori replaces Mark Hollinger, who last week assumed the role of president and CEO of Discovery Networks International. Liguori will step into the job Jan. 19. 2010.
He was most recently president of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting and was cut in a reorganization of the division of News Corp. He had been chief of News Corp.’s FX cable networks before the broadcasting gig. He rose through the ranks after having started in 1996 as a senior vice president of marketing for a division that now includes Fox Sports Net, FX, Fox Sports World, Speed and the National Geographic Channel.
As Discovery’s chief operating officer, Liguori will be a key member of the senior management team with oversight of marketing, Discovery Studios, corporate communications and affairs, business affairs, and media technology, production and operations. He’ll also serve as lead executive for Discovery’s joint ventures with Hasbro and The Oprah Winfrey Network, and serve on the company’s content committee.
