Discovery hires digital chief

Discovery Communications has appointed former NBC Universal executive Jean-Briac Perrette as chief digital officer.

Perrette, who was previously president, digital and affiliate distribution and content distribution strategy at the Hollywood studio, will lead Discovery’s digital strategy that includes a number of websites such as Howstuffworks.com as well as its digital distribution efforts including deals with Apple, Netflix and Amazon.

“[Jean-Briac] is one of the top digital strategists in the media industry today and joins Discovery at an important time in our growth and development. We look forward to [Jean-Briac’s] leadership in taking Discovery to the next level of growth as we continue focusing on creating value, deepening engagement with more viewer sampling of our brands and monetising our 25-year programming library across an increasing number of digital distribution platforms,” said David Zaslav, president and chief executive of Discovery Communications.