Discovery Consolidates Global Media Operations
Expanded Responsibilities for John Honeycutt, Myrna Renaud
August 27, 2007
(Silver Spring, MD) Moving to centralize its global network operations infrastructure, Discovery Communications today named John Honeycutt as Executive Vice President and Chief Media Technology Officer and Myrna Renaud as Senior Vice President, International Media Operations. Honeycutt is based at global headquarters in Silver Spring and Renaud is based at the Latin American headquarters in > Miami .
With their new responsibilities, Honeycutt and Renaud will command a global network operations infrastructure that delivers content in 35 languages to more than 1.5 billion people across 170 countries worldwide, via 125 distribution feeds. Three international operations centers that had reported to regional executives will all report to Renaud, who will report to Honeycutt.
“These two executives are proven leaders, and I’m certain they will ensure that Discovery, the number-one nonfiction media company, remains in the forefront of data and program transmission,” said Mark Hollinger, President of Global Businesses and Operations, to whom Honeycutt will continue to report. “By maintaining the highest standards – from input, storage and digitalization of content to final broadcast transmission – John and Myrna will deliver the highest quality viewing experience to consumers worldwide.”
Honeycutt has served as Executive Vice President, Media Technology and Operations, in charge of U.S. operations including the state-of-the-art transmission center in >Sterling , Va. , and in-house production facilities in Silver Spring and Miami. His responsibilities will expand to include Discovery’s international broadcast centers in Miami, London and Singapore. He will guide Discovery’s embrace of digital technology and will ensure best practices across all global operations.
Renaud has served as Senior Vice President of Operations for Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic. She will lead all media operations for the company’s international division including broadcast operations, network operations and traffic scheduling management. Under her purview will be the center in >Miami , which delivers content to 33 countries across Latin America as well as the U.S. Hispanic market; the >London facility which delivers networks to 110 markets across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and the tapeless Singapore center that spans 30 markets across India and the Asia-Pacific region.
Honeycutt joined Discovery in 2003 as Senior Vice President, Television Operations Group. He directed the design and launch of the Discovery Television and Technology Center in > Sterling , the state-of-the-art home for network origination of Discovery’s U.S. Networks and BBC America. The two in-house production centers under his guidance provide post-production and creative services to Discovery’s businesses worldwide, as well as architecture and standards, television engineering, affiliate technology and network operations support.
Before joining Discovery, Honeycutt served as Senior Vice President of Broadcast Operations for Fox Cable Networks in Los Angeles . A native of Massachusetts , he holds a B.S. in Communications from Fitchburg State College.
Renaud joined Discovery in 1995 as Vice President, Network/Commercial operations for Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic and played a crucial role in guiding the development of the regional business, which has grown from two feeds in 1995 to 24 feeds across 12 brands. Prior to joining Discovery, she held various positions in the areas of ad sales support, continuity and traffic for Viacom in >New York City and MTV Latino in > Miami . Renaud attended Queens College City University of New York where she majored in Communications.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications is the number-one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Through TV and digital media, Discovery's 100-plus worldwide networks include Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, The Science Channel, Discovery Health and Discovery HD Theater. Discovery Communications is owned by Discovery Holding Co. (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, Discovery's founder and chairman. For more information please visit www.discoverycommunications.com .