Discovery’s first mission with Eurosport will be to make it more of a local service, according to David Zaslav, president and CEO, Discovery Communications.
Speaking in a ‘fireside chat’ at FT Digital Media 2014, he added that it would then see what else it could add to the service.
Asked whether this would involve securing major sports rights such as to the Premier League, he said that it may make joint bids or leave the rights to large broadcasters.
Zaslav said that tennis, winter sports and cycling are very much “locked in” on Eurosport and may go out to all 54 countries the service is present in.
The question is if it now goes up a level.
Asked about Discovery’s plans for the UK, Zaslav refused to comment specifically about its interest in Channel 5.
However, he did say that it views the country, where it has been present for over 20 years, in a positive light and a place it plans to continue to invest in.
Zaslav added that he sees Discovery’s main growth coming in international markets. Just eight years ago, they accounted for $100 million of its revenues, and by 2013 the figure had risen to over $1 billion.
In Europe, it had enjoyed annual growth of 20% over the last four years. This has surprised the company, which “loves” both the UK and European market.
