Neil Chugani was named head of Discovery’s strategy and operations for its direct-to-consumer business. He will also serve as CFO for its streaming vertical.
Based in the company’s London office, Chugani, who was the CFO for Google and YouTube in Europe, Middle East and Africa, will report to Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.
Discovery’s catalog consists of 60,000 hours worth of content and it retains all global streaming rights. It uses the inventory on its Discovery GO platform in the U.S. and other regional DTC streaming services in Europe, as well as globally.
Chugani will oversee the financial strategy that supports Discovery’s growth objectives in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space. He will be aligned with domestic and global markets to ensure uniform financial and operational practices.
He will also work closely with Peter Faricy, CEO of Discovery’s global direct-to-consumer business.
Faricy said Chugani has “a strong track record of strong and successful business growth in the tech and media sectors.” The hire is part of Discovery’s efforts to expand its global D2C offerings.
On an earnings call Feb. 27, Discovery president-CEO David Zaslav rejected the idea that the company would sell its content to other streaming services.
“We think we’re the best global IP company, and we’re the only company that has it in every language with the depth that we have. So right now, our strategy is to keep it all for ourselves,” Zaslav explained.