Discovery Communications names Fox executive Peter Liguori as chief operating officer

Discovery names Fox entertainment president as COO

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Discovery Communications Inc., which owns Discovery, TLC and other cable channels, on Monday named Peter Liguori as chief operating officer, effective Jan. 19.

He replaces Mark Hollinger, 50, who became chief executive of Discovery Networks International.

Liguori, 49, was recently entertainment president for Fox Broadcast Co., a unit of News Corp. He also was CEO of News Corp.’s FX Networks, which encompasses FX and Fox Movie Channel. Under Liguori, the audience reach of FX more than doubled to 84 million in five years, according to Discovery.

At Discovery, Liguori will oversee Discovery Studios, as well as marketing, corporate communications and corporate affairs, business affairs and media technology, production and operations.

He will represent Discovery in joint ventures with Hasbro Inc. and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. Liguori also will be chairman of Discovery’s content committee, a group comprising general networks from its U.S. cable channels.

Shares of Discovery Communications added 37 cents to $31.75 in midday trading.