Discovery’s Dinnage to be Premier League CEO
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Editor
| 14 November 2018

As it is to ensure that the TV football money taps are kept in the gushing position, the English Premier League has looked to the TV industry for its next chief executive in the form of Susanna Dinnage, global president of Discovery’s Animal Planet brand.

Incumbent Richard Scudamore, whose reign at the pinnacle of English football has seen vast amounts of money pour into the game especially domestic deals with Sky and BT, will relinquish his duties at the end of 2019 and Dinnage is slated to commence her role early in 2019 at a time agreed with her current employer.

In addition to general football management issues, top of Dinnage’s in-tray will be maintaining and growing revenue streams, especially in non-UK and digital platforms. A general consensus is that in its last TV rights deal the Premier League miscalculated in how to package digital rights in the last rights issue leading to a late, lower-than-expected deal with Amazon.

In making its appointment, the Premier League said that it was very pleased to appoint what it called “such a capable leader” to the role, being particularly attracted to Dinnage’s record in managing businesses through transformation and digital disruption.

In her ten years with Discovery, Dinnage earned respect and deal-making spurs in a carriage row with now client Sky in January 2017. At the time, the then managing director of Discovery Networks UK and Ireland said that her company believed Sky was “using what we consider to be its dominant market position to further its own commercial interest over those of viewers and independent broadcasters.” When the row ended, Discovery asserted that its new deal was ‘meaningfully’ better than the existing contract and Sky’s proposal.

Commenting on her appointment, Dinnage said: “I am excited at the prospect of taking on this fantastic role. The Premier League means so much to so many people. It represents the pinnacle of professional sport and the opportunity to lead such a dynamic and inspirational organisation is a great privilege. With the support of clubs and the team, I look forward to extending the success of the League for many years to come.”

JB Perrette, president and CEO Discovery Networks International, added: “Susanna has been a terrific leader for Discovery over the last ten years. She has a strong understanding of brands and running diverse media businesses both in the UK and more recently with Animal Planet globally. She has been a fantastic team-mate for all of us at Discovery and we are delighted that she has been given this unique and ground-breaking opportunity to lead one of the world’s pre-eminent sports organisations.”