Warner Bros. Discovery UK appoints leadership team led by Antonio Ruiz

Warner Bros. Discovery UK has placed its leadership team under General Manager Antonio Ruiz.

Ruiz was previously appointed General Manager for the UK & Ireland in June, reporting to Priya Dogra, President and Managing Director, EMEA. The manager, who recently relocated to London from Madrid, previously served as general manager for Discovery in Spain, France and Portugal.

Ruiz has now confirmed his top executives. The team includes:

Clare Laycock – The long-time Discovery executive will now oversee the editorial team, including local content production, programming and media planning.

Neil Marshall – The veteran Warner Bros. executive will continue to oversee theatrical distribution and local film production and acquisitions.

Alison Morris – The 15-year-old Warner Bros. executive will oversee TV licensing and digital home entertainment distribution

Katie Coteman – The long-time Discovery executive will manage ad sales, including advertising, digital ad sales, sponsorships and sports solutions

Alex Foley – The Discovery executive joined WarnerMedia in 2021 to oversee portfolio planning and insights and will continue to serve as head of insights, strategy and retail planning.

Alex Lewis – Veteran Warner Bros. executive will oversee marketing, creative services, brand partnerships, franchise management, social media and consumer PR.

Rachel Wakeley – The five-year Warner Bros. executive will lead retail, consumer products, physical home video, games, supply chain and experiences

Ruiz said of his team: “Since becoming General Manager for UK & Ireland I have focused on defining our strategy and structure and today I am delighted to announce my new leadership team.

“Both legacy companies are home to tremendous talent, which makes me even more excited about the organization we are building for the future as we seek to maximize our portfolio of brands, content, products and channels, along with our ambition to have a hugely successful one to deliver streaming business. in the UK and Ireland,” continued Ruiz.

The UK is a key market for Warner Bros. Discovery, which just on Tuesday unveiled a 149-hour package of new programming for Discovery’s linear channels and streaming service Discovery+ amid questions about the future of unscripted content at the company ( especially on HBO Max). Meanwhile, Discovery’s Sport SVOD Eurosport will soon merge with BT Sport in a 50-50 joint venture.

However, the HBO Max part of the equation is still being worked out. Sky’s legacy output deal for HBO and some HBO Max content – which was renewed in 2019 in what WarnerMedia saw as a surprise at the time – is expected to run until 2025.

Warner Bros. Discovery will hold its second-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday. At that point, the company is expected to share more details about its structure, program priorities, and streaming configuration for the HBO Max and Discovery+ combination.