Kolb to lead Discovery’s digital nets

Discovery Communications has tapped the former president of E! Entertainment to oversee its digital networks.

Suzanne Kolb

Suzanne Kolb is joining the US factual giant as executive VP and general manager of Discovery Digital Networks.

Starting immediately, Kolb will oversee the company’s portfolio of more than 70 web-based brands and series, original digital development, social partnerships and Discovery VR.

She was previously president of E! Entertainment, overseeing the pop culture brand’s growth across platforms and year-round original programming – including Keeping Up With the Kardashians – in more than 160 territories. She left E! in 2014 after just shy of 10 years with the firm in various roles.

Kolb said: “I love building culturally relevant, young-adult content brands and businesses, and I am thrilled to join such a talented team to do just that at Discovery Digital Networks.

“Discovery Digital Networks offers some of the highest-quality and most engaging content in digital today, and I see no limit to its potential to become the next great portfolio of brands within the Discovery family.”

Kolb will report to Karen Leever, who joined as executive VP and general manager of digital media in October last year, and will split her time between Discovery’s offices in LA and San Francisco.

In related news Discovery Communications and Toyota are have partnering on a ten-part virtual reality travelogue series.

Let’s Go Places: Austin is an immersive digital experience taking audiences to attractions around Austin, Texas, with Brian Brushwood and Justin Robert Young as their guides.