Denise Contis Named Discovery's EVP, Production & Development

Eileen O'Neill, Group President, Discovery & TLC, announced today that Denise Contis has accepted the position of Executive Vice President, Production and Development, Discovery Channel - West Coast. Based in Los Angeles, Contis will report to O'Neill. Her position, which becomes effective September 9th, was previously held by Nancy Daniels, who was recently promoted to General Manager of TLC.

"Denise is a perfect fit for this position," said O'Neill. "Having worked on both Discovery and TLC, she's a television executive who gets what both men and women of all ages want to see. Her track record of bringing quality programming to the Discovery family speaks for itself. I've worked with Denise for over six years now and I'm thrilled to grow this relationship and keep it going strong."

Contis most recently served as Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Discovery Channel, overseeing all execution for the channel's programming. While in this role, Contis oversaw SKYWIRE LIVE WITH NIK WALLENDA, which was the #1 weekend program (June 22-23, 2013) in all key demos and total viewers in all of television and spearheaded Discovery's recent summer ratings hit NAKED AND AFRAID. Also during her tenure, she helped launch Discovery staples including FAST N' LOUD, ALASKA: THE LAST FRONTIER, Yukon Men and has nurtured the hugely popular DEADLIEST CATCH.

Contis joined Discovery Communications in 2008 as Vice President, Production and Development -West Coast, TLC. While at TLC, she served as Executive Producer on TLC's SARAH PALIN'S ALASKA and oversaw the refresh of the TLC staple Say Yes To The Dress franchise, as well as LA INK and POLICE WOMEN.

Prior to Discovery Communications, Contis served as Senior Vice President, Programming at A. Smith and Company, whose clients included FOX, ABC, CBS and FX. Contis also launched her own agency TUK Media, where she worked with NBC, CBS, A&E, E! and TruTV. Prior to launching TUK, she worked as an executive consultant for Lifetime.

Contis lives in LA with her husband and her son. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Loyola Marymount University, and has been nominated for three Emmys.