JB Perrette & Luis Silberwasser
JB Perrette
Title: President, Discovery Networks International
Years in Cable: 14
Education: BA, public policy, Hamilton College
Best Advice: Your wife is always right.
Luis Silberwasser
Title: EVP/Chief Content Officer, Discovery Networks International
Years in Cable: 16
Education: BS, Industrial Engineering, Georgia Tech; MBA, Harvard Business School
Best Advice: Know your stuff—don’t wing it.
Perrette’s passport is seeing action like never before, as the leader of Discovery’s digital operations switched gears to head the company’s international business this year. It’s a crucial role for Discovery; the company’s international business is spiraling with the acquisition of SBS Nordics, pan-Euro sports platform Eurosport and the launch of TLC in the U.K.—just to name a few. Great ideas don’t know boundaries, and Silberwasser led the development of 60 original series in 2013, with more than 70 U.K. production houses and dozens of others from around the world. Look for him to continue mining DNI’s local production, development and programming teams for original ideas that can play on a global stage, as he did adapting popular Italian series “Shopping Night” into “Shopaholic Showdown” for international distribution.
Perrette
I watch the majority of programming on this device: On an iPad on a plane
Dish I can make and that would impress a celebrity chef: Cheese soufflé
Favorite TV show as a kid: “The Dukes of Hazzard”
Frank Underwood or Nick Brody? Nick Brody
Who’s on tap for the next big comeback? The Mets
Silberwasser
I watch the majority of programming on this device: TV
Frank Underwood or Nick Brody? Neither – Saul Berenson.
Favorite Restaurant: Andres Carne de Res in Bogota, Colombia; The River Café in London.
Favorite TV show as a kid: “Happy Days”
If someone forced me to cut the cord and only watch 3 OTT shows, they would be: “Scandal,” “Game of Thrones,” “Premier League Highlights”