Years in Industry: Overall Career (21 years); In Media (1 year)
Education: BA, Seattle Pacific University (1999)
One of Discovery’s biggest revenue generators is its suite of 18 GO apps, which Leever has been hyper-focused on expanding. In 2019, the library jumped from 45,000 episodes to 62,000, now available on 700 million devices. Leever also grew stream volume in 4Q19 across every platform 58% YOY. On the DTC side, Whitworth played a major role in the creation of one stack technology, working to unify Discovery’s DTC strategy. In October, Whitworth and his team launched Discovery’s first DTC product in the US, Food Network Kitchen. Whitworth specifically created the technology that enables Food Network Kitchen’s “view and do” interactivity.
The COVID-19 pandemic forever changed my perspective on:
Working from home with young kids. It’s still not easy, but it can work well.
How has the pandemic shaped the industry’s future?
It’s further accelerating the move to direct-to-consumer and streaming services.
Number of subscriptions to streaming services:
5 (Disney+, Netflix, Food Network Kitchen, Amazon Prime, PBS Kids)
Without sports on TV, I have…
Watched more movies and continue to listen to audiobooks and podcasts.
What about travel used to annoy you but that now you actually miss?
Traffic….I miss listening to my audiobooks as much as I used to.
The future of broadband is…
It becomes an essential utility worldwide, like electricity.
When restaurants open back up, my first stop will be…
El Gaucho or Jak’s steakhouse
Last content I streamed:
“Broadchurch,” a British crime drama, on Netflix
Is cable recession proof?
No. As people’s incomes are impacted, more will be reluctant to keep paying their cable bills.
Slack channel I spend most of my time on?
Our Slack Channel for the leadership team for Food Network Kitchen
My prediction for a new business or product that could emerge from the pandemic is…
While not new, grocery delivery services are going to become a regular part of many people’s lives.
“Tiger King” is a thing because…
People love unusual and mysterious stories
The first thing I’ll do when I’m back in the office is…
Catch up with coworkers over a coffee
My prediction for AVODs is….
That is becomes more popular as customers subscribe to more and more subscription services
If I launched my own personal streaming service, it would be called….
Good Life
Working from home has taught me…
That having a quiet space to work is a luxury to be grateful for
Biggest challenge facing advertising?
Where to effectively target media customers with growth of ad-free SVOD services
Best Zoom background goes to…
My colleagues at Discovery using scenes from Discovery channels
Best TV commercial you’ve seen recently?
Commercial celebrating the NFL’s 100 Year Anniversary
Last show binged not on your networks:
“Broadchurch,” on Netflix
What product could you not live without?
Audible, Evernote, and Food Network Kitchen
Worst job you ever had?
Cleaning up a football stadium after the game