Lee Bartlett joins Discovery

Lee Bartlett, the former managing director of ITV Studios who left in the wake of the arrival of Channel 4's Kevin Lygo, has joined Discovery in an international programme acquisition role. Bartlett, who left ITV earlier this month , has taken the role of executive vice-president, global production management, business and legal affairs. His responsibilities will include managing day-to-day oversight of the acquisition of programming content for all of Discovery's networks and digital platforms globally, including content deals, intellectual property and licensing. Bartlett, who will be based in Los Angeles, will join on 1 September. Although based in the US he will also be responsible for maintaining operations under his remit in the UK. "Having known and worked with Lee for many years, I can attest firsthand to his expertise and skill in managing and negotiating high-level production and content acquisition deals," said the Discovery chief operating officer, Peter Liguori. "Lee's experience and innovative spirit will be a major asset to Discovery Communications as we continue to build our global brands with the highest quality non-fiction programming across our portfolio." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".