(Silver Spring, MD) Jane Latman, general manager of Discovery Fit & Health, which will be renamed Discovery Life Channel beginning January 15, 2015, has promoted Julie Meisner Eagle to vice president of production and development, effective immediately. In this role, Meisner Eagle will serve as a senior member of Discovery Life Channel’s content team, contributing to strategic planning and network management, and serving as a core decision maker for the new direction of the channel. She is responsible for overseeing and executing new programming throughout the entire development and production process, operating out of Discovery Communications’ headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.
Meisner Eagle began her tenure at Discovery Communications in 2009 at TLC, where she served as the executive producer for water-cooler series such as Sister Wives, Say Yes to the Dress, Strange Sex, and New York Ink. In 2013, she transitioned to Discovery Channel and worked on various projects, including Dude, You’re Screwed, Mile Wide Tornado, and Shark Week. Most recently, her expertise was recruited for Everest Jump LIVE, but production was halted when an avalanche killed 16 Sherpa guides, resulting in the quick-turn documentary, Everest Avalanche Tragedy.
“We were looking for the best creative in the business to rejuvenate this brand, and the ingenuity, boldness and clear vision that Julie brings is a perfect fit for Discovery Life Channel,” said Jane Latman, general manager of Discovery Life Channel. “As an award-winning producer, she has a proven track record and I’m confident that she will be able to cultivate and create content that will resonate with our viewers.”
With 18 years’ experience in creating hundreds of hours of programming, Meisner Eagle has developed and produced documentaries, non-fiction programs, talk shows, live events and puppet shows, as well as digital content. Prior to Discovery Communications, Meisner Eagle was a freelance writer and producer for various children’s shows that aired on PBS’ Sprout, Playhouse Disney, and Discovery Kids. Additionally, she served as co-executive producer at Film Garden Entertainment, where she oversaw production on a wide variety of specials and series that aired on Discovery Channel, TLC, Travel Channel, and MSNBC. Meisner Eagle is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Discovery Life Channel will debut on January 15, 2015 in 47 million homes on the current Discovery Fit & Health platform. Profiling ordinary people in extraordinary situations, Discovery Life presents an unfiltered look at real relationships – from patient and doctor to husband and wife or parent and child – while also emphasizing people as they face hardships, take risks and ultimately, persevere. Discovery Life will fuse the most successful current programming from Discovery Fit & Health’s library of health, medical, and factual programming with new series that explore life’s unexpected challenges and the moments that really matter.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching 2.7 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity, engaging and entertaining viewers with high-quality content on worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery also controls Eurosport International, a premier sports entertainment group, including six pay-TV network brands across Europe and Asia. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.