Discovery Inc.
The summer of 2019, I served as an Ad Sales Intern at Discovery Inc.
Discovery, a mass media company with $10.95B in revenue as of February 2019 (https://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-newsroom/discovery-inc-reports-full-year-and-fourth-quarter-2018-results/) has an amazing array of channels within its portfolio. This diversity of ‘Real Life Entertainment’ networks comes from a recent strategic merger with Scripps Networks. As a result, I had the opportunity to learn about the media industry from both Discovery & Scripps legacy employees.
From May to August, my role in the Ad Sales sector working with the Discovery/Travel/Science Channels & MotorTrend “bundle” (DTSM) provided me a breadth of knowledge. I’ve gathered the value of Advertising Sales as a key revenue stream for the company with national advertisers and their agencies a source of monetary fuel for our networks’ content.
As an Ad Sales Intern, my journey began with shadowing Sales Assistants (SAs) to understand commercial bookings through internal forums Broadway and iDeal. Conversing with these entry-level employees, I not only got accustomed to the Discovery workplace with employees close to my age, but more importantly learned valuable information regarding what Ad Sales truly entails. Talking with the SAs, I was taught flighting, revisions, allocations, added value, billboards, audience deficiency units (ADUs), DNAs (DoNotAir), Pre & Post-logs, as well as different types of spots ( 15 & 30 second spots vs. those custom or sponsored). Moreover, I was educated on Upfront season; a reoccurring phenomenon specific to the television industry that brings in advertising dollars for upcoming quarters. Sitting with the SAs was an amazing, interactive experience as I now watch commercials with an entirely new perspective!
Over the course of my summer, I, too, met with senior professionals not only in Ad Sales, but also in departments like Commercial Operations, Ad Sales Marketing, Digital Advertising (ENGAGE), Partnerships, Licensing, Programming & Development, and Network Creative Services. All of these sectors combined have cast a strong light on the many moving parts required to keep Discovery afloat and to ensure the company’s growth.
Beyond meeting incredibly successful individuals who have climbed the corporate ladder at Discovery, interns were also granted a chance to attend special events, one of them being the ringing of the Nasdaq Closing Bell for 2019 Shark Week! 9 co-interns & I had the amazing opportunity to participate in this annual and rare celebration.
We, too, celebrated #NationalInternDay with a hands-on, informative tour of the Food Network test kitchen located in Chelsea Market. Speaking with the employees, we heard of the essential work they do everyday to ensure all recipes turn out well before hitting any show, webpage, or newsstand. Full-time chefs and freelancers alike test, develop, and photograph these recipes over multiple rounds for the sake of consistent execution & quality assurance.
Luckily we had the chance to meet Sous Chef Miriam Garron, Production Kitchen Manager & Culinary Producer. Miriam is well-known for her 15+ years of experience in Culinary Media and her on-air collaboration with Bobby Flay on ‘ThrowDown! with Bobby Flay.’ She spoke to us 80 New York-based interns about what makes for Food Network success.
Most important, over the course of this internship, my co-interns & I crafted a variety of comprehensive presentations using our external industry knowledge and available internal research to educate our higher-ups. We covered topics such as social media success, generational trends, and competitor insights.
In our final master pitch presented to senior leadership, we identified $18M+ worth of untapped ad sales revenue amongst the Discovery portfolio.