Warner Bros. Discovery’s EMEA chief Priya Dogra to step down

Priya Dogra

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)’s president & MD for EMEA, Priya Dogra, is to leave the company.

Dogra took up the role following the $43bn merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery in 2022, with a remit across all WBD operations in the EMEA region from her London base.

She was also responsible for integrating and operating the Discovery and WarnerMedia International divisions across the region, and took on James Gibbons‘ remit for the UK and Ireland.

Discovery veteran Gibbons, who has been with the factual giant for two decades, moved to become president & MD for Australia, New Zealand & Japan, reporting to international chief Gerhard Zeiler.

Gerhard Zeiler

He revealed news of Dogra’s exit in a memo to staff this afternoon, explaining that “as we continue to evolve our company in response to significant changes in our industry, Priya Dogra and I have mutually agreed that she will leave WBD later this year.”

The EMEA division will now report directly to Zeiler, with Dogra’s role being disbanded.

Zeiler had worked with Dogra for more than a decade, initially at Turner, before beocming head of mergers & acquisitions for Time Warner and head of strategy & corporate development for WarnerMedia.

His note added: “I appreciate this news will come as a surprise to many, especially because Priya has been a key partner to me and has been instrumental in many important developments at our company during her tenure.

“I want to take this moment to give my sincere thanks to Priya for her exceptional and unwavering leadership, professionalism and dedication which has driven the success of our incredible network and streaming brands, TV series, films, and games, delivering growth in a complex and continuously changing region.

“Priya has shepherded the business through several organisational changes proving herself a strategic and empathetic leader. Managing the EMEA business has required working closely with multiple stakeholders across the organisation and Priya has fostered a collaborative culture focused on driving company-wide success.

“She has also been a brilliant partner to me, and I know many of you will join me in that sentiment. I’m truly thankful for everything Priya has done for our company, and we will miss her dearly.”

Earlier this week, WBD revealed it had lost 1.8 million streaming subscribers in the most recent quarter, which saw the launch of its combined streaming service Max.

Global DTC numbers for HBO, Discovery+ and Love & Death streamer Max, which rolled out in May, dropped to 95.8 million at the end of Q2 2023, compared to 97.6 million at the end of the first quarter.