Caroline Tucker
WMAL.com
SILVER SPRING (WMAL) – After nearly 15 years, Discovery Communications is moving its global headquarters from downtown Silver Spring.
The company notified employees this morning that the headquarters will move to New York City in 2019.
It comes during the final stages of the company’s merger with Scripps Networks Interactive.
“The decision to move our global headquarters from its founding home is one we do not make lightly. We remain unwavering in our support of the Maryland and Greater Washington, DC area and we thank the leadership of the State of Maryland, Montgomery County and, most importantly, our employees for their cooperation and understanding as we make this important next step for the long-term success of Discovery,” said company president David Zaslav in a statement.
The company was founded in Landover in 1985. In 1991, the company relocated its global headquarters to Bethesda and then to Silver Spring in 2003.
Approximately 1,300 people work locally for the company.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett says the county and state offered Discovery a deal of about $1 million dollars in loans and grants to help the company stay. But in the end, he says it was the company’s business model that didn’t work out.
“It wasn’t a decision I think in terms of the actual component of our offer, anything we could do from this standpoint. I think it has more to do with the business model they are looking at — to become more digital, to become much smaller,” said Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett.
Leggett says he is disappointed by the decision but understands that the media business is constantly in flux.
He appreciates all that the company did for Montgomery County during the time it was in the area.
He says they will now need to look to find what will replace Discovery.
“It’s not going to be easy,” said County Executive Leggett, “our goal is to have the kind of quality jobs you have seen from Discovery and someone taking over the bulk of the real estate that is there.”
Discovery says it will move its national operations headquarters to Knoxville.
However, it’s state-of-the-art media distribution facility will remain in Sterling, Virginia and is set to become a global technology center.
And the company says it will maintain a Maryland Network Hib that will house “select network and support functions.”
Copyright 2018 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Discovery Communications)
