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via Discovery press release:

The Hub Children’s Network Announces Additions to Senior Staff

— New Hires Round Out Business, Marketing, Production and Programming Functions for Discovery-Hasbro Joint Venture Network —

March 15, 2010

(Los Angeles, Ca.) Margaret Loesch, president and CEO for The Hub, today announced the appointment of six senior executives to the staff of the children’s television network, scheduled to launch in late 2010. Joining the network are Joshua Meyer as senior vice president of business & legal affairs, Jordan Beck as vice president of creative services & on-air promotions, Lou Fazio as vice president of scheduling, acquisitions & planning, Greg Heanue as vice president of marketing & promotions, Fred Poston as vice president of operations, and Michael Ross as vice president of production & post-production.

“Adding these best-in-class executives further strengthens our already solid management team at The Hub. Each of these leaders brings significant industry expertise and talent to help us build a world-class, family-friendly destination for children.” said Loesch.

Bio Capsules:

• Joshua Meyer, senior vice president of business & legal affairs, will work directly with Loesch overseeing business affairs and legal matters including production and talent deals, acquisitions, licensing, marketing, promotions, sales, operations, new media, digital distribution, copyrights, clearances, corporate, regulatory and tax issues. Meyer joins the network after serving as co-general counsel & senior vice president of business & legal affairs for Cookie Jar Entertainment since 2005. As a legal executive for an award-winning brand management and entertainment company, he negotiated and drafted worldwide intellectual property rights and distribution agreements for internationally-known children’s character, “Strawberry Shortcake,” resulting in more than $2 billion in retail revenues over the last five years.

• Jordan Beck, vice president of creative services & on-air promotions, who will report directly The Hub’s Chief Marketing Officer Amber Tarshis, will provide strategic and creative direction on the production of on-air promotion and marketing projects. He is tasked with effectively communicating The Hub’s positioning and differentiating the brand to target audiences while continuing to evolve creative strategies and tactics across media. Beck comes from ReelzChannel where he was senior vice president of creative services, responsible for devising and executing strategies for on-air promotions and off-air advertising for the start-up television network about movies and the movie industry with a 45 million-plus household distribution. In addition, he oversaw the writing and producing of promotional spots for on-air, advertising and affiliate presentations for Fox Kids.

• Lou Fazio, vice president of scheduling, acquisitions & planning, will identify, evaluate, and source creative programming. In addition, he is responsible for strategic program planning and program scheduling for the network. Fazio was formerly vice president of program strategy and acquisitions at the Game Show Network, where he managed long-range planning for GSN’s programming development and acquisitions needs. Prior to GSN, he was responsible for all scheduling and planning for Toon Disney, now Disney XD, and ABC Kids, the Saturday morning children’s programming block on ABC. Fazio will report to Donna Ebbs, The Hub’s programming chief.

• Greg Heanue, vice president of marketing & promotions and reporting to the company’s CMO, comes to The Hub from The Weather Channel as vice president of consumer and ad sales marketing. There, he led the consumer, affiliate and ad sales marketing teams in development and execution of campaigns for The Weather Channel, increasing ad revenue for both The Weather Channel and weather.com. Previously, Heanue was the senior director of marketing at The Cartoon Network, where he was responsible for off-channel consumer & trade marketing of Cartoon Network’s kid, tween, teen & adult-targeted programming. In his new role at The Hub, he will develop and execute marketing and promotion strategies, driving brand awareness and enhancing brand image.

• Fred Poston, vice president of operations will be responsible for the coordination, deployment and support of all operational processes and workflows used for the launch and ongoing operations for The Hub. As a veteran operations executive at Reelzchannel, TV Guide, ABC Family and the WB Television Network, he is extensively experienced in overseeing broadcast, production, engineering, studio, traffic, head-end installation, and facility operations. Poston reports to The Hub’s Chief Financial Officer Dan Pimentel, a Discovery Communications veteran.

• Michael Ross, vice president of production & post-production, reporting directly to The Hub’s Sr. VP of Programming, Donna Ebbs, will oversee the development and execution of production and post-production for The Hub’s programming. He will identify, evaluate, and recruit suitable production companies and producers, and employ research skills pertaining to the development and refinement of editorial content and scripting. Ross was the head of production and executive producer for Baby Einstein and Disney Baby where he was responsible for content development, creation, and production strategy and implementation for franchises including Baby Einstein, Little Einsteins, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, and Disney Princesses.

About The Hub
Announced in April 2009, the Hasbro, Inc., and Discovery Communications multiplatform joint venture named The Hub will both entertain and educate, featuring content drawn from Hasbro’s rich portfolio of entertainment and educational properties built over the past 90 years, including original programming for animation, game shows, and live-action series and specials. The Hub’s network and online presence will also include content from Discovery’s library of award-winning children’s educational programming, as well as feature extensive programming designed to entertain, enlighten, empower and educate kids and families from leading third-party producers worldwide. The Hub is expected to launch in fall 2010, reaching approximately 60 million U.S. households on what is currently Discovery Kids channel. The online home of The Hub is www.hubworld.com.

About Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure-time products and services, with a rich portfolio of brands and entertainment properties that provides some of the highest quality and most recognizable play and recreational experiences in the world. As a brand-driven, consumer-focused global company, Hasbro brings to market a range of toys, games and licensed products, from traditional to high-tech and digital, under such powerful brand names as TRANSFORMERS, PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at www.hasbro.com. © 2009 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching nearly 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 180 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Planet Green and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.