As the head of Programming and Development for Destination America and American Heroes Channel, Matthew Butler is responsible for cultivating original content for the network and managing their day-to-day program scheduling and ratings performances. At the heart of Butler’s responsibilities is overseeing a program’s shelf life from pitch to premiere. This includes scouting new content offerings, polishing a well-rounded slate of new and returning series and specials, and strategizing each program’s distribution across multiple new-media platforms.

Butler was a member of the executive force that launched some of Discovery Communications’ newest networks, Destination America and American Heroes Channel. Since Destination America’s debut in 2012, he has championed hit series including MONSTERS & MYSTERIES IN AMERICA, ALASKA HAUNTING, GHOST ASYLUM, and BUYING HAWAII. For American Heroes Channel, he championed the network’s top new series GUNSLINGERS. In 2010, Butler’s keen eye for imaginative programming was recognized by Multichannel News by naming him to their “40 under 40” list for industry visionaries, innovators, and power brokers.

In 2011, Butler joined Discovery from Travel Channel, where we spent a decade developing many of the networks’ most popular programming like MAN V. FOOD, GHOST ADVENTURES, BIZARRE FOODS WITH ANDREW ZIMMERN, and MYSTERIES AT THE MUSEUM. Butler has also served stints with PBS, ESPN, and QVC.

Butler holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. In his free time, he enjoys reading, music, and playing ice hockey, as well as spending time with his wife and two kids.

Speaking on: Speed Pitching Two