Young will lead the broadcaster's central and localised content and will assume the role in September of this year.

Eurosport is owned by Discovery, which signed a multi-Games deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to obtain television and multi-platform broadcasting rights in Europe for four Olympic Games, starting with Pyeongchang 2018.

With a few exceptions - such as Russia - Eurosport holds Olympic rights across the vast majority of the continent and the deal runs until 2024.

Young joins from Sky Sports, where he headed Formula One coverage, and will report to Andrew Georgiou, President of Eurosport and Global Sports Rights and Sports Marketing Solutions.

In a release, Georgiou said Young was "one of the most talented and progressive leaders in sports production and it’s hugely exciting to welcome him to the Discovery family".

Before moving to Sky Sports, Young was the head of television and content at V8 Supercars and was head of sport production at Australia's Network 10 for more than a decade.

Young added: "Eurosport is one of the world's most respected and highly regarded sports producers. 

"I am impressed at how Eurosport’s production and on-screen experience has evolved under Discovery’s leadership. 

"While its record-breaking Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 production and award winning Eurosport cube made waves through the industry, it is clear that the company hasn’t stood still and the production infrastructure it has created is ground breaking. 

"I look forward to getting started."

Eurosport has additionally announced that Amar Melwani will take on the new role of vice-president of distribution partnerships and rights strategy.

Melwani joins from The Walt Disney Company and managed partnerships, analytics and product marketing for Disney+, its new global streaming service.

Previously, Melwani led rights acquisitions, content distribution and the direct-to-consumer business for ESPN - owned by Disney.

"The scale and depth of Eurosport’s sport portfolio, combined with a unique level of country-by-country localisation across Europe, is unrivalled anywhere and provides an outstanding foundation for delivering best-in-class direct-to-consumer offerings to customers and partners," Melwani said.

"I look forward to working closely with the Eurosport leadership team on a digital-first approach that drives further growth throughout our business."

Discovery and Eurosport hold Olympic rights in more than 50 European markets and will broadcast in 19 languages. 

Tokyo 2020 - now postponed until 2021 - is due to be the first Summer Games included in its current deal with the IOC.

Discovery supported the postponement, but withdrew its previous 2020 fiscal performance outlook statement following the official announcement.