Everything about Discovery Channel totally explained
Discovery Channel is an
American satellite and
cable TV channel (also delivered via
IPTV,
terrestrial television and
internet television in other parts of the world), founded by
John Hendricks and distributed by
Discovery Communications. It provides
documentary programming focused primarily on popular science, technology, and history. In the U.S., the programming for the main Discovery network is primarily focused on "reality-based" television themes, such as speculative investigation (with shows such as
Mythbusters,
Unsolved History, and
Best Evidence), automobiles, and occupations (
Dirty Jobs and
Deadliest Catch); it also features documentaries specifically aimed at families and younger audiences.
History
On June 17, 1985, Discovery Channel was launched as the flagship channel of Discovery Communications with $5 million in start-up capital from the BBC, the American investment firm Allen and Company, Venture America and several other investors.
On
January 4, 2006, Discovery Communications announced that
Ted Koppel, longtime
Executive Producer Tom Bettag, and eight former
Nightline staff members were joining the Discovery Channel.
The network's ratings improved in 2006 after a drop widely attributed to an over-reliance on a few hit series such as
Monster Garage and
American Chopper. Some critics said such series strayed from Discovery's mold of helping viewers learn about the world around them. Beginning in 2005, Discovery revamped its lineup to focus more closely on its traditional themes of popular science, history, and geography. The network garnered a total of seven primetime
Emmy award nominations in 2006 for shows including
The Flight that Fought Back (about
United Airlines Flight 93) and
Deadliest Catch.
In 2007, Discovery Channel's top series include
Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe, the Emmy-award winning
Planet Earth,
MythBusters, and
Deadliest Catch.
Discovery's announced plans for 2008 include a new series with Josh Bernstein, who left
History Channel to join Discovery. Other announced series include
Fight Quest,
Smash Lab, and the fourth season of
Deadliest Catch.
Discovery Channel is currently the most widely distributed cable network in the United States, reaching more than 92 million households, part of its global audience of 431 million homes in 170 countries and territories. Versions of the channel are seen in Latin America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, India,Malaysia and other countries.
Programming
Popular programming on the channel today includes
Shark Week, an annual week of programming dedicated to facts about sharks;
Deadliest Catch, about fishing for crab in the Bering Sea; popular science show
MythBusters and
How It's Made;
Dirty Jobs about blue collar occupations; quiz show
Cash Cab,
FutureWeapons, about the weapon technology of the future and
Man vs Wild, depicting survival techniques.
Non-television ventures
Pro Cycling Team
Shortly before the
2004 Tour de France, Discovery Channel announced it would become the primary sponsor of a
professional bicycling team starting in
2005, featuring seven-time
Tour de France winner
Lance Armstrong. However, after the
2007 victory with the Spaniard
Alberto Contador Discovery Channel announced its retirement from cycling sponsorship. This sponsorship ended after the 2007 cycling season.
Radio
Discovery Channel Radio was a channel on the both major
United States satellite radio services. The programming consisted of
audio versions of popular programs from its multitude of TV channels. Discovery was previously on
XM Satellite Radio but was dropped in early
September 2005.
Sirius Satellite Radio dropped Discovery Radio from its slate on
February 21 2007.
Store
Discovery Channel also lent its branding to retail stores in malls and other locations across America, as well as an online store. Educational gifts were the store's specialty. On
May 17 2007, Discovery Communications announced it was closing its stand-alone and mall-based stores. Hudson Group will continue to operate the Discovery Channel Airport Stores, and the website remains in operation.
Telescope
Discovery Channel is also funding the construction of the
Discovery Channel Telescope
, in partnership with
Lowell Observatory.
Marketing and branding
Taglines
Discovery Channel's previous
taglines had been "
Explore Your World" and "
There's no thrill like discovery." However in view of its changing focus towards more reality-based programming and away from strictly educational programming, the slogan was changed to "
Entertain Your Brain". The new tagline for the revamped Discovery Channel was "
Let's All Discover...", with a continuing phrase or sentence that relates to a show. For example, when advertising for
MythBusters, the commercial would end, "
Let's All Discover, Why No Myth Is Safe". With the 2008 logo change came a new tagline: "
The World is Just...Awesome." The newest commercials include the song "Wonders Never Cease" by
Morcheeba, from the album entitled
The Antidote and the song
Typical by
Mute Math. Their most recent commercial
I Love the World, created by the
72andSunny agency, contains an original song composed by
Brian Chapman.
The previously-used tagline, "Explore Your World", went on to become a pop culture phenomenon, and had been synonymous with the channel for many years.
Logos
Image:Discovery85.jpg|Discovery Channel logo used from June 17, 1985 to 1995
Image:Discovery1.jpg|Discovery Channel logo used from 1995 until early 2000
Image:Discovery Logo.png|Discovery Channel logo used from early 2000 to April 15, 2008, Still being used in Southeast Asia
Image:DiscoveryChannel.png|Discovery Channel logo used since April 15, 2008
International
Discovery Channel reaches 431 million homes in 170 countries. Currently, Discovery Communications offers 29 network brands in 33 languages. In a number of countries, Discovery's channels are available on
digital satellite platforms with multiple
language soundtracks or
subtitles including
Spanish,
German,
Czech,
Dutch,
Portuguese,
Italian,
Norwegian,
Swedish,
Danish,
Finnish,
Turkish,
Greek,
Polish,
Hungarian,
Romanian,
Arabic,
Slovenian,
Hindi,
Tamil and
Serbian. In
Bulgaria, Discovery has since
2000–
2001 been displayed with
Bulgarian subtitles by all cable providers.
Canada
Discovery Channel Canada has an ownership structure different from Discovery Channel.
Canadian viewers receive almost identical English-language programming to the channel that
American viewers watch, but with some added Canadian content to suit the audience. Most notably, the Canadian channel carries the daily science news show
Daily Planet, originally
@discovery.ca, the first of its kind. Occasionally, several segments on similar topics are taken from various episodes and put together into one-hour specials that are broadcast on the original Discovery Channel. Canadian channels
Discovery HD,
Discovery Health,
Discovery Kids,
Discovery Civilization, and
Animal Planet are also seen. All channels are under different ownership, with
Discovery Communications having a 20% share in each.
Europe
In the
United Kingdom, Discovery Channel UK has some programs in common with the US version, including
MythBusters,
American Chopper,
How It's Made and
Deadliest Catch.
In the
Republic of Ireland the UK edition is available on most cable/digital operators but with some local content for the Irish market.
In
Germany, Discovery Channel is part of the
PREMIERE-digital-network and supplies specific programs to other networks like
ZDF and
Kabel 1.
Discovery Communications is also owner of the documentary-channel
XXP. The channel was bought in spring 2006 from its former shareholders
Spiegel TV and "dctp". All programs are dubbed into German. The channel will from September be known as "
DMAX", presumably to associate the channel with Discovery.
In the
Netherlands, The Discovery Channel is included in most cable subscriptions. All of the programs are broadcast in their original language, but they're subtitled in
Dutch as is the policy of all Dutch television stations.
In
Poland, it's included in most cable TV offers. It is also available on satellite digital platforms (sometimes requiring an additional fee).
Cyfra Plus makes it possible to see the programs in
Polish as well as in
English.
In
Slovenia, it was one of the most popular channels, with a very wide audience, especially after subtitling in
Slovene was introduced. However, the popularity - and rating - of DC dropped sharply after 2005, when it dropped most of its history and popular science documentaries, shifting to series about
motoring and
mechanics, the appeal of which seems to be very limited.
In
Serbia, the channel is distributed via cable TV providers with
Serbian subtitle. It enjoys moderate popularity, with shows like
MythBusters and
American Chopper being especially well received.
Australia & New Zealand
In
Australia, Discovery is part of a 6 channel bouquet (not including timeshifts) on digital subscription TV, available on
Foxtel,
Optus TV and
AUSTAR. See
Discovery Channel Australia.
In
New Zealand, the Australian version of Discovery is broadcast on
SKY Network Television.
South East Asia
In
Malaysia,
Singapore and the rest of
South East Asia, the S.E. Asian version of Discovery Channel is available on digital subscription TV. The most popular programs include
American Chopper,
Man Vs. Wild,
Mythbusters,
How It's Made and
Dirty Jobs. Discovery Channel Asia still show crime programs e.g
Most Evil and
The FBI Files. There also is a large number of programming featuring development and society in Asian countries, especially
China and
India.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Discovery Channel'.
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