Discovery Communications

Not to be confused with Discover (magazine).
Discovery Communications, Inc.
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, and DISCK
NASDAQ-100 Components (DISCA and DISCK)
S&P 500 Components (DISCA and DISCK)
Industry Mass media
Predecessor Discovery Holding Company
Founded 1985 as The Discovery Channel
1994 as Discovery Communications
Founder John S. Hendricks
Headquarters Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Robert Miron
(Chairman)
David M. Zaslav
(President and CEO)
Products Broadcasting, cable television, radio and Internet
Revenue
  • Increase US$ 1.47 billion (2013) [1]
  • Increase US$ 4,487.0 million (2012) [1]
  • Increase US$ 1,998.0 million (2013) [1]
  • Increase US$ 1,855.0 million (2012) [1]
  • Increase US$ 1,075.0 million (2013) [1]
  • Decrease US$ 943.0 million (2012) [1]
Total assets
  • Increase US$ 14,979.0 million (2013) [2]
  • Increase US$ 12,930.0 million (2012) [1]
Total equity
  • Decrease US$ 6,197.0 million (2013) [2]
  • Decrease US$ 6,293.0 million (2012) [2]
Number of employees
 5,486 (2014)
Divisions List of Divisions
Website corporate.discovery.com

Discovery Communications, Inc. is an American global mass media and entertainment company based in Silver Spring, Maryland. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel.

Discovery also is a provider of educational products and services to schools, including a series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and Discovery Digital Networks.[3]

DCI both produces original television programming and acquires content from producers worldwide. This non-fiction programming is offered through DCI's 54 network entertainment brands, including Discovery Channel, American Heroes Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Velocity, Discovery Life and a family of digital channels.

Despite being publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange, the Newhouse family exercise the largest stake in the company, 31%, through privately held Advance Publications.[4]

Discovery Digital Network shows are offered through multiple services, including Revision3.com, Animalist.com, TestTube.com, PhillyD.tv, Sourcefed.com, YouTube, iTunes, and more than 40 other distribution partners and devices.[5] Discovery has 300 million monthly online streams of its programming.[6]

Discovery launched Discovery Channel Online, the network's website, on July 4, 1995.[7] Discovery had many of their programs streaming on Netflix, such as MythBusters, How It's Made, and River Monsters.

In April 2014, Discovery announced a partnership with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard to launch digital studio New Form.[8]

In May 2014, Discovery and Liberty Global announced an agreement to form a 50:50 joint venture to acquire All3Media, a producer and distributor of TV programming.[9]

Corporate governance

Officers

NBCUniversal executive David Zaslav was named president and CEO on November 16, 2006.[10]

In addition to Zaslav, current executives include:[11]

Ownership

Prior to September 18, 2008, DCI's ownership consisted of three shareholders:

On December 13, 2007, Discovery Holding Company announced a restructuring plan. Under the plan, the Discovery Holding's Ascent Media business would be spun off, and the remaining businesses, Discovery Communications, LLC and Advance/Newhouse Communications, would be combined into a new holding company.[12] The reorganization was completed on September 17, 2008. The new Discovery Communications, Inc. is now a fully public company and trades on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbols DISCA, DISCB, and DISCK. SEC filings are submitted by the Discovery Holding Company.[13]

In May 2014, the company announced a special dividend of shares of the Company's Series C common stock payable to holders of record of the Company's Series A common stock, Series B common stock and Series C common stock as of the close of business on July 28, 2014. As a result of the dividend, each holder of a share of the Company's Series A common stock, Series B common stock or Series C common stock will receive one additional share of the Company's Series C common stock on or about August 6, 2014.[14]

Divisions

DCI operates its businesses in the following groups: Discovery Networks U.S., Discovery Networks International, Discovery Studios Group, Discovery Digital Media, and Discovery Education.[15]

Discovery Networks U.S.

The company started out with just a single channel, Discovery Channel, launched in 1985. In 1991, they acquired their rival The Learning Channel.

In the mid-90s, Discovery Communications started developing several new networks. The first of these to launch was Animal Planet, which was launched in cooperation with the BBC in 1996. In October 1996, four digital networks were launched to take advantage of the then-new digital cable space; Discovery Kids, Discovery Travel & Living Network, Discovery Civilization Network and Discovery Science Network.[16] This was followed by the 1998 launches of Discovery Wings Channel and Discovery Health Channel.

They also bought the Travel Channel in 1997, CBS Eye on People (became Discovery People) in 1998 and The Health Network (became FitTV) in 2001.

Discovery Networks were early to go into high-definition television with the launch of Discovery HD Theater in 2002. With the launch of high-definition simulcasts of Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and Science Channel in 2007, the original HD channel changed its name to HD Theater.

Starting in the middle of the 2000s, Discovery have been reviewing and overhauling most of their "digital" networks.[17] The networks have evolved from being offshoots of the Discovery Channel, into separate entities with their own identities. The "Discovery" moniker has gradually been dropped from channel names. Some networks had kept the globe in their logo to signal their affiliation to Discovery Networks, but this practice has also been gradually discontinued.

Discovery Networks U.S. operates 13 channels.[18] According to SEC filings, the division "also operates web sites related to its channel businesses and various other new media businesses, including a video-on-demand offering distributed by various cable operators."

The division's channels include:[19]

Channel Launch Date US Households as of 2014[19] Notes
Discovery Channel1985 97 millionFlagship network
TLC1980 96 millionAcquired by Discovery Communications in May 1991, previously known as The Learning Channel.
Animal Planet1996 94 millionLaunched mainly using satellite space acquired from the discontinuation of the WWOR EMI Service
Investigation Discovery1996 86 million
Oprah Winfrey Network2011 81 millionJoint venture ownership with Harpo Productions
Science1996 76 millionFormerly Discovery Science
Discovery Family1996 70 millionInitially launched as Discovery Kids in 1996, relaunched as the Hub Network in 2010 and rebranded as Discovery Family in 2014.[20]
40% of the network is owned by Hasbro.
American Heroes Channel1999 61 millionFormerly Discovery Wings, Military Channel
Velocity2002 58 millionFormerly Discovery HD Theater and HD Theater
Destination America1996 57 millionFormerly Discovery Home and Leisure (1998-2004), Discovery Home (2004–2008), and Planet Green (2008–2012)
Discovery Life2011 46 millionMerger of Discovery Health Channel and FitTV, previously known as Discovery Fit & Health
Discovery en Español19987 millionSpanish-language version of the Discovery Channel
Unavailable in HD
Discovery Familia20076 million[21]Unavailable in HD
Discovery Digital Networks2005110+ original online web series, 600 hours of original online videoInternet Television Network (acquired in 2012)

Discovery Networks International

Led by flagship network Discovery Channel, Discovery Network International,[22] distributes 48 international brands, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Real Time, Discovery Home & Health, Animal Planet, Discovery Science, DMAX, Discovery Kids, ID: Investigation Discovery, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Turbo Xtra, Discovery Max, Discovery World, Shed, Discovery History, Discovery HD Showcase, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery HD World, Discovery en Español, Discovery Familia, Discovery Civilization, Eurosport's six pay-TV network brands across Europe and Asia, Switchover Media’s five brands in Italy, Fatafeat in the Middle East, and SBS Discovery Media’s 17 television brands in the Nordic region. The company employs an extensive localization strategy by offering customized schedules and programming in 45 languages worldwide via 294 distribution feeds.

Discovery Networks International encompasses five regional operations covering all major cable and satellite markets, including: Western Europe; Nordics; Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA): Asia-Pacific; and Latin America/U.S. Hispanic. Spanning six continents, Discovery's regional headquarters are located in London, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Singapore, and Miami.

The division's channels include:[19]

ChannelLaunch DateInternational Networks Households[21]Notes
Discovery Channel 1989 350 million
Animal Planet 1997 308 million
TLC 303 million
Eurosport Acquired in 2014 123 million
Switchover Media Acquired in 2013[23] 100 million
Discovery Kids 1996 81 million
DMAX 2006 81 million Launch: 2006 Germany, 2008 UK & Ireland, 2011 Italy
Investigation Discovery 94 million
Discovery Science 1997 80 million
Discovery Home & Health 2000 65 million
Discovery Turbo 2005 58 million
Discovery Turbo Xtra 2013 Launch: 2013 Poland
Discovery History 1999 11 million
Discovery Shed 2009 12 million
Quest 2009 26 million

For a complete list please see.[24]

Discovery Studios Group

Discovery Studios Group is a full service production, distribution and merchandising group within Discovery Communications.[15]

Discovery Studios Group consists of:

Discovery Digital Media

Discovery Digital Media.[25]

Discovery's portfolio of web-native networks, Discovery Digital Networks, includes Revision3, Animalist, TestTube, SourceFed and The DeFranco Network.

Discovery Education

Discovery Education is a division which offers "streaming educational video material into schools via the internet." Discovery Education operates unitedstreaming, a "leading educational broadband streaming service in the United States." In April 2006, Discovery Education acquired a premier assessment company, ThinkLink Learning, which is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Now called Discovery Education Assessment, the program is designed to help students improve on state standardized tests.

Discovery Education also sells DVD, VHS, CD-ROM, and Multimedia kits with the same content. Other products include COSMEO, an online homework subscription help site, Discovery Health Connection, Discovery Science Connection and they recently purchased other video streaming companies. They have two free services. One is their website, Discovery School and the other is a teacher community, the Discovery Educator Network, commonly referred to as the DEN.

[26] is the global leader in standards-based digital content and professional development for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content that supports the implementation of Common Core, professional development, assessment tools, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Available in over half of all U.S. schools and primary schools in England, community colleges and in 50 countries around the world, Discovery Education partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that accelerate academic achievement.

History

Discover Networks announced in November 1994 to launch new channels by second quarter 1995. Those channels were Animal Planet, the Quark! science channel, Living home channel and the Time Traveler history channel.[27]

On March 17, 2009, Discovery revealed that it owned the rights to several patents related to e-books, in announcing a patent infringement lawsuit against Amazon.com, maker of the Kindle e-book reading device. The patents were originally developed by the company's founder John Hendricks; the specific patent in question in the suit was applied for in 1999 but issued in late 2007.[28][29]

On April 30, 2009, it was announced that Discovery would be forming a joint-venture with Hasbro to re-launch Discovery Kids as a new children's channel known as The Hub.[30][31]

On November 2, 2009, Discovery joined Jeff Arnold (founder of WebMD), Dr. Mehmet Oz, Harpo Productions, Sony Pictures Television and HSW International as co-founder of Sharecare, Inc., a Q&A platform for users to ask health- and wellness-related questions and receive answers from recognized experts.[32]

Discovery launched a 3DTV channel in conjunction with Sony and IMAX in early 2011, called 3net.[33]

On December 21, 2012, Discovery announced it had took a 20% minority interest share with TF1 Group in sports broadcaster Eurosport, valued at €170 million (US$221.6 million).[34] On January 21, 2014, Discovery became the majority shareholder in Eurosport, taking a 51% share of the company.[35]

2010 hostage crisis

On September 1, 2010, the DCI headquarters was the site of a hostage taking, a lone gunman identified as James J. Lee, armed with two starter pistols[36] and an explosive device, took three people hostage inside of the Discovery Communications headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, prompting an evacuation of the building.

The incident began at 1:00 p.m. ET, when 43-year-old James Jay Lee entered the building with two starter pistols and fired a single round at the ceiling of the lobby.[37][38] The Montgomery County Police Department confirmed that Lee had an explosive device and was holding three people[39] hostage in the lobby.[37][40] The building was placed on lockdown and most of the 1,500 employees were evacuated.[40] Children from a day care center inside were safely removed to a nearby McDonald's restaurant on Colesville Rd.[37] The police began to communicate with Lee soon after the incident began.[37] The Montgomery County police chief, J. Thomas Manger, said that the police were "trying to get him to release the hostages and surrender peacefully".[40] Lee was shot dead by police at 4:48 p.m. ET after the hostages made a run for freedom.[41] The remaining hostages were immediately freed.[42]

Lee's motive was believed to have been grounded in environmental activism. James J. Lee had previously been arrested in 2008 while protesting in front of the same site.

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland has since labeled the crime a terrorist attack.[43]

James Jay Lee (c. 1967 – September 1, 2010) was born to a Korean-American father and a Japanese mother, in Los Angeles, California and raised in Hawaii.[44] He was an environmental protester who, in 2008, was given six months of supervised probation and fined $500 after he was arrested during a protest outside the Discovery Communications headquarters. In 2003, he was convicted of smuggling an illegal immigrant into the country from Mexico and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[36]

Lee had published criticisms of the network in an online manifesto at Savetheplanetprotest.com,[38] among which was a demand for the company to cease the broadcasting of television series displaying or encouraging the birth of "parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions".[45] His manifesto also railed against "immigration pollution and anchor baby filth", leading commentators such as Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center to decry Lee as an "eco-fascist".[46] Lee's opinions were dominated by Malthusian analysis,[47] though he also cited works ranging from Daniel Quinn's novel My Ishmael to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth.[48] The Washington Post credited the Twitter community for initially breaking the story.[49]

Corporate identity branding campaign

On October 1, 2013, the 13 Discovery-owned or co-owned networks in the U.S. began airing 10-second wraparounds after many of their show promos. The network logos are arranged in a circle around the phrase "Your Family of Networks." Through animation, the logos then spin and dissolve, revealing the parent company's logo at the end.

SBS Discovery Media

SBS Discovery Media is a European media group, owned by Discovery Communications. It was formed on April 9, 2013 when Discovery's acquisition of SBS Nordic from German media group ProSiebenSat.1 was finalised. It combines the assets of SBS Nordic with Discovery's activities in the Nordic region.

At the time of the merger, SBS had been a major commercial broadcaster in Scandinavia for two decades. The combined viewing shares made it the second largest commercial television group in Norway and the third largest in Denmark and Sweden.

SBS Discovery Media, also own several radio stations in Denmark, such as The Voice, Nova FM, Radio 100, Pop FM, Radio Klassisk, Radio Soft and myROCK. All stations are broadcasting on FM and via radioplay.dk.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Discovery Communications, Inc. 2013 Annual Report Form (10-K)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. February 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Discovery Communications, Inc. 2014 Q1 Quarterly Report Form (10-Q)" (XBRL). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. May 6, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Our Mission". discovery.com.
  4. ↑ Flamm, Matthew (13 December 2010). "Advance Publications waving around $500M". CransNewYork.com. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Discovery Digital Networks". discoverydn.com.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Media Globalization and the Discovery Channel Networks By Ole J. Mjos, http://books.google.com/books?id=EdKMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT181&dq=discovery+online+launches+1995&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cug0U-yWN-nSsASQ1IGYDQ&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=discovery%20online%20launches%201995&f=false
  8. ↑ Natalie Jarvey. "Brian Grazer, Ron Howard Launch 'New Form' Digital Studio With Discovery". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. ↑ "DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS AND LIBERTY G… : Discovery Communications". discovery.com.
  10. ↑ Ahrens, Frank (November 17, 2006). "Discovery Appoints New Chief". The Washington Post.
  11. ↑ "Leadership". discovery.com.
  12. ↑ http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-21647779.htm. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ Information statement: Discovery Holding Company. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  14. ↑ "Corporate Press Release". discovery.com.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "The Studios Group". discovery.com.
  16. ↑ "Discovery goes digital. (Discovery Communications Inc. to launch four new digital cable television networks)". Multichannel News. September 1996.
  17. ↑ Ahrens, Frank (November 27, 2007). "Discovery Hopes for Payoff on Crime Channel". The Washington Post.
  18. ↑ "U.S. Networks : Discovery Communications". Corporate.discovery.com. 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "A Message from David Zaslav" (PDF). Discovery Communications. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  20. ↑ Szalai, Georg (September 25, 2014). "The Hub to Rebrand as Discovery Family as Discovery Takes Control". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Globe: A Quarterly Newsletter from Discovery Communications". April 2010.
  22. ↑ "Discovery Networks International : Discovery Communications". discovery.com.
  23. ↑ "Discovery Communications Acquires Swit… : Discovery Communications". discovery.com.
  24. ↑ here
  25. ↑ "Discovery Digital Media : Discovery Communications". discovery.com.
  26. ↑ Discovery Education
  27. ↑ Brown, Rich. (November 21, 1994). "Discovery unveils niche channels; four new services could be followed by more in coming year. (Discovery Networks)." Broadcasting & Cable (NewBay Media LLC). Retrieved April 27, 2015 from HighBeam Research.
  28. ↑ Discovery Communications, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. - Complaint for Patent Infringement in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, March 17, 2009
  29. ↑ Discovery hits Amazon with Kindle patent suit, CNet News, March 17, 2009
  30. ↑ Schneider, Michael (April 30, 2009). "Hasbro nabs Discovery Kids stake". Variety. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  31. ↑ Hasbro and Discovery Communications Announce Joint Venture to Create Television Network Dedicated to High-Quality Children's and Family Entertainment and Educational Content, Discovery Communications, April 30, 2009
  32. ↑ "Dr. Mehmet Oz and Internet Entrepreneur, Jeff Arnold, Announce Sharecare Inc.,a Web 3.0 Platform, Organizing and Answering the Questions of Health". Bloomberg. November 2, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  33. ↑ Cosgrove To Head Discovery 3D Network - Programming Veteran To Report To JV Board, Comprising Sony, IMAX, Discovery Officials Multichannel News June 8, 2010
  34. ↑ "TF1 & Discovery Communications finalize agreement and move forward to build three-tier strategic alliance across Eurosport, four payTV channels and production". TF1 Group. 2012-12-21. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  35. ↑ "Discovery Communications to acquire TF1 Group's Controlling interest in Top Sports platform Eurosport". Discovery Communications. 2014-01-21. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 "Discovery Channel attacker convicted of smuggling immigrant in 2003". CNN (International). 09-04-2010. Retrieved 4 September 2010. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 "Armed Man With Bomb Takes at Least One Hostage in Discovery Channel Building". Fox. September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "Suspect in Maryland hostage situation published angry online manifesto". CNN. September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  39. ↑ Morse, Dan (September 3, 2010). "James J. Lee's hostage standoff at Discovery was grueling time for officials". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 Robbins, Liz; Stelter, Brian (September 1, 2010). "Gunman Takes Hostage in Maryland". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  41. ↑ Morse, Dan (September 1, 2010). "Environmental militant slain at Silver Spring building after taking hostages". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  42. ↑ "Hostages Safe as Police Shoot Maryland Gunman". The New York Times. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  43. ↑ "Background Report: Discovery Communications Building Hostage-Taking" (PDF). University of Maryland. p. 1. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  44. ↑ 한국인 아버지-일본인 어머니…자식들이 어릴 때 이혼했다 [Korean Father - Japanese Mother Divorced When (He) Was a Child] (in Korean). LA Joongang Ilbo. September 2, 2010. (Google Translation)
  45. ↑ Theresa Vargas (September 1, 2010). "James J. Lee is suspect in Discovery hostage case, officials say". The Washington Post.
  46. ↑ Mark Potok (September 1, 2010). "Apparent Eco-Terrorist Holding Hostages at TV Building". Hatewatch (blog), Southern Poverty Law Center.
  47. ↑ Leonard, Andrew (Sep 1, 2010). "How Malthus drove the Discovery Channel gunman crazy". Salon. p. 1. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  48. ↑ "Police kill Discovery building gunman". MSNBC. 9/1/2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ↑ Paul Farhi (September 1, 2010). "Twitter breaks story on Discovery Channel gunman". The Washington Post.

External links