Discovery, Inc.

The company’s eponymous and flagship brand, Discovery Channel , was first launched on June 17, 1985 . ^{[4] [5]} In 1991, Discovery Channel owners acquired The Learning Channel . ^[6]

In October 1996, Discovery launched several new additional channels, including Animal Planet , Discovery Kids , Discovery Travel & Living , Discovery Civilization, and Science Channel . This was followed by the purchase in 1997 of a 70% stake in and the launch in 1998 of Discovery en Español, and . ^{[7] [8] [9]} Also in 1998, Discovery acquired a stake in CBS Eye on People; later buying the rest of the channel and restarting it in January 1999 as Discovery People. ^{[10] [11]} The network quietly collapsed in 2000 and was replaced by other Discovery channels. ^[12]

On September 1, 2001, Discovery Communications acquired The Health Channel and announced that it would be renamed . ^[13] In 2002, Discovery re-launched Discovery Civilization as the Discovery Times, as part of a joint venture with The New York Times . ^[14] In June 2002, along with the 17th anniversary of Discovery, the company launched a 24-hour high-definition channel, known as the . ^[15] In 2003, Discovery Communications relocated its headquarters from Bethesda, Maryland, to Silver Spring, Maryland . ^[16] In March 2007, Discovery sold its stake in the Travel Channel back to in exchange for a stake in Discovery owned by Cox. ^[17] Later, in 2009, Cox would sell Discovery Communications a majority stake in Scripps Networks Interactive. ^[18] In June 2008, Discovery Home was replaced by , dedicated primarily to protecting the environment and ecological lifestyles. ^[19]

On January 15, 2008, Discovery announced a joint venture with Oprah Winfrey to restart . ^[20] In 2008, the Discovery Times was re-launched as Investigation Discovery , a new brand that will focus on crime programs and documentaries. ^[21] On April 30, 2009, Discovery announced a joint venture with Hasbro to re-launch Discovery Kids as a new entertainment channel for youth and families. ^{[22] [23]}

On March 17, 2009, Discovery Communications sued Amazon.com for patent infringement by the Kindle e-reader regarding "secure distribution of electronic text and graphics to subscribers and secure storage." Patents were originally developed by Discovery founder John Hendricks, who was involved in the development of technologies related to e-books and digitization of television programs. While Discovery waived patents related to television, it retained patents for e-books. ^[24] Subsequently, Amazon accused Discovery of infringing a patent for the “Internet customer referral system.” ^[25] Both sides settled in 2011. ^[26]

On October 4, 2011, thanks to the wider implementation of high-definition channels for main cable channels, HD Theater was re-launched as , a new “high-end male” network focused on car lovers. ^{[27] [28] [29]} On May 28, 2012, the Planet Green channel (which began abandoning its original concept in 2010 due to unpopularity among the audience) ^[19] was re-launched as . ^[thirty]

In January 2014, Discovery launched the educational website. ^[31]

In May 2014, Discovery and its shareholder Liberty Media acquired the British television studio All3Media for $ 930 million. ^[32] In October 2014, Discovery acquired a controlling stake in Hub Network from Hasbro and renamed it Discovery Family . ^{[33] [34]} In November 2014, Curiosity was singled out as a venture startup, receiving funding of $ 6 million. ^[35]

In November 2015, Liberty Global and Discovery Communications acquired a 3.4% stake in Lionsgate Entertainment for approximately $ 195 million. Discovery CEO David Zaslav joined the Lionsgate board of directors. ^{[36] [37] [38]}

In December 2015, Discovery launched Discovery Go, an on-demand video service that provides real-time streaming and on-demand content access from Discovery Communications cable networks. ^[39]

In May 2016, Discovery launched a restructuring plan that aims to save $ 40 to $ 60 million by the third quarter of 2016, including changing the strategy to “maximize” the linear television business while increasing investments in content, digital media, sports and international markets. ^[40] In August 2016, Discovery acquired a stake in Hong Kong-based VS Media, intending to distribute content in China through it and offer its own VS resources. ^{[41] [42] [43]}

In October 2016, Discovery acquired a minority stake in Group Nine Media, a digital media holding that includes Thrillist Media Group, NowThis, The Dodo, and the Discovery Seeker digital network, for $ 100 million. The deal gave Discovery the opportunity to acquire a controlling stake later. ^{[44] [45]}

On August 3, 2017, Discovery announced that it would bring Velocity as its stake in a joint venture with TEN: The Enthusiast Network. Discovery will own a controlling stake; the company will not include TEN print brands, but there will be opportunities for cross-promotion. ^[46]

In December 2017, Discovery announced that it would acquire an additional 24.5% stake in OWN for $ 70 million. Oprah Winfrey will remain CEO of OWN and extended her exclusivity agreement with the network and Discovery until 2025. ^[47]

In April 2018, it was announced that TEN would be renamed the Motor Trend Group and that Velocity would be renamed in honor of its eponymous Motor Trend magazine . ^{[48] [49] [50]}

In November 2018, Discovery announced a partnership between and Tiger Woods . ^[51]

In January 2019, Discovery announced the purchase of 71% of the global sports brand Play Sports Group. ^[52]

On November 16, 2006, , who previously served as NBCUniversal’s Executive Director, was appointed President and CEO of Discovery Communications. ^[53]

Until September 18, 2008, Discovery Communications had three shareholders:

• Discovery Holding Company;
• Advance / Newhouse Communications, which is owned by the American media company ;
• company founder .

On September 17, 2008, the Discovery Holding Company completed the restructuring. Ascent Media (now the Ascent Capital Group) was spun off from the holding, and the remaining companies, Discovery Communications, LLC and Advance / Newhouse Communications, were merged into a new holding company, Discovery Communications, Inc. ^{[54] The} new company is fully public and traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbols DISCA, DISCB and DISCK. Securities and Exchange Commission applications are submitted by Discovery Holding Company. ^[55]

Discovery is divided into the following divisions: US Networks, International, Digital, Discovery Studios, Lifestyle Studios and Discovery Global Enterprises. ^[56]

US channels

Discovery Networks US, operating in the United States, owns or operates 19 channels.

Discovery Networks International

Discovery Networks International includes three regional divisions: Discovery Asia-Pacific , Discovery EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Discovery Latin America ^[59] with regional headquarters in Singapore , Amsterdam , London , Milan , Warsaw and Miami . ^[60]

In November 2012, Discovery acquired Takhayal Entertainment , a Dubai- based broadcaster , which owns the Fatafeat Lifestyle Channel, which broadcasts to MENA countries . ^[61]

On December 21, 2012, Discovery announced that it had acquired a 20% stake in the pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport from TF1 Group for € 170 million ( $ 221.6 million). ^[62] On January 21, 2014, Discovery acquired an additional 51% stake to obtain a controlling stake, ^[63] and in July 2015 it bought back the remaining shares for € 491 million to become the sole shareholder. ^[64]

In June 2015, Discovery acquired pan-European rights to broadcast the Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024, with the exception of Russia, on all platforms in a deal worth € 1.3 billion. Discovery will mainly broadcast the Games on local channels (including Eurosport), but will provide sublicense coverage to broadcasters in each region. ^{[65] [66] [67]}

In June 2016, Discovery acquired a 27.5% stake in Bethia Comunicaciones SA , a division of the Chilean conglomerate Bethia, which owns Red Televisiva Megavisión SA, which in turn owns private television network and a 70% stake in , specializing in anime shows, and K-pop . ^[68]

In August 2016, Discovery resumed its distribution deals in 12 countries with Liberty Global shareholder. ^{[69] [70]} On January 31, 2017, almost confronted with a dispute over the right to relay the broadcast signal, Discovery resumed its distribution deals with Sky plc in Germany and the UK . ^[71]

In November 2016, Discovery partnered with streaming multimedia to create a joint venture to serve Europe. ^[72] In May 2017, Discovery and ProSiebenSat.1 Media announced a joint venture to create the German OTT service based on the existing 7TV service. ^[73]

In August 2017, Discovery announced that it would acquire the remaining 51.06% of Green Content, the operator of the Polish channel DTT Metro, for 19,000 zlotys from in accordance with the share buyback agreement. ^[74] Through the purchase of SNI, Discovery added to its European portfolio the Polish television company , ^[3] acquired by SNI in 2015, ^{[75] [76] [77]} as well as a joint venture between and (later ).

• corporate.discovery.com (English) - the official website of Inc. Discovery