Discovery Communications

Deal Paves Way For Discovery Communications to Go Public

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 5, 2008 - 8:34am.

Silver Spring, Md. - In major step to becoming a public company, Discovery Holding Company (DHC) and Advance/Newhouse Programming Partnership said that they have agreed to combine their stakes in Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications, a move that leads the way for the company to become publicly listed.

Discovery Backs Social Publishing Platform Uber.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2008 - 8:01am.

Los Angeles - Uber.com, a social media publishing platform headed by former Friendster CEO Scott Sassa, has received a new investment from Discovery Communications, the Los Angeles Times reports, as part of a $7.6 million round that also included participation from Universal Music Group and Sterling Stamos Co-Investors Fund, according to a regulatory filing.

Oprah to Launch New Network with Discovery Communications

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 16, 2008 - 7:53am.

Silver Spring, Md. - Talk show diva Oprah Winfrey is teaming with Discovery Communications (NASD: DISCA) to create "OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network," a multi-platform venture scheduled to debut in 2009 in more than 70 million homes. The network will replace the Discovery Health channel in cable lineups, and include a Web component under the Oprah.com domain.

Discovery to Go Public Through Spin-Off

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 13, 2007 - 9:07am.

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Holding (NASD: DISCA) and Advance/Newhouse Programming Partnership said on Thursday that they will combine their stakes in Discovery Communications to spin-off the cable television programmer into a new publicly traded company. John Malone, the chairman and CEO of Discovery Holding, said that the deal would "unlock the full potential and value of Discovery, and provide a broader range of options to pursue their aggressive growth strategy in the future."

Discovery to Rebrand "Discovery Times" Channel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 28, 2007 - 1:28pm.

Silver Spring, Md. - More than 18 months after losing The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) as a partner on the venture, Discovery Communications said that it will change the name of its "Discovery Times" channel to "Investigation Discovery," beginning Jan. 27. The company said that the new name "correlates directly" to the types of programs the channel has focused on over the past year. Discovery Communications launched Discovery Times as a joint venture with The New York Times in 2003. In April, however, the Times announced its intention to sell back its 50% stake in the channel. Even so, the channel has seen triple-digit ratings growth over the past 10 months.

Discovery Communications to Acquire HowStuffWorks.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 15, 2007 - 9:20am.

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications said on Monday that it will acquire HowStuffWorks.com, an Atlanta-based website that provides explanations about how things in the world actually work.

Discovery Acquires Eco-Lifestyle Site TreeHugger.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 1, 2007 - 11:09am.

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications, the media company behind such cable TV channels as The Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, said that it has acquired New York-based eco-lifestyle web site TreeHugger.com.

Career Moves: June 27, 2007

Authored by dmw on June 27, 2007 - 10:17am.
Career Moves is made possible by @HIRE.

Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman of the American Film Institute (AFI) Board of Trustees, today announced the unanimous selection of Bob Gazzale as new AFI President and CEO.  Gazzale, a film historian and multiple Emmy-nominated television producer and writer, has been a senior executive at AFI for 15 years. He will succeed Jean Picker Firstenberg, who announced she would retire at the end of AFI's 40th Anniversary celebration this fall.

Discovery to Close Retail Stores to Focus on Retail Partnerships, E-Commerce

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 18, 2007 - 10:09am.

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications, the large television network, announced that it will close its 103 Discovery Channel Stores by the end of third quarter.

Discovery Completes Deal for Cox's 25% Stake

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 16, 2007 - 10:24am.

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications, the media company behind such cable TV channels as The Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, said that it has completed its deal to acquire Atlanta-based Cox Communications' 25% stake in the company in exchange for Travel Media, its unit that owns the Travel Channel and TravelChannel.com.

Discovery Communications Cuts 200 Jobs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 10, 2007 - 10:30am.

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications, the media company behind such cable TV channels as The Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, has cut 200 jobs, or about 3% of its workforce.

Discovery to Launch "Green Lifestyle" Channel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 5, 2007 - 10:36am.

Silver Spring, Md. - With a strong focus on interactive applications and online content, Discovery Communications announced plans on Thursday for a television network -- called Discovery PlanetGreen -- focused on "green lifestyle" programming.

Report: Discovery Communications on Verge of Layoffs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 4, 2007 - 12:16pm.

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications, the media company behind such cable TV channels as The Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, may be on the verge of a major round of layoffs, according to a report by industry news magazine Broadcasting & Cable.

Career Moves: March 16, 2007

Authored by dmw on March 16, 2007 - 1:18pm.

Career Moves is made possible by @HIRE.
Time Warner Cable announced Barry Rosenblum, an Executive Vice President based in New York, and Stephen Pagano, former Head of Time Warner Cable's Albany, N.Y., division, will replace Roger Keating who was forced out on Wednesday after complaints from customers.
www.timewarnercable.com



Discovery to Provide Content for National CineMedia Theater Ad Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 24, 2007 - 1:34pm.

New York - National CineMedia, a provider of a network that delivers pre-feature digital ads and other programming in movie theaters, said on Wednesday that Discovery Communications has signed a multi-year agreement to provide short-form content for the service. National CineMedia's network includes 11,000 movie screens and reaches about 500 million patrons annually. Discovery said it will provide sneak peek segments of upcoming programs from its stable of channels.

Discovery Communications to Launch Mobile, Broadband-Only Services

Authored by dmw on April 7, 2006 - 7:53pm.
New York - Discovery Communications has announced plans to launch both a mobile phone programming service and new broadband-only channels. Discovery Mobile will feature content segments ranging from 30 seconds to four minutes in length, from properties including Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Travel Channel and Health Channel. When it launches in the third quarter of 2006, Discovery Mobile will be offered in eight countries: France, Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S. Separately, Discovery announced the launch of two new ad-supported, broadband-only channels, Discovery Channel Beyond and Travel Channel Beyond. The broadband sites, powered by Internet TV firm Brightcove, will grow to include offerings from Discovery's TLC, Animal Planet and Discovery Health Channel on April 15.

Discovery Communications Acquires Educational Programmer AIMS

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 16, 2004 - 2:44am.
Silver Spring, Md. -- Discovery Communications, which operates cable TV networks including The Discovery Channel, announced on Monday that it has acquired AIMS Multimedia, a producer of educational programming including the DigitalCurriculum video-on-demand service. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Chatsworth, Calif.-based AIMS' programming will be integrated with Discovery's newly formed Discovery Education unit, which offers over 35,000 educational video-on-demand segments.