Discovery Channel (formerly The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply "Discovery") is an American basic cable and satellite television channel (which is also delivered via IPTV, terrestrial television and internet television in other parts of the world) that is the flagship television property of Discovery Communications, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. As of June 2012, Discovery Channel is the second most widely distributed cable channel in the United States, behind TBS;[2] it is available in 409 million households worldwide, through its U.S. flagship channel and its various owned or licensed television channels internationally.[3] http://plus.google.com/u/0/b/115253531414229702063 It initially provided documentary television programming focused primarily on popular science, technology and history, but in recent years has expanded into reality television and pseudo-scientific entertainment. Programming on the flagship Discovery Channel in the U.S. is primarily focused on reality television series, such as speculative investigation (with shows such as MythBusters, Unsolved History and Best Evidence), automobiles, and occupations (such as Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch); it also features documentaries specifically aimed at families and younger audiences. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfLtx7PS-1ePtqq1BvakgWA A popular annual feature on the channel is Shark Week, which airs on Discovery during the summer months.[4] As of August 2013, Discovery Channel is available to approximately 98,891,000 pay television households (86.59% of households with television) in the United States.[5] John Hendricks founded the channel and its parent company, Cable Educational Network Inc., in 1982.[6] Several investors (including the BBC, Allen & Company and Venture America) raised $5 million in start-up capital to launch the network. The Discovery Channel began broadcasting on June 17, 1985. It was initially available to 156,000 households and broadcast for 12 hours each day between 3 p.m. and 3 a.m. About 75 percent of its program content had never been broadcast on U.S. television before.[7] In its early years, the channel's focus centered on educational programming in the form of cultural and wildlife documentaries, and science and historical specials. It also broadcast some Soviet programming during this time, including the news program Vremya.[8] In 1988, the channel premiered the nightly program World Monitor (produced by The Christian Science Monitor). In 1988, The Discovery Channel debuted an annual programming stunt called Shark Week, the week-long event eventually gained in popularity starting in the 1990s and continues to be shown each summer on the channel to this day. By 1990, the channel was available in over 50 million households.[citation needed] The channel began to shift its focus in the early 2000s to attract a broader audience, by incorporating more reality-based series focusing on automotive, occupations and speculative investigation series; though the refocused programming strategy proved popular, Discovery Channel's ratings began to decline by the middle of the decade. The drop in viewership was widely attributed to an over-reliance on a few hit series, such as Monster Garage and American Chopper.[citation needed] Some critics[who?] said such shows strayed from Discovery's intention of providing more educationally based shows aimed at helping viewers learn about the world around them. In 2005, Discovery changed its programming focus to include more popular science and historical themes.[9] The network's ratings eventually recovered in 2006.[10] On January 4, 2006, Discovery Communications announced anchor Ted Koppel, executive producer Tom Bettag and eight other former staff members from the ABC newsmagazine Nightline were joining Discovery Channel. The network was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards that year for shows including The Flight that Fought Back (a documentary about the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001) and Deadliest Catch (a reality series about a group of seafood fishermen). discovery channel In 2007, Discovery Channel's top series included the Emmy-award winning Planet Earth, Dirty Jobs, MythBusters and Deadliest Catch. Discovery Channel's 2008 lineup included Fight Quest and Smash Lab. discovery channel On September 1, 2010, 43-year-old James Jay Lee entered the Discovery Communications headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, armed with a handgun. Lee fired at least one shot, held several employees hostage; he was later shot dead by police.[11][12] Lee had published criticisms of the network at Savetheplanetprotest.com.[12] discovery channel

• published: 19 Jul 2014
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