Discovery Channel

brief history
June 1985: John Hendricks, Founder and Chairman, launches Discovery Channel with 156,000 subscribers in the United States, the first program to air is Iceberg Alley.
April 1989: Discovery Networks International launches Discovery Channel in the United Kingdom.
September 1989: Discovery Channel airs its first original program, Ivory Wars.
May 1991:Discovery Communications acquires The Learning Channel (TLC).
January 1994:Discovery Channel launches in Asia.
February 1994:Discovery Channel launches in Latin America.
June 1996: Discovery Communications launches Animal Planet, the only channel dedicated to the relationship between people and animals.
June 1996: Discovery Communications acquires The Nature Company’s 114 retail stores and launches Discovery Channel Stores.
August 1996:Discovery Communications announces plans to launch five new digital networks: Discovery Science, Discovery Kids, Discovery Civilization, Discovery Home and Leisure and Discovery Wings.

November 1997: The Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership launches its first Learning Center in South Africa.

December 1997: Travel Channel acquired.

March 1998: Discovery Communications forms a global joint venture with the BBC.

June 1998: Discovery en Español launches, making it Discovery Communications’ first Spanish-language channel in the United States.

August 1999: Discovery Communications launches Discovery Health Channel.

March 2000:Discovery Channel breaks the all-time cable ratings record with the premiere of Raising the Mammoth.

April 2000:Discovery Channel’s Walking with Dinosaurs breaks the all-time cable ratings record set by Raising the Mammoth.

April 2000: Discovery Channel reaches 100 million subscribing households in 146 countries outside of the United States, bringing its worldwide count to 178 million.

October 2001: Discovery Channel becomes the world’s most widely distributed television brand, surpassing more than 400 million households reached worldwide.

April 2002: Discovery Communications and The New York Times Company form joint venture to launch the Discovery Times Channel (rebranded from Discovery Civilization).

June 2002: Discovery Communications launches Discovery HD Theater, one of the first 24-hour high definition channels.

October 2002: Discovery Kids and NBC partner to create a three-hour programming block, “Discovery Kids on NBC,” on Saturday mornings.

March 2004: Discovery Communications reaches one billion cumulative subscribers around the world.

March 2004: Discovery Communications creates fourth division, Discovery Education, the go-to source for the next generation of video-based learning

June 2005: Discovery Networks US Hispanic Group launches with two new channels to complement Discovery en Español – Discovery Kids en Español and Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir).

January 2006: Discovery Communications announces the launch of the 100th and 101st Discovery networks with the launch of Discovery HD Japan and Discovery HD Canada. 

January 2006:Discovery Communications announces that Ted Koppel will host and produce long-form programming examining major global topics and events exclusively for the Discovery Channel.

March 2006:Discovery Education launches COSMEO, a revolutionary online homework help tool.

April 2006:Discovery Communications brings video content to Google Earth

August 2006: Discovery Communications launches Discoverymobile.com, a direct-to-consumer mobile website featuring downloadable wallpapers, ringtones, podcasts and other special features for cell phones and mobile devices.

May 2007: Discovery Channel’s epic 11-episode Planet Earth series becomes cable’s highest-rated natural history program of all time and the most watched cable event of all time attracting more than 65 million viewers.

May 2007: Discovery Communications announces plans to close its 103 mall-based retail locations to focus on its DiscoveryStore.com e-commerce platform and licensing opportunities.

December 2007: Annual revenue for the Discovery Networks International division surpasses $1 billion for the first time.

February 2008: Discovery HD launches in Australia; Discovery is now the number-one international provider of HD networks with services in 17 markets outside of the U.S.: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden and the UK, reaching more than four million subscribers .

September 2008: Discovery Communications begins trading as a public company on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

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