Discovery Channel is available on cable and satellite
specialty channels in the US, meanwhile people living in other parts of the
world get this channel through IPTV, terrestrial television and internet
television. At present, the channel is delivering documentary programs related
to attention-grabbing topics in science, technology and history. In the US, the
Discovery network also offer shows with primary focus on reality television
themes such as speculative investigation, automobiles, occupations, etc.
Discovery Channel was launched in 1985 with a $5 million
capital from BBC, Allen & Company, Venture America and several other
investors. In its early years, the
channel was available only to some 156,000 households, broadcasting some
specific programs like Vremya. Two years later, the channel started
broadcasting the late evening program World Monitor, produced by the Christian
Science Monitor. One by one, the list of programs expanded and within a
five-year span, the channels reach had extended up to 50 million households,
with exciting programs on sharks, crabs and other marine species.
Today, this channel is considered as the most popular and
widely distributed channel package in the United States, with a reach of over
92 million households. Regional versions of the channel are available in Latin
America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, India, Malaysia
and many other countries.
The channel has also received good acclamation from the K-12
students and many schools across the country. Prior to the dawn of Discovery
Channel, students were finding it difficult to understand history with just
academic books and library references. Discovery Channel ventured into
education by trying to visually connect the modern world to the past,
recreating and recollecting historical events and making it easier for anyone
to take a peek into our ancestry. The topics offered by the channel range from
ancient history to contemporary politics.
For people interested in marine biology, the channel offers
many documentaries and television series related to marine life. One of the
most widely accepted reality television series aired on the channel was
Deadliest Catch in 2005. It portrayed the fishermen who hunt for Alaskan king
crab and opilio crab in the freezing cold waters of the Bering Sea, their life,
the struggles and torment that they endure aboard their fishing vessels for an
entire fishing season. The show exposed
the real danger to the crew on the decks of their boats as crews ply their
trade while ducking heavy crab pots. The series also showed the risks of being
on a boat in the Bering Sea crab grounds, in the midst of some of the coldest
and stormiest waters on earth, where even the most minor problem becomes complex
and requires considerable cleverness to solve when the nearest port of any kind
is often hundreds of miles away. Recently, Discovery announced that Deadliest
Catch would return for an eighth season. I am eagerly waiting for the new
version of the series to start, which I can view on my newly bought HD
television connected to Time Warner Cable.
Various other channels offered by Discovery are Discovery
HD, Discovery Knowledge, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Science, Animal Planet,
DMAX, Discovery Real Time, Discovery Home & Health, Discovery Travel &
Leisure and Discovery Shed.
Some of the interesting programs for the day on Animal
Planet are Animal Cops Phoenix, Extinctions Cheetah, Unearthed, Extinctions
Tiger etc. Meanwhile, Discovery Science
offers thought-stirring shows like Mega Science, Connections 2, Million 2 One,
Stan Lee’s Superhumans, Dino Lab II, Food Detectives etc. On Discovery Turbo,
you can watch shows like Thunder Races, British Biker Build-Off, Auto Trader,
Fifth Gear and Wheeler Dealers.
Discovery’s some of the non-television ventures includes a
radio channel, lending brand to retail stores, giving sponsorship to sports
teams etc. The channel’s satellite radio service is available in many parts of
Canada. The programming model consists of converting some of the popular TV
programs to audio versions.
In all ways, watching Discovery Channel gives a really good
and satisfying experience.
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