{"id":25428,"date":"2015-09-30T11:39:39","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T15:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/?p=25428"},"modified":"2015-12-02T18:30:18","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T23:30:18","slug":"discovery-communications-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/2015\/09\/30\/discovery-communications-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovery Communications, Inc."},"content":{"rendered":"
By Alisa Sokolova<\/pre>\n
 <\/p>\n
\"Discovery
[1]<\/a>\u00a0Discovery Communications’ log<\/p><\/div>\n
Discovery Communications, Inc<\/h5>\n
One Discovery Place<\/h5>\n
Silver Spring, MD 20910<\/h5>\n
240-662-2000<\/h5>\n
http:\/\/corporate.discovery.com\/<\/a><\/h5>\n
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Background and History:<\/b><\/p>\n
Discovery Communications, Inc<\/a>\u00a0(DCI) is an international mass media entertainment company. Based in Maryland, U.S., it manages 150 television networks and 33 worldwide channels (both satellite and cable) [2]<\/a>. DCI operates in 220 countries, broadcasting in 45 different languages and reaching three billion viewers a week [3]<\/a>. DCI both produces its \u043erigin\u0430l content, which is primarily non-fiction, and \u0430cquires some programming\u00a0from producers worldwide [4]<\/a>. The company also produces and distributes educational products and school services, such as digital textbooks [5]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\"Discovery<\/a>
Discovery GO’s logo. The new streaming app introduced on December 2nd, 2015 [13]<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>DCI was initially established by\u00a0John Hendricks<\/a>\u00a0in 1985 as a single \u00a0Discovery Channel\u00a0[6]<\/a>. During the 1990’s the company developed additional networks, including Discovery Kids, Animal Planet and Discovery Travel\u00a0[7]<\/a>. In 1995, Discovery Communications \u00a0launched its first website Discovery Channel\u00a0[8]<\/a>. Today, the company\u2019s online streaming is estimated to get 400 million hits monthly\u00a0[9]<\/a>. Most of the shows are also available on Netflix,\u00a0iTunes, YouTube, and Revisob3.com.\u00a0[10]<\/a>\u00a0[11]<\/a>.\u00a0On December 2nd<\/sup> 2015, DCI became part of TV Everywhere business model, by launching its new streaming app \u2013 Discovery GO.<\/a><\/em>\u00a0The app, mostly available to the pay TV subscribers only, allows viewers to access the content of DCI\u2019s networks from any device [12]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Key Executives:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
\"David<\/a>
[14]<\/a>\u00a0David Zaslav – President and CEO of Discovery Communications<\/p><\/div>
\"Jean-Briac<\/a>
[15]<\/a>\u00a0Jean-Briac (JB) Perrette – President Discovery Network International<\/p><\/div>
\"Andrew<\/a>
[16]<\/a>\u00a0Andrew Warren – Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President<\/p><\/div> <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
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 <\/p>\n
International Expansion in Fall 2015:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
DCI exemplifies the successful international company with over 300 million international subscribers [17]<\/a>. With new head of Discovery Networks International Programming and Operations,\u00a0Darcy Tomlin<\/a>\u00a0(appointed in October), this season\u00a0has been especially contributive to DCI’s overseas growth [18]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\"DCI's<\/a>
DCI’s executives hosting the show gathered for the finale [59]<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>This fall DCI organized many promotional events abroad [19]<\/a><\/i>. For example, DCI\u2019s networks CEEMEA<\/a>\u00a0(Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East)\u00a0hosted an exclusive event in Johannesburg on November 18th [20]<\/a>. The company presented its major projects coming up in 2016 to it’s 200+ event attendees [21]<\/a>. Among the introduced projects were Discovery Chanel\u2019s\u00a0\u201cSherpa,\u201d <\/a>\u00a0<\/i>Animal Planet\u2019s\u00a0\u201cThe Lion Queen\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and TLC\u2019s\u00a0\u201cBelief.\u201d <\/a>The event, hosted by DCI\u2019s executives, was marked by the performances of Discovery stars, such as Andi Rive <\/a>(\u201cThe Lion Queen\u201d<\/a>), Whitney Thore<\/a>\u00a0(\u201cMy Big Fat Fabulous Life\u201d<\/a>) and magician Troy<\/a>\u00a0(“Troy”<\/a>) [22]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\"Eurosport's<\/a>
Eurosport’s logo\u00a0[30]<\/a><\/p><\/div>DCI has been strengthening its presence not only in African, but also in European markets. This fall was the first season of DCI’s full ownership of\u00a0Eurosport International <\/a>– one of the largest European sport-entertainment networks, which was recently acquired by DCI from TF1<\/a>\u00a0[23]<\/a>. The purchase is especially important as Eurosport \u00a0won the multi-platform rights for broadcasting the Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024\u00a0[24]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
In September, DIC also signed a partnership agreement with Russian Media Group<\/a>, forming Media Alliance <\/a>and securing Discovery\u2019s<\/i> presence in the local market [25]<\/a>. (So far there are 11 DCI channels available in the country\u00a0[26]<\/a>.) Media Alliance<\/a>\u00a0will launch a development of a new regional free-to-air channel and distribute the Discovery and Eurosport<\/a><\/i>\u00a0pay TV portfolio. In the Russian market, Discovery Channel<\/a>, TLC<\/a>, and Animal Planet<\/a>\u00a0are the l\u0435\u0430ders in nonfiction content, while\u00a0Eurosport<\/a><\/i>\u00a0is the primary pay TV sp\u043ert-related ch\u0430nnel [27]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
International expansion allows DCI to maintain growth despite a recent decline in the US market\u00a0[28]<\/a>. \u00a0Last year, international markets brought the company 55% of its overall revenues, while this number is projected to reach 65% by 2018 [29]<\/a>. Therefore, more international deals and promotional events are expected in the future.<\/p>\n
Fall 2015 Releases:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cExorcism: Live!\u201d<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
On October 30th<\/sup>, DCI\u2019s Destination America featured its Halloween-special\u00a0\u201cExorcism: Live!\u201d<\/a>–<\/i> a two-hour broadcast during\u00a0which a team of so-called \u201cparanormal professionals\u201d tried to purify a supposedly \u201cpossessed\u201d house in St. Louis [31]<\/a>. The show is closely related to\u00a0\u201cThe Exorcist\u201d<\/a>\u00a0book by William Peter Blatty<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cExorcism: Live!\u201d <\/i>took place in the house\u00a0where\u00a0the exorcism was performed, in 1949, which inspired \u201cThe Exorcist<\/i>\u201d novel [32]<\/a>.\u00a0According to producer Jodi Tovay<\/a>, the main event wasn\u2019t about saving a possessed person, but rather about an attempt to cleanse evil from the house itself in a ritual Tovay referred as \u201ca hybrid of an exorcism and a blessing\u201d [33]<\/a>.\u00a0Audiences had a chance to actively participate in the event by following several live cameras put around the house \u00a0online<\/a>. Producers encouraged viewers to assist the exorcism team and report mysterious activity through Twitter, using the\u00a0#exorcismlife<\/a>\u00a0hashtag [34]<\/a>. Selected tweets appeared live on air [35]<\/a>. As a result, \u201cExorcism: Live!\u201d became the #1 non-football live event on cable in October\u00a0[36]<\/a>. For the target audience P25-54, the show gained a 0.59 for L+3 ratings compared to its competitors\u2019 A&E\u2019s 0.34 and National Geographic\u2019s 0.19.\u00a0The show was also the #1 most mentioned event on Twitter on October 30th, generating 29 thousand tweets\u00a0[37]<\/a>.<\/p>\n