 | |
| Broadcast area | Russia Commonwealth of Independent States Georgia |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Languages | Russian,English |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to576i for the SD feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA |
| History | |
| Launched | September 20, 2006; 19 years ago (2006-09-20) |
| Closed | March 9, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-03-09) (Russia) |
| Links | |
| Website | discoverychannel.ru |
Discovery Channel (often referred to as simplyDiscovery) was a television channel which broadcasts to Russia and all of the CIS countries.
According to viewing research, Discovery had the second largest reach of all non-terrestrial television channels in the beginning of 2009; only the news channelRBC TV was more popular.[1]
In late 2007, Discovery switched to theABS 1 satellite, meaning it would extend its reach eastwards and be accessible in all of Russia, as well as several countries inCentral Asia.[2][3] Advertising sales started soon thereafter, on December 1, 2007.[4] Discovery's ad sales in Russia were handled by a company calledVideo International.[5]
Until 2006, Discovery was represented in Russia and the CIS countries byZone Vision. This partnership ended when Discovery changed their representative toMedia Broadcasting Group Limited.[6][7] MBG became responsible for the distribution of all seven Discovery channels in Russia, while Discovery contemplated opening an office of their own in Moscow.[8]
Discovery halted all broadcasts of its 15 linear channels to Russia through the Media Alliance partnership on March 9, 2022,in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9]