Editing Discovery Channel (section)

==History==
[[John Hendricks]] founded the channel and its parent company, Cable Educational Network Inc., in 1982.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73614317.html?dids=73614317:73614317&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+19%2C+1988&author=Martie+Zad&pub=The+Washington+Post+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=The+Discovery+Channel%3B+Science%2C+Nature%2C+Adventure+and+Animals+That+Bite&pqatl=google|title=The Discovery Channel; Science, Nature, Adventure and Animals That Bite|date=June 19, 1988|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Martie|last=Zad|access-date=July 6, 2017|archive-date=October 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027085230/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73614317.html?dids=73614317:73614317&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+19,+1988&author=Martie+Zad&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=The+Discovery+Channel;+Science,+Nature,+Adventure+and+Animals+That+Bite&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}</ref> Several investors (including the [[BBC]], [[Allen & Company]], and Venture America) raised $5&nbsp;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&nbsp;a.m. About 75 percent of its program content had never been broadcast on U.S. television before.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/16/movies/cable-tv-notes-a-channel-with-a-difference.html |title=CABLE TV NOTES; A CHANNEL WITH A DIFFERENCE|date=June 16, 1985|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Steve|last=Schneider|access-date=May 1, 2010|archive-date=July 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718061326/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/16/movies/cable-tv-notes-a-channel-with-a-difference.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In its early years, the channel's focus centered on educational programming in the form of cultural and wildlife documentaries, and science and historical [[television special|specials]]. It also broadcast some [[Television in the Soviet Union|Soviet programming]] during this time, including the news program ''[[Vremya]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963577,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417014020/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963577,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 17, 2008|title=Television: The Russians Are Coming|date=February 23, 1987|magazine=Time}}</ref> The channel also carried two [[teletext]] services over its [[Vertical blanking interval|VBI]] during this time, Infotext (offering news from the [[Associated Press]], as well as information about [[agribusiness]] and agriculture, including commodity prices from the [[Chicago Mercantile Exchange]] on a 15-minute delay), and Datavizion (offering trivia, strange news stories, games and a satellite TV guide); both services originated from [[PBS Wisconsin|WHA-TV]] in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], and were run by the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin-Madison]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=In Brief.|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Broadcasting-IDX/1985-Broadcasting/1985-03-11-Broadcasting-Page-0028.pdf|access-date=February 13, 2021|website=World Radio History|archive-date=June 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616051510/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Broadcasting-IDX/1985-Broadcasting/1985-03-11-Broadcasting-Page-0028.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Graziplene|first=Leonard R.|title=Teletext : its promise and demise|date=2000|publisher=Lehigh University Press|isbn=0-934223-64-5|location=Bethlehem, PA|oclc=43434699<!--|access-date=February 13, 2021|archive-date=July 10, 2022-->}}</ref>

The channel began to shift its focus in the early 2000s to attract a broader audience, by incorporating more [[reality television|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. Some critics<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/fraud-deception-and-lies-how-discoverys-shark-week-became-the-greatest-show-on-earth|title=Fraud, Deception And Lies: How Discovery's Shark Week Became The Greatest Show On Earth – Science Sushi|access-date=May 14, 2021|date=July 18, 2014|archive-date=May 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514015750/https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/fraud-deception-and-lies-how-discoverys-shark-week-became-the-greatest-show-on-earth|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6361880.html|title=Dirty Work|date=August 14, 2006|work=Multichannel News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821194517/http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6361880.html|archive-date=August 21, 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=October 30, 2009}}</ref> The network's ratings eventually recovered in 2006.<ref>[http://corporate.discovery.com/news/press/06q2/083006.html DCI :: Press and News Releases] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124155038/http://corporate.discovery.com/news/press/06q2/083006.html |date=January 24, 2007}}</ref>

On January 4, 2006, Discovery Communications announced that anchor [[Ted Koppel]], executive producer Tom Bettag, and eight other former staff members from the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] newsmagazine ''[[Nightline (U.S. TV program)|Nightline]]'' were joining Discovery Channel. The network was nominated for seven [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s that year for shows including ''[[The Flight that Fought Back]]'' (a documentary about the hijacking of [[United Airlines Flight 93]] during the [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks]] of September 11, 2001) and ''[[Deadliest Catch]]'' (a reality series about a group of seafood fishermen).

In 2007, Discovery Channel's top series included the Emmy Award– and Peabody Award–winning ''[[Planet Earth (2006 TV series)|Planet Earth]]'', ''[[Dirty Jobs]]'', ''[[MythBusters]]'', and ''[[Deadliest Catch]]''. Discovery Channel's 2008 lineup included ''[[Fight Quest]]'' and ''[[Smash Lab]]''.<ref>[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/planet-earth 67th Annual Peabody Awards] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204180547/http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/planet-earth |date=December 4, 2014 }}), May 2008.</ref>

On September 1, 2010, [[Discovery Communications headquarters hostage crisis|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 and held several employees hostage; he was later shot dead by police.<ref name="Fox">{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/01/maryland-police-respond-hostage-situation-man-gun-enters-building/|title=Armed Man With Bomb Takes at Least One Hostage in Discovery Channel Building|date=September 1, 2010|publisher=[[Fox News Channel]]|access-date=September 1, 2010|archive-date=September 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901210347/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/01/maryland-police-respond-hostage-situation-man-gun-enters-building/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="CNN">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/01/maryland.discovery.suspect/ |title=Suspect in Maryland hostage situation published angry online manifesto|date=September 1, 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220418050345/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/01/maryland.discovery.suspect/ |archive-date= 2022-04-18|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=September 1, 2010}}</ref> Lee had published criticisms of the network at Savetheplanetprotest.com.<ref name="CNN"/>

In December 2015, Discovery Communications launched its [[TV Everywhere]] service, Discovery Go, which features live and video-on-demand content from Discovery Channel and eight of its sister networks.<ref name="mcn-discoverygo">{{cite web|title=Discovery Bows TV Everywhere App|url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/discovery-bows-tv-everywhere-app/395629|website=Multichannel News|access-date=January 8, 2016|archive-date=December 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203203209/http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/discovery-bows-tv-everywhere-app/395629|url-status=live}}</ref>