Discovery Communications

A legal battle over accounting practices that has enveloped indie company LMNO Prods. has stirred a hornet’s nest in the tight-knit community of producers of unscripted television. A number of prominent producers are dismayed at Discovery Communications for what they see as ruthlessness in its handling of a lawsuit and federal investigation into allegations of pervasive fraud in LMNO’s business operations going back more than a decade.

It’s the end of an era in TV advertising as Discovery Communications’ Joe Abruzzese — one of the industry’s best known, and admired, execs — announced that he will retire at year’s end. He spent the last 14 years of his 46-year career at the cable company after 11 years leading CBS’s ad sales, and 10 years at NBC.

Discovery Communications is planning staff cuts to the tune of $40 million-$60 million through the end of September. The company disclosed in an Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday that it began notifying employees of a voluntary buyout initiative.

After years of reality-show fodder, Discovery Communications wants to return to its roots with documentaries, science shows and “environmental advocacy campaigns.” But will viewers take Discovery’s networks seriously again?

Discovery Communications has been late to the TV Everywhere party, but the company is making up for lost time in a big way today: It has rolled up nine of its networks into a single app for authenticated cable subscribers.

Billionaire John Malone continues to circle Lionsgate. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., the parent of the Santa Monica television and film studio, said Tuesday that it was selling 6.8% of its shares to two companies: Discovery Communications and Liberty Global. Malone holds a significant stake in both Discovery and Liberty Global. Discovery and Liberty Global each will pay about $195 million for a 3.4% stake in Lions Gate, according to the companies.

Discovery Channel President Rich Ross will become president of a new Discovery Communications portfolio group made up of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel.

Comcast and Discovery Communications announced today that they have signed a long-term, comprehensive renewal of their distribution agreement. The deal spans 12 Discovery U.S. networks across multiple Comcast distribution platforms.

David Zaslav — the president and chief executive officer of Discovery Communications — talks about his deal with the International Olympic Committee to pay $1.4 billion to air four Olympics Games, from 2018 to 2024, across Europe.

Discovery Communications, the parent company of the Discovery Channel and Eurosport,  won the rights to the games of 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024, and also agreed to collaborate with the IOC on its new year-round Olympic Channel.

Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav received $156.1 million in compensation last year, the company disclosed Friday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The vast majority of the windfall comes from more than $144 million in stock awards that Zaslav received after setting a new six-year employment contract last year.

Rentrak today signed a TV ratings and automotive segmentation agreement with Discovery Communications. Discovery will adopt Rentrak’s TV ratings and IHS Polk Automotive data, providing measurement of advertising campaigns running […]

Clypd, a supply-side platform for programmatic TV advertising, on Wednesday announced a partnership with Discovery Communications, the cable programmer that’s home to channels such as Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and more. As a result of the partnership, Discovery Communications will make some of its TV inventory available for programmatic buying via Clypd.

The NBC vet will join the company in April as president of global business and legal affairs, production management and studios.

An erroneous report about merger talks between Discovery Communications and 21st Century Fox gave the cable programmer a big lift on Monday and spurred talk of other possible merger proposals to come. Discovery surged 8% on Monday morning, before closing the session at $32.33, up 4.5% — an indication that investors like the idea.

Discovery Communications’ outlets have joined the list of cable nets that are attempting to shift the focus of TV ratings coverage to the live-plus-three ratings that encompass three days of time-shifted viewing. Discovery said in a statement today that the bulk of its publicly disclosed ratings information for its 10 top channels will cite L3 ratings. Live and live-plus-same day ratings will still be issued for select live events and specials.

How people watch television has undergone some major changes over the past few years. Now so is the way television advertising is sold. Discovery Communications has decided to forego its traditional upfront presentation this spring, bypassing the big party in favor of small meetings with agencies and advertisers across the country. Media buyers point out the move was made largely due to financial concerns, but they also say they welcome the move to the smaller gatherings.

Discovery Communications would like to do a deal with Netflix to stream its programming over the popular company’s site. But the two sides have yet to come to terms on “value,” according to David Zaslav, Discovery’s chief executive.

Rich Ross is poised to leave his post as CEO of Shine America and is expected to land at Discovery Communications in a top programming job.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and other politicians have signed a statement calling on the Discovery Channel to drop the series “Amish Mafia.” The statement says “Amish […]

Discovery Communications has been the target of much merger and acquisition speculation as a series of proposed megadeals threatens to reshape the television business.

Discovery Communications’ two flagship networks, Discovery and TLC, will offer Spanish-language secondary audio programming for a selection of top series. The offerings, which will include top series from both networks, are slated to begin in May during primetime programming hours.