Formerly | Turner Broadcasting System International (1985–2020) WarnerMedia International (2020–2022) |
---|---|
Company type | Division |
Industry | Broadcasting |
Predecessor | WarnerMedia International Discovery Networks International (2001–2022) |
Founded | 1985(original) 2022(Merger with Discovery Networks International) |
Key people |
|
Parent | Warner Bros. Discovery |
Divisions | Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America |
Subsidiaries | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery |
Warner Bros. Discovery International, formerly known as Turner Broadcasting System International and WarnerMedia International , is an international unit of Warner Bros. Discovery led by president Gerhard Zeiler. [1] [2] The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key WBD brands outside of the United States. These brands include Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, HBO, TLC, TBS, TNT, and Warner TV, as well as Polish owned TVN Group channels and has a stake of some networks operated by CTV Speciality Television Inc., a joint venture between Bell Media and ESPN Inc. such as Discovery and Animal Planet.
The networks' headquarters are located in London. Other international offices are located in São Paulo, Santiago, Mexico City, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Milan, Mumbai, Paris, Singapore, Bogotá, and Auckland amongst others. [3] [4]
In 1985, Ted Turner would launch a European division in London, England, [5] which reached across the Middle East and African regional feeds, [6] Around the same time Discovery Channel would launch in April in Europe. In mid-2007, Discovery Networks Europe would be split into two various branches around Europe. [7]
On November 27, 2012, Discovery announced it would acquire Dubai-based broadcaster Takhayal Entertainment, which owns MENA lifestyle channel Fatafeat. This acquisition was then completed. [8]
On December 21, 2012, Discovery announced it had acquired a 20% stake in the pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport from TF1 Group for €170 million (US$221.6 million). [9] On January 21, 2014, Discovery acquired an additional 51% share to gain controlling interest, [10] and subsequently acquired the remainder for €491 million in July 2015 to receive sole ownership. [11]
In June 2015, Discovery acquired pan-European rights to the Olympic Games from 2018 through 2024, excluding Russia, on all platforms, in a €1.3 billion deal. Discovery will primarily broadcast the Games on local outlets (including Eurosport), but will sub-license coverage to over-the-air broadcasters in each region. [12] [13] [14]
In August 2016, Discovery renewed its distribution deals in 12 countries with shareholder Liberty Global. [15] [16] On January 31, 2017, after nearly facing a carriage dispute, Discovery renewed its distribution deals in Germany and the United Kingdom with Sky plc. [17]
In November 2016, Discovery partnered with the streaming media company BAMTech to create a joint venture to serve Europe. [18] In May 2017, ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Discovery announced a joint venture to create a German over-the-top content service, built upon its existing 7TV service. [19]
On July 3, 2020, Discovery agreed to acquire the German free-to-air station Tele 5 from Leonine Holding. [20]
In December 2020, the Discovery-backed GB News received a license from Ofcom to broadcast on their service on various British platforms, such as Freeview, in 2021. GB News was set up by Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider from Liberty Global. [21] [22] [23]
In March 2021, Discovery was made available to beIN Media Group subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa. The two organizations have worked together since 2016, but this is the first time that Discovery Channel itself has been made available. [24]
In 2022, Discovery merged with WarnerMedia, forming Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA in Europe, with the new entity being responsible for the assets in Europe.
In August 2017, Discovery announced that it would acquire the remaining 51.06% of Green Content, the operator of the Polish DTT channel Metro, from Agora SA for PLN19,000,000 under a share buyback agreement. [25]
Through its purchase of SNI, Discovery added the Polish broadcaster TVN Group to its European portfolio, [26] which SNI had acquired in 2015 from ITI Group and Canal+ Group., [27] [28] [29] as well as the UKTV joint venture with BBC Worldwide (later BBC Studios).
In 2022, Discovery completed its merger with WarnerMedia, noting that Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA had no oversight over operations in the country, making it a separate entity under Warner Bros. Discovery International. [30] [31]
In June 2016, Discovery acquired a 27.5% stake in Bethia Comunicaciones S.A., a division of Chilean conglomerate Bethia that owns Red Televisiva Megavisión S.A., a company which in turn owns both the private television network Mega and a 70% stake in the anime-, Korean drama- and K-pop-focused cable television channel ETC (which is co-owned with its creator, who is businessman and television executive Hernán Schmidt Fuentes). As a result, Bethia acquired 72.5% of the company. [32]
Redknot, a joint venture with Canadian animation studio Nelvana, launched on February 12, 2019.
In 2022, Discovery merged with WarnerMedia, forming Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America, with the new entity being responsible for the assets in Latin America and Brazil.
As part of its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive in 2018, Discovery added Asian Food Network (which SNI had acquired from the co-founders Hian Goh and Maria Brown in 2013) [33] to its Asian portfolio.
On September 7, 2020, MediaWorks New Zealand Limited announced that Discovery would be purchasing the television arm of their business including Three, Bravo, The Edge TV, Breeze TV, streaming service ThreeNow, and current affairs service Newshub. MediaWorks said in a statement that the transaction was subject to "a number of pre-completion approvals" but was expected to completed by the end of the year. . [34] [35] [36] The sale was finalized in December 2020, with the new entity being rebranded as Discovery New Zealand. [37]
On April 27, 2021, Discovery Inc. confirmed that it would be restructuring its business operations in Australia and New Zealand with the goal of incorporating Three, Bravo and Newshub into a single trans-Tasman organization. Discovery also announced that this new trans-Tasman organization would be headed by two general managers, the Sydney–based Rebecca Kent and Glen Kyne in Auckland. Discovery had also separately acquired MediaWorks' TopTV operations in 2019. [38] In mid-May 2021, Newshub closed its Dunedin office as part of a restructuring of Discovery's business operations in Australia and New Zealand. Following the closure of the Dunedin newsroom, the network's South Island operations will consist of its Christchurch–based bureau and freelancers. [39] [40]
In April 2022, WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific merged with Discovery Asia-Pacific and consequently been announced that Discovery+ which currently available in India and the Philippines would be merged with HBO Go which available in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries, that carried several content from HBO Max, to form simply Max in fall-2024.
EMEA & Poland
TNT is an American basic cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery that launched on October 3, 1988. TNT's original purpose was to air classic films and television series to which Turner Broadcasting maintained spillover rights through its sister station TBS. Since June 2001, the network has shifted its focus to dramatic television series and feature films, along with some sporting events, as TBS shifted its focus to comedic programming.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its assets are now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The headquarters of Turner's properties are largely located at the CNN Center in Downtown Atlanta, and the Turner Broadcasting campus off Techwood Drive in Midtown Atlanta, which also houses Techwood Studios. Some of their operations are housed within WBD's corporate and global headquarters inside 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan's West Side district, and at 230 Park Avenue South in Midtown Manhattan, both in New York City, respectively.
TruTV is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of comedy, docusoaps and reality shows, with a recent strong primetime focus on live sports programming produced by TNT Sports.
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports International unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territories, and streams on Max and Discovery+.
Warner Bros. DiscoveryEurope, Middle East&Africa(EMEA) is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery. The division is responsible for managing the collection of their cable and satellite networks around the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.
Travel Channel International is a commercial television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and broadcasting travel-themed programmes in the EMEA regions and Asia Pacific, spanning 21 on-air languages.
Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) was an American mass media company, which was formed on July 1, 2008, and acquired by and merged into Discovery Communications on March 6, 2018. It was formed in 2008, through the spin-off of the E. W. Scripps Company's cable television networks and online assets. Discovery Communications completed its acquisition of SNI after receiving approval from the United States Department of Justice and European Commission on March 6, 2018. It was the owner of several major factual television cable channels, including Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel, and operated or held stakes in localized international versions of these brands. SNI also owned Polish broadcaster TVN and half of the British channel group UKTV.
Cartoon Network is one of two digital children's television channels that air animated series: Cartoon Network MENA, which serves the Middle East and North Africa division along with Greece and Cyprus; and Cartoon Network Africa, which exclusively serves Sub-Saharan Africa. Both feeds are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery under its International division.
TNT Sports is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group, they first launched as BT Sport on 1 August 2013.
DTX is a television channel focused on programming about cars available in Poland and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. It is a version of Discovery Turbo. A pan-regional feed was also available in most of EMEA region from 2015 until it ceased broadcasting in January 2024.
TVN S.A. is a Polish media and entertainment group established in 1995 as TVN Sp. z o.o. The CEO of TVN Group is Katarzyna "Kasia" Kieli, president and managing director of TVN Warner Bros. Discovery. Its TV channel, TVN, is their flagship.
Cartoonito is a brand name used by Warner Bros. Discovery for a collection of television networks and programming blocks aimed at preschool children. The name combines the "cartoon" with the Spanish suffix "ito", meaning "small".
GolfTV was an international streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit and run by its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division, which aired golf tournaments, news and documentaries.
Max, formerly and still known in some regions as HBO Max, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment, which is itself a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The platform offers content from the libraries of Warner Bros., Discovery, HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, TBS, TNT, Eurosport, and their related brands. Max first launched in the United States on May 27, 2020.
Discovery+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The service focuses on factual programming drawn from the libraries of Discovery's main channel brands, as well as original series, and other acquired content.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedia's spin-off by AT&T and merger with Discovery, Inc. on April 8, 2022.
TVN Warner Bros. Discovery has been subsumed into Warner Bros. Discovery in Poland, alongside other group assets including Eurosport and HBO Max.