Discovery Family
SAP audio track) | |
Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
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Ownership | |
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History | |
Launched | October 7, 1996 |
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Links | |
Website | www |
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Streaming media | |
Philo | Internet Protocol television |
Hulu | Internet Protocol television |
FuboTV | Internet Protocol television |
Discovery Family is an American cable television channel co-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Hasbro Entertainment.
The channel was originally launched by Discovery Communications (then Discovery, Inc.) on October 7, 1996 as Discovery Kids Channel (later Discovery Kids), a spin-off of Discovery Channel, with primarily science and nature-themed programming aimed towards a youth audience. In 2010, Discovery Kids was relaunched as The Hub (later Hub Network) as part of a joint venture with Hasbro led by veteran executive Margaret Loesch. The relaunch pivoted the channel towards a general entertainment format, with dayparts targeting preschool, youth, and family audiences respectively. Some of its original programming would include adaptations of Hasbro-owned properties, such as game shows based on its board games, and animated series produced as a part of the toy lines such as My Little Pony, Pound Puppies, and Transformers.
In 2014, Loesch stepped down, and the network was rebranded as Discovery Family; at that time, Discovery began programming the channel's
History
As Discovery Kids (1996–2010)
Discovery Communications launched Discovery Kids Channel on October 7, 1996, as part of a suite of four new digital cable channels that included Discovery Travel & Living Network, Discovery Civilization Network, and Discovery Science Network.[1][2] Upon its launch, the channel primarily offered adventure, nature, and science-themed programs aimed towards a children's audience between ages 6 and 11.[3] Marjorie Kaplan, the network's senior vice president, explained that the creation of Discovery Kids Channel was influenced primarily by kids, who were watching its parent network's programming together with their parents.[4]
From 1996 to 2000, Discovery Kids Channel was carried by only a select few cable television providers. In 2001, the channel was shortened to Discovery Kids and late in that year, it was carried in at least 15 million homes.
In December 2001, Discovery Kids announced a partnership with NBC, in which it would produce a new Saturday morning block for the network known as Discovery Kids on NBC, beginning in September 2002. The block, which replaced a teen-oriented block consisting only of sitcoms, featured programming that met the educational programming guidelines from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including new original series (such as the reality television series Endurance), existing Discovery Kids programming, along with children's spin-offs of programs from sister networks, such as Animal Planet and Discovery Channel.[6]
With the launch of the new block, Discovery Kids also branched out into animated programming with the premieres of Kenny the Shark and Tutenstein.[7][8] In March 2006, Discovery declined to renew its contract with NBC for its Saturday morning block, citing a desire to focus exclusively on the Discovery Kids channel. Since the launch of the NBC block, Discovery Kids had grown its cable carriage to over 43 million homes.[9] NBC would replace the Discovery Kids block with Qubo in September 2006.[10]
As Hub Network (2010–2014)
Programming and development
On April 30, 2009, toy manufacturer and multimedia company
In July 2009, the joint venture appointed veteran television executive
In January 2010, Discovery and Hasbro announced that the channel would be known as The Hub; this was soon followed two months later with the announcement that The Hub would launch on October 10, 2010. The channel's original imaging was developed by Troika Design Group and built around an emblem nicknamed the "hubble" – which was designed to embody a "catalyst of action and imagination". The final logo design was the result of a number of drafts by Troika designers, some of which had incorporated typography similar to Hasbro's logo.[14][17]
Goals
The relaunched channel, which would compete against established children's services such as
Commercial programming
The
One vocal opponent of Hasbro's involvement in the joint venture was Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), founded by Susan Linn, concerning that the channel would be exploited by the toy company as a platform to plug its products. Ahead of the channel's re-launch as The Hub, CCFC called the whole project an "infomercial", and stated that they would be monitoring the channel.[14] Linn said "It will make a mockery of existing ad limits and the current prohibition of product placement in children's television" at the April 2009 announcement of the Discovery-Hasbro joint venture,[11] and told Los Angeles Times that "[t]he notion of a toy company owning a television channel for the sole purpose of promoting their toys is egregious practice" in the days before the channel's re-launch.[19] Loesch stated that The Hub's goal was to be "vibrant" and "diverse" in its programming, that the channel would not purely be a marketing vehicle for Hasbro products, and pointed out that the animated series not commissioned by toy companies would have its toys released anyway.[21] Loesch also said that Hasbro was partnering with Discovery Communications for the channel, and declared "we have programming from them and are using their DNA".[19]
Re-launch and later years
To promote The Hub, sneak peeks of
In a June 2011 debt filing with the
In March 2013, The Hub picked up Stan Lee's Mighty 7, an animated pilot film that aired on February 1, 2014. The network also began to phase in an amended branding as the Hub Network.[27] On January 13, 2014, Hub Network introduced an updated logo, along with a new imaging campaign, "Making Family Fun", which was developed by the Los Angeles-based agency Oishii Creative.[28]
As Discovery Family (2014–present)
On June 12, 2014, it was reported that Margaret Loesch would step down from her role as Hub Network president and CEO by the end of the year.[29] On September 17, 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that Discovery Communications was preparing to acquire a controlling stake in Hub Network from Hasbro and then retool it as Discovery Family. Along with Discovery's CFO Andrew Warren, Hasbro staff acknowledged that increasing competition in the children's media landscape – especially by subscription video-on-demand services such as Netflix – had an effect on the overall performance of the network and Hasbro's original content.[30][31][32] As it was majority-owned by a competitor, other major toy companies such as Mattel refused to purchase advertising time on Hub Network, affecting its ability to air advertising that targeted its main audience; by 2014, the network had made only $9 million per year. Discovery staff was also unable to display a full commitment to Hub Network's operation, due to factors such as the troubled launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network. Believing that they had overvalued its stake in the venture, Hasbro decided to cede the operation of the network to Discovery so it could focus more on content, and its core toy business.[32]
Discovery and Hasbro publicly announced the planned rebranding on September 25, 2014, Hasbro's CEO Brian Goldner explained that Discovery Family would be the "next chapter" in its joint venture with Discovery, "[combining] highly rated award-winning storytelling around Hasbro's brands and Discovery's most popular non-fiction shows that appeal to both children and families alike." Following reports earlier in the year that Hub Network president Margaret Loesch would step down by the end of the year, Discovery acquired 10% of Hasbro's stake in the network, and Henry Schleiff replaced Loesch, who leads sister networks such as Destination America and Investigation Discovery.
Hub Network was re-launched as Discovery Family on October 13, 2014 – just over four years since the earlier re-launch as The Hub. With these changes, Discovery Communications now held a 60% stake in the joint venture; Hasbro continued to hold a 40% stake in Discovery Family, and continued to program the network's daytime lineup with children's programming. Following the re-launch, the network's primetime lineup was replaced by reruns of family-oriented non-fiction programming from Discovery Channel's library.
In re-launching Hub Network, Discovery executives noted that there would be a larger emphasis on programming of interest to both children and their parents; Warren argued that since
Warner Bros. Discovery era and future of Hasbro ownership
On February 7, 2022, Hasbro CFO Deborah Thomas stated that the company was exploring strategic alternatives for its stake in the channel, citing the growing shift towards
Following the merger, Discovery Family was placed under the oversight of Cartoon Network's president Michael Ouweleen.[39] Despite Hasbro's 2021 annual report reporting that its licensing agreement to produce and broadcast new television shows on the channel ended in 2021,[40] the very next annual report stated that its operating agreement with Discovery was renewed to run until March 31, 2025, though this was filed months before Hasbro spun off its non-children's entertainment assets and instituted layoffs.[41] According to Warner Bros. Discovery's 2022 annual report, neither that company nor Hasbro took any action regarding the latter's 40% interest in Discovery Family within the 2022 calendar year, when the decision was originally due.[42]
Programming
The majority of Discovery Family's daytime programs are animated and live-action series tied to media franchises owned by Hasbro itself, with newer series previously produced through its subsidiary Hasbro Studios (later known as Allspark), such as Pound Puppies and Transformers: Rescue Bots, and later through Entertainment One (which Hasbro acquired in 2019). As the Hub Network, it also previously aired game shows tied to Hasbro's board games, such as Family Game Night.
One of the network's most noteworthy series has been My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, an animated series produced as a part of the then-recent revival of Hasbro's My Little Pony franchise. The series not only became The Hub's highest-rated program within its target demographic of young girls, but attracted an unexpectedly significant cult following among male teens and adults.[43] Following the conclusion of the series on October 12, 2019, the animated spin-off series featuring its cast, My Little Pony: Pony Life, premiered on Discovery Family on November 7, 2020.[44]
The Hatchery – a company co-founded by Margaret Loesch (who served as the channel's president and CEO from 2009 to 2014) and Bruce Stein in 2003, and had a majority stake acquired by American Greetings (AG) in 2004 – has supplied certain series to the channel, including Dan Vs. and R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour.[45] Aside from The Hatchery's productions, American Greetings also supplied Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures (part of the 2009 relaunch of Strawberry Shortcake, a property which was owned by AG until 2015), The Twisted Whiskers Show, Maryoku Yummy, and Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot to the channel. Hasbro was named the master toy licensee of Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake in 2008.[46]
The channel has also acquired new series unrelated to properties of Hasbro, The Hatchery and American Greetings, including Animal Mechanicals, The Aquabats! Super Show!, Cosmic Quantum Ray, Majors & Minors, Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch, Secret Millionaires Club, and SheZow.
During its years as the Hub Network, the channel also aired reruns of other acquired series, such as Fraggle Rock and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a collection of various Warner Bros. Animation series, such as Batman Beyond, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, and Tiny Toon Adventures, a few former Fox Kids shows such as Goosebumps and Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, and various off-network sitcoms (at the end of the Hub Network's run, these included Blossom, Step by Step, and Sister, Sister); Blossom, the only sitcom on Discovery Family's schedule, returned for a time in 2016. A limited amount of original Discovery Kids programming, such as Adventure Camp and Flight 29 Down, remained on the lineup upon its launch as The Hub.
In 2019, Discovery Family acquired the cable rights to several series and specials from 41 Entertainment, including Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures and Super Monsters.[47]
As of November 2023, all remaining Hasbro-produced shows are now the absolute oldest programs still airing on the channel.
Primetime and overnight programming
Following the relaunch as Discovery Family in October 2014, Discovery began programming the channel's
The original programs commissioned for the channel in this timeslot include Bake It Like Buddy, From Wags to Riches with Bill Berloni, My Dog's Crazy Animal Friends, Reno, Set, Go!, Secrets of America's Favorite Places and burn-off the remaining episodes of season 9 of Cake Boss.
Availability
As of September 2018[update], approximately 55,238,000 American households (50.9% of households with television) receive Discovery Family.[48]
Discovery Family operates one feed nationally, and does not operate a
Based on numbers from
International versions
On March 31, 2016, the pan-
See also
- Discovery Familia: The domestic Spanish-language equivalent in the United States with a similar scheduling strategy.
- K2: Italian equivalent in the United States with a similar scheduling strategy.
- Frisbee: Italian sister network to K2.
References
- ISBN 978-1592137060.
- Realscreen. Archivedfrom the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
Discovery was the first non-fiction channel to embrace digital cable services. Home & Leisure, Science, Civilization, and Kids launched in October 1996.
- ^ a b Umstead, Thomas (December 7, 2001). "Discovery Gets NBC Kids' Block". Multichannel News. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Oei, Lily (February 23, 2003). "Adults 'Discovery' kiddie programs". Variety. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
- ^ "Discovery Kids Launches With a Unique Blend of "Edu-tainment"". Corus Entertainment. August 8, 2001. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Oei, Lily (April 2, 2002). "Discovery Kids sets NBC sked". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Oei, Lily; McClintock, Pamela (November 6, 2003). "Kids mixed on new skeds". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Oei, Lily (August 24, 2003). "Nets face back to school blues". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Riddell, Robert (March 19, 2006). "Discovery Kids parts with NBC". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Hampp, Andrew (August 24, 2006). "NBC Debuts Kids Programming Brand Qubo". Ad Age. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
- ^ a b Stelter, Brian (April 30, 2009). "Hasbro to Help Reformat Discovery Kids Channel". Media Decoder. The New York Times Company. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ Flint, Joe (January 14, 2010). "Discovery and Hasbro Name New Kids Channel "The Hub"". Company Town. Los Angeles Times Communications. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (April 30, 2009). "Hasbro Nabs Discovery Kids Stake". Variety. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Stelter, Brian (October 10, 2010). "A Children's Channel Retools". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
- KidScreen. Brunico Communications. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ Flint, Joe (July 16, 2009). "Kids vet Margaret Loesch to run Hasbro-Discovery cable network". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "The Hub Logo". Troika Design Group. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Hampp, Andrew (May 17, 2010). "Can Hub Rally Rivals to Play With Hasbro?". Advertising Age. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Flint, Joe; Chmielewski, Dawn (October 5, 2010). "New kids' TV channel raises product-placement concerns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ^ Boston Globe. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Owen, Rob (October 10, 2010). "Tuned In: The Hub Network Offers Programs for Younger Children". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ Atkinson, Claire (March 29, 2010). "Discovery, Hasbro Aim for Perfect 10s". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ "The Hub's Schedule for 10/10 & 10/11 - "Men in Black: The Series" is Coming!". Anime Superhero. September 25, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- ^ "The Hub to Launch 10-10 With "Sneak Peak [sic] Sunday," Giving Viewers a First Look at the Network's Lineup for Kids and Their Families" (Press release). Discovery Communications. September 28, 2010. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
- ^ Lieberman, David (June 13, 2011). "Is THE HUB Due For A Writedown? Discovery Debt Filing Raises That Possibility". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ Chen, Jonathan (June 14, 2011). "Less Than Meets The Eye: Is The Hub In Trouble?". Benzinga. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ "The Hub Network Unveils 2013-'14 Program Slate with Six New Additions to Join Nine Returning Original Series". The Futon Critic. March 20, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
- ^ "All in the Brand: Making Family Fun". Oishii Creative. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
- ^ Adreeva, Nellie (October 18, 2014). "HUB President & CEO Margaret Loesch To Exit". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
- ^ a b Flint, Joe; Hagey, Keach; Ziobro, Paul (September 17, 2014). "Discovery to Take Control of Hub Children's Network". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- ^ a b Farrell, Mike (September 17, 2014). "Discovery, Hasbro Modify Hub Partnership". MultiChannel News. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- ^ a b c Thielman, Sam (February 23, 2015). "The Rise and Fall and Rise of Hasbro's TV Strategy". Adweek. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ a b c Szalai, Georg (September 25, 2014). "The Hub to Rebrand as Discovery Family Channel as Discovery Takes Control". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
- ^ a b c Graser, Marc (October 7, 2014). "Hasbro's 'Transformers' Return to Original TV Home, Cartoon Network". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (October 7, 2014). "Hasbro Moves New 'Transformers' Series To Cartoon Network". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (October 22, 2014). "Discovery Family Channel to Premiere the Third Season of Transformers Rescue Bots November 1". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ^ Vlessing, Etan (February 7, 2022). "Hasbro Mulls Whether to Offload Discovery Family Channel Stake". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
- ^ Maas, Jennifer (April 8, 2022). "What Warner Bros. Discovery Looks Like on Day 1". Variety. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (December 7, 2022). "'Batwheels' Renewed for Season 2 as Cartoon Network Boss Details Warner Bros. Discovery's Animation Strategy (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ "Hasbro's 2021 Annual Report". sec.gov. December 26, 2021.
- ^ "HASBRO, INC. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. (form 10-K)". marketscreener.com. February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Warner Bros. Discovery: 2022 Annual Report" (PDF). ir.corporate.discovery.com. April 8, 2023.
- ^ Gennis, Sadie (July 31, 2013). "Give Bronies a Break! In Defense of Adult My Little Pony Fans". TV Guide. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (November 13, 2019). "'My Little Pony' Finds Fresh Pasture with 'Pony Life' Series, New Toy Lines". Animation Magazine. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ^ Clarke, Stewart (May 18, 2010). "The Hub announces first original series and pick ups". Television Business International. Informa. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake Toys Come Home to Hasbro" (Press release). American Greetings Properties. July 10, 2008. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Discovery Family takes 41 toons". C21media. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Nielsen coverage estimates for September see gains at ESPN networks, NBCSN, and NBA TV, drops at MLBN and NFLN". September 10, 2018. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- ^ "Verizon launches The Hub HD on FiOS TV". HD Report. October 11, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (December 29, 2022). "Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2022's Winners and Losers". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ Brzoznowski, Kristin (March 24, 2016). "Discovery Family Comes to South Africa on DStv". WorldScreen. Retrieved April 21, 2016.