Discovery Channel (often referred to as simply Discovery) was a television channel which broadcasts to Russia and all of the CIS countries. Broadcasts in Russia were closed on March 9, 2022. According to viewing research, Discovery had the second largest reach of all non-terrestrial television channels in the beginning of 2009; only the news channel

RBC TV RBC TV (russian: РБК) is the first and only 24-hour business news television channel in Russia. It is owned and operated by the RBC Group. The channel was launched in September 2003 in partnership with the CNBC and CNN CNN (Cable News ...

was more popular. In late 2007, Discovery switched to the ABS 1 satellite, meaning it would extend its reach eastwards and be accessible in all of Russia, as well as several countries in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Advertising sales started soon thereafter, on December 1, 2007. Discovery's ad sales in Russia were handled by a company called

Video International Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) systems ...

. Until 2006, Discovery was represented in Russia and the CIS countries by

Zone Vision AMC Networks International UK (EMEA) (formerly AMC Networks International Zone (EMEA), Chello Zone, Zone Vision and Zone Media) is a London, UK-based television company, founded in 1991 by Chris Wronski and owned by AMC Networks International. H ...

. This partnership ended when Discovery changed their representative to

Media Broadcasting Group Limited Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

. MBG became responsible for the distribution of all seven Discovery channels in Russia, while Discovery contemplated opening an office of their own in Moscow. 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.

References

External links

Discovery Channel
from MBG

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Defunct television channels in Russia Television channels and stations established in 2006 2006 establishments in Russia Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA {{Russia-tv-stub