Discovery Channel (often referred to as simply Discovery) was a television channel which broadcasts to Russia and all of the CIS countries. 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 () 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 Cable News Network (CNN) is a ...

was more popular. In late 2007, Discovery switched to the

ABS 1 ABS usually refers to: * Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, a common plastics polymer * Anti-lock braking system, in vehicles Abs usually refers to: * Rectus abdominis muscle ("abdominal muscle" or "abs") of humans and some mammals * Abdominal musc ...

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 is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. 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) system ...

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

Zone Vision AMC Networks International UK (EMEA), formerly Zone Vision, Zone Media, Chello Zone and AMC Networks International Zone (EMEA), is a British television media company founded in 1991 by Chris Wronski and owned by AMC Networks International as it ...

. This partnership ended when Discovery changed their representative to

Media Broadcasting Group Limited Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inte ...

. 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 country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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