John Samuel Hendricks (born March 29, 1952)
["John Hendricks: An Oral History," The Cable Center, September 2, 2003.] is an American businessman and is the founder and former chairman of
Discovery, Inc.
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channe ...
(now a part of
Warner Bros. Discovery) a broadcasting and film production company which owned the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...
,
TLC and
Animal Planet
Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily d ...
networks, among other ventures. On March 20, 2014, after 32 years at the helm, he made public his decision to retire as chairman of Discovery Communications after the annual
shareholders' meeting of May 16, 2014. He moved on to found
CuriosityStream
Curiosity Stream also know as (Curiosity Channel) is an American media company and subscription video streaming service that offers documentary programming including films, series, and TV shows. It was launched in 2015 by the founder of the Disc ...
, an ad-free, on-demand nonfiction streaming service.
Early life
Born in
Matewan, West Virginia, Hendricks' father was a home builder and his mother a clerk for city government. In 1958, the Hendricks family moved to
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
, where Hendricks grew up. His father died when he was 20, and his mother died when he was 30. He attended
S.R. Butler High School
S. R. Butler High School was a four-year public high school that served students in grades 9- 12 from Huntsville, Alabama. The school was named after Samuel Riley Butler, a principal, school superintendent, and school founder.
It opened in 1951 ...
where he met his first wife, Pattie Miller. Hendricks graduated from the
University of Alabama in Huntsville
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises nine colleges: arts, humanities & social science ...
, and he received his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
in 1974. While a student at UAH he worked in the audio visual department where he had the idea to bring documentaries to the public.
He was hired as director of community and government relations for the University of Alabama in Huntsville the year he graduated, and became director of corporate and foundation relations for the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...
in 1975. While at the University of Maryland, he co-founded a fund-raising consulting company, the American Association of University Consultants, with Edward M. Peabody, and published several newsletters aimed at academic disciplines such as chemistry.
[Southwick, "Cable Television: The First 50 Years," ''Cable World,'' September 1998.]
Commercial ventures
John Hendricks founded the Cable Educational Network, Inc., in
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...
, in 1982 to provide documentary programming to cable broadcasters. On June 17, 1985, Hendricks launched the Discovery Channel with $5 million in start-up capital led by the American investment firm
Allen & Company
Allen & Company LLC is an American privately held boutique investment bank based at 711 Fifth Avenue, New York. The firm specializes in real estate, technology, media and entertainment.
History
Founded in 1922 by Charles Robert Allen, Jr., he ...
. Today, Discovery's main
shareholder
A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal ...
s include
John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media, and Advance/Newhouse (publishers of ''
Vanity Fair'', ''
New Yorker
New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to:
* A resident of the State of New York
** Demographics of New York (state)
* A resident of New York City
** List of people from New York City
* ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925
* '' The ...
'', and ''
Vogue'').
Hendricks helped found the
Women's United Soccer Association
The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the U ...
in 1999. After operating for three seasons, WUSA ceased operations in 2003. In 2004, Hendricks and a group of investors attempted a financial rescue of the league to revive professional women's soccer in the United States. In April 2007, the WUSA announced a revival of the league, to occur in 2008. The new league,
Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...
(WPS), ran March 2009 to January 2012.
In 2013, Harper Collins published his first business memoir, ''A Curious Discovery: An Entrepreneur's Story''. His biography recounts the struggles and triumphs of turning his passion for documentary programs into the world's most widely distributed cable channel and parlaying its popularity into a leading global media company.
In 2015, Hendricks founded
CuriosityStream
Curiosity Stream also know as (Curiosity Channel) is an American media company and subscription video streaming service that offers documentary programming including films, series, and TV shows. It was launched in 2015 by the founder of the Disc ...
, an online
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
service. CuriosityStream provides documentaries and series about science, technology, history and nature.
Family
John Hendricks married his current wife, Maureen Donohue, on January 10, 1981. John and Maureen have two children, Elizabeth Hendricks and Andrew Hendricks. Elizabeth attended the
Holton-Arms School and
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
, served as chief executive officer of CuriosityStream from 2013 to 2018 and currently serves as President of Hendricks Factual Media. Andrew attended the
Landon School
Landon School is a private, college preparatory school for boys in grades 3–12, with an enrollment of approximately 680 students, in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.
Background
Paul Landon Banfield and his wife, Mary Lee, f ...
, and is president of Driven Experiences, a racing and automotive company invested in many forms of the marketing media. Andrew is also a professional sports car driver in Grand-Am Road Racing.
Charitable activity
In 1995, Hendricks was appointed to the
Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark ...
Advisory Board. In 2004, Hendricks donated $1 million to the Observatory for the construction of the
Lowell Discovery Telescope. In 2007, Hendricks donated an additional $5 million to the Observatory to complete the telescope. The Planetary Research Center at the Observatory was renamed the Hendricks Center for Planetary Studies shortly thereafter in honor of the donation.
Hendricks serves on the Board of Directors of a number of non-profit organizations including
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...
,
Carnegie Corporation of New York
The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
,
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
,
National Forest Foundation, and Discovery Learning Alliance.
Hendricks has organized two charitable foundations. The John and Maureen Hendricks Charitable Foundation was established in 2001. It receives donations from the Hendricks family (roughly $1.1 million in 2005-2006, according to the foundation's Form 900 tax statement) and disburses grants to charitable causes. In total gifting, the Hendricks have donated over $30 million to numerous non-profit organizations supporting a wide variety of causes, from basic social services to science research. The John S. Hendricks Family Foundation was established in 1997. The foundation is used for specialized charitable purposes by the Hendricks family, and had no income, assets or disbursements in calendar years 2003, 2004 or 2005 (according to the foundation's Form 900 tax statements).
Honors
*
6066 Hendricks
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...
asteroid named after him.
* In 2011, Hendricks was honored with an
Edison Achievement Award for his commitment to innovation throughout his career.
* In 1997, he received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...
.
References
*Dawtrey, Adam. "BBC, Discovery in Fact Pact." ''Variety.'' March 23, 1998.
*Eisenberg, Daniel. "TV's Unlikely Empire." ''Time.'' February 23, 2003.
*Fimea, Mike. "Lowell Seeking New Telescope." ''Arizona Business Gazette.'' January 1, 2004.
*French, Scott. "John Hendricks Q&A: 'We're able to invest with confidence'." ''Sports Illustrated.'' January 21, 2001.
*Grove, Christopher. "Hendricks Leads Global Discovery Mission." ''Variety.'' November, 2000.
"Hendricks Family Boosts Discovery Channel Telescope With Additional $5 Million Contribution." Press release, Lowell Observatory. March 19, 2007.Accessed July 18, 2007.
*
Higgins, John M. "Back to Nature." ''Broadcasting & Cable.'' January 16, 2006.
*Hobgood, Cynthia. "A Dreamer's Discovery." ''Washington Business Journal.'' June 14, 2002.
"John Hendricks: An Oral History." The Cable Center. September 2, 2003.Accessed July 18, 2007.
*Kaplan, Peter. "John Hendricks: Cable Pioneer Discovers Value of Putting Substance over Style." ''Washington Times.'' December 23, 1996.
*"Lowell Gets OK to Add $30 Million Telescope." ''Associated Press.'' October 18, 2004.
*Michaelis, Vicki. "WUSA Ceases Operations After Three Years." ''USA Today.'' September 16, 2003.
*Southwick, Thomas P. "Cable Television: The First 50 Years." ''Cable World.'' September 1998.
*"WUSA to Relaunch in 2008 With Eight Teams." ''Associated Press.'' April 18, 2007.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendricks, John
1952 births
Living people
People from Matewan, West Virginia
Discovery Channel people
American television executives
University of Alabama in Huntsville alumni
People from Huntsville, Alabama
International Emmy Founders Award winners