Motor Trend is an American automotive television network owned by
Motor Trend Group
Motor Trend Group, LLC (formerly known as Source Interlink Media and TEN: The Enthusiast Network) is a media company that specializes in enthusiast brands, such as ''Motor Trend'' and ''Hot Rod (magazine), Hot Rod''. Headquartered in El Segundo, ...
, a subsidiary of
Hearst Magazines (which in turn is a division of
Hearst Communications
Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...
). It primarily broadcasts
automotive-themed programming, including
motorsports
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...
events.
It was originally founded in 2002 as Discovery HD Theater (later HD Theater), the first 24/7
high-definition basic cable network. It featured high-definition programming from its other channels. Redundant after the introduction of high-definition simulcasts for Discovery's networks, it re-launched by Robert Scanlon, Dan Russell, Shaan Akbar, Douglas Lerner, Nicole Tong, David Lee and Kelly Mahoney in 2011 as Velocity—an "upscale male" network primarily featuring automotive programming. Following Discovery's acquisition of a majority stake in the magazine's publisher, it was announced that Velocity would rebrand as Motor Trend on November 23, 2018, as a brand extension of the automotive magazine ''
Motor Trend
''Motor Trend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''Motor Trend'' until 1998, when it was sold ...
''.
, MT is available to approximately 65,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2017 peak of 74,000,000 households.
History
The network launched nationwide in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
on June 17, 2002, as Discovery HD Theater; and was the first 24/7 basic cable HD network in the US. The channel was rebranded to HD Theater on September 22, 2007. Programming included shows from Discovery sister networks, such as ''
American Chopper'' and Animal Planet's ''
Corwin's Quest'', in addition to original programming such as ''
Sunrise Earth'' (which featured footage of outdoor scenes with no narration), and history-focused titles such as ''
When Dinosaurs Roamed America'' and ''
Before We Ruled the Earth''.
As Velocity
By 2011, as high definition feeds of mainstream networks had become more common, HD Theater no longer filled a unique niche. On April 14, 2011, Discovery Communications announced that HD Theater would be re-launched as Velocity later in the year; the re-launch took place on October 4, 2011. The network targeted an "upscale male" audience, and focused primarily on automotive-oriented programming.
As Motor Trend
On August 3, 2017, Discovery announced that it would contribute Velocity into a joint venture with the digital, live events, and direct-to-consumer businesses of automotive publisher
TEN: The Enthusiast Network. Discovery will hold a majority stake in the venture.
In April 2018, it was announced that TEN had been renamed the Motor Trend Group, and that Velocity would rebrand to Motor Trend Network later in 2018. Co-branded with the automotive magazine ''
Motor Trend
''Motor Trend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''Motor Trend'' until 1998, when it was sold ...
'', the rebranding was part of an effort by Discovery, following its acquisition of
Scripps Networks Interactive
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. ...
, to focus more on direct-to-consumer offerings targeting niche topics with "passionate" audiences. ''Motor Trend'' already operates the subscription video-on-demand service ''Motor Trend OnDemand'', and had plotted out international expansion (including a British launch of ''Motor Trend OnDemand'' in the UK in December 2017, and a forthcoming over-the-air Motor Trend television channel in Italy.
Velocity officially rebranded as Motor Trend on November 23, 2018.
International versions
In Canada,
Discovery Velocity launched on February 12, 2015. The channel was, originally, the Canadian version of Discovery HD Theater, and had been branded as
Discovery World immediately prior.
In some markets, Discovery operates similarly-themed channels known as
Discovery Turbo (Asia-Pacific, Latin America, UK/Ireland),
DTX (Europe, except UK/Ireland), and
Motor Trend
''Motor Trend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''Motor Trend'' until 1998, when it was sold ...
(Italy), which feature a similar focus on automotive-themed programs.
Programming
As Discovery HD Theater
*''
Before We Ruled the Earth'' (2003)
*''
Dinosaur Planet'' (2003)
*''
Insectia'' (1999-2001)
*''
Sunrise Earth'' (2004-2008)
*''
When Dinosaurs Roamed America'' (2001)
As Velocity/Motor Trend
Event coverage
In 2015, Discovery acquired the broadcast rights to
Barrett-Jackson's automobile auctions, previously held by
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...
.
Chris Jacobs and
Ray Evernham of ''AmeriCARna'' hosted the ''Barrett-Jackson Live'' broadcasts on Discovery and Velocity, joined by
Rick DeBruhl,
Mike Joy, and Steve Magnante.
The rights moved to
A&E Networks
A&E Television Networks, LLC, doing business as A+E Global Media (formerly A+E Networks) is an American multinational broadcasting company owned and operated as a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company th ...
in 2020; in October 2021, Motor Trend Group subsequently reached an agreement with
Mecum Auctions
Mecum Auctions, Inc. is an American auction company specializing in collector cars and motorcycles. It was founded by Dana Mecum in 1988, and was originally based in Marengo, Illinois. Since 2011, it has been headquartered in Walworth, Wisconsin ...
beginning in 2022, succeeding its agreement with the soon-to-be-defunct
NBCSN
NBCSN (also known as NBC Sports Network) was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Lif ...
.
In April 2018, it was announced that Discovery and Motor Trend Group had acquired the North American broadcast rights to the
FIA World Endurance Championship, beginning with the
2018-19 "super season", also replacing Fox Sports. The first and last hours of most events are televised by Motor Trend (with the entire events streaming on ''Motor Trend'' digital platforms), and there is live flag-to-flag television coverage of the
1000 Miles of Sebring
The 1,000 Miles of Sebring is a Sports car racing, sports car race that is held at the Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II Air Base, in Sebring, Florida, Sebring, Florida, United States. ...
and
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
. The broadcasts are produced by
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
, Discovery's pan-European sports network.
Original
*''
All Girls Garage''
*''American Icon: Muscle Car''
*''
Ant Anstead Master Mechanic''
*''The Auto Firm with Alex Vega''
*''Auto/Biography''
*''
Barrett-Jackson Live''
*''Biggest And Baddest''
*''Bitchin' Boot Camp''
*''
Bitchin' Rides''
*''Cafe Racer''
*''Car Fix''
*''
Chasing Classic Cars''
*''
Dallas Car Sharks''
*''Drift This''
*''Engine Masters''
*''FantomWorks''
*''Faster with Newbern and Cotten''
*''Fastest Cars in the Dirty South''
*''
Inside West Coast Customs''
*''Iron Resurrection'' starring Joe and Amanda Martin
*''
Garage Squad''
*''Junkyard Empire''
*''Kings of Crash''
*''Life Size''
*''
Mike Brewer's World of Cars''
*''Miracle Ball''
*''Motorhead Garage TV''
*''MotorTrend: Working from Home''
*''
NASCAR 2020: Under Pressure''
*''
NASCAR All In: Battle for Daytona''
*''One of a Kind''
*''Patrick Dempsey: Racing Le Mans''
*''Pikes Peak: On the Edge''
*''Restoration Garage''
*''RMD Garage''
*''
Roadkill
Roadkill is a wild animal that has been killed by collision with motor vehicles. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how they can be mitigated.
History
Essenti ...
''
*''Roadkill Garage''
*''Saw Dogs''
*''South Beach Classics''
*''Speed Is The New Black''
* ''Super Turbo Story Time''
*''Tech Toys 360''
*''Texas Metal''
*''
Top Gear America
''Top Gear America'' is a motoring television series based on the Top Gear (2002 TV series), UK version. The program was announced in April 2017. The eight-episode first season premiered on BBC America on July 30, 2017 with William Fichtner, Tom ...
'' (Reboot)
*''Turn n' Burn''
*''Unique Rides''
*''What's In The Barn?''
*''What's My Car Worth?''
*''Wheels That Fail''
Acquired
*''All Star Dealers''
*''
American Hot Rod
''American Hot Rod'' is a reality television series that originally aired between 2004 and 2007 on TLC and Discovery Channel. The series followed car designer Boyd Coddington and his crew as they built hot rods and custom vehicles at his wheel ...
''
*''Car Crazy''
*''
Desert Car Kings''
*''
Destroyed in Seconds
''Destroyed in Seconds'' is an American television series that premiered on Discovery Channel on August 21, 2008.
Hosted by Ron Pitts, it features video segments of various things being destroyed fairly quickly (hence, "in seconds") such as pla ...
''
*''Eurosport on Velocity''
*''Fat and Furious''
*''
Fifth Gear
''Fifth Gear'' is a British motoring television magazine series which has been broadcast since 2002. Originally shown on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011 (and branded as ''5th Gear'' until 2005), it began as a continuation of the original version ...
''
*''
Get Out Alive
''Get Out Alive'' is a 2013 American Horror/ Thriller film directed by Clay Dumaw. The movie's plot pays tribute to elements from 70s and 80s horror films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Evil Dead
''The Evil Dead'' is a 1981 Am ...
''
*''
Graveyard Carz''
*''
How It's Made: Dream Cars''
*''
HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks is an American commercial infotainment website founded by professor and author Marshall Brain, to provide its target audience an insight into the way many things work. The site uses various media to explain complex concepts, term ...
''
*''I Could Do That!''
*''Kidnap & Rescue''
*''
MotorWeek
''MotorWeek'' is an American television news magazine program that focuses on the automotive industry. The program is produced by Maryland Public Television for PBS, and airs on MAVTV. As of September 2023, ''MotorWeek'' is underwritten by T ...
''
*''Nature's Deadliest''
*''
Overhaulin'
''Overhaulin'' is an American automotive reality television series. The show originally ran for five seasons between 2004 and 2008 on TLC. After a four-year hiatus, sixth season premiered on October 2, 2012 on Velocity and Discovery ( Cablevis ...
''
*''
Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars''
*''
Stacey David's GearZ''
*''
Some Assembly Required''
*''
Top Gear (UK)''
*''
The Detonators''
*''UFOs Over Earth''
*''
Verminators
''Verminators'' is an American reality television series. It is produced by Original Productions of Burbank, California and broadcast in the United States on Discovery Channel, Canada on Discovery Channel (Canada), Discovery Channel (Canada) and t ...
''
*''
Weird or What?
''Weird or What?'' is a television series on the Discovery Channel and History (Canada) hosted by William Shatner (except for the U.S. version of Season 1, where his segments were replaced by a fourth story). Each episode contains three separa ...
''
*''
Wheeler Dealers
Wheeler Dealers is a British TV series originally produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery Channel in the United Kingdom and for Motor Trend in the United States. The programme is fronted by car enthusiast and former dealer Mike Brewer wit ...
''
*''
Wheeler Dealers: Trading Up''
*''World's Most Expensive Rides''
References
External links
*
{{VOD services
Motor Trend Group
Television channels and networks about cars
English-language television stations in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 2002
2002 establishments in the United States
Hearst Communications assets