Destination America

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Destination America
Destination America Logo.png
Launched October 1996 (as Discovery Travel and Living)
Owned by Discovery Communications
Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Slogan Our Country. Our Stories.
Headquarters Silver Spring, Maryland
Formerly called Discovery Travel and Living (1996-1998)
Discovery Home and Leisure (1998-2004)
Discovery Home (2004-2008)
Planet Green (2008-2012)
Sister channel(s) Discovery Channel
TLC
The Hub
Animal Planet
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
Science
Investigation Discovery
Military Channel
Discovery Fit & Health
Velocity
Discovery en Español
Discovery Familia
Website DestinationAmerica.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV 286 (HD/SD)
Dish Network 194 (HD/SD)
C-Band AMC 11-Channel 615 (4DTV Digital)
Cable
Available on many cable systems Check local listings for channels
Verizon FiOS 668(HD)
168(SD)
IPTV
Sky Angel 315
AT&T U-verse 1465 (HD)
465 (SD)

Destination America is an American cable TV specialty channel that launched in 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications and focuses on the United States.[1] The channel had previously been known as Discovery Travel & Living, Discovery Home & Leisure, Discovery Home, and Planet Green.

Contents

History [edit]

The space was originally used for one of the four digital cable networks launched by Discovery Communications in 1996. The new networks were first announced in November 1994, with a launch planned for Spring 1995. At the time the network had the working title Living and was described as "a home repair network".[2] The launch was delayed, and the channel made its debut in October 1996, originally known as "Discovery Travel & Living" and offering programming including do-it-yourself projects, cooking, interior design/landscaping and party planning.

By 1998, it had settled on the name "Discovery Home & Leisure", but the "Leisure" part of the name was dropped on March 29, 2004, when the channel became "Discovery Home". Much of the travel-related programming was dropped in the process to provide more focus on home improvement and cooking.[3]

Planet Green [edit]

Facing increased competition in the home oriented programming sector, Discovery Communications planned a 24-hour channel focused on eco-friendly living in an attempt to capitalize on a rising environmental movement.[4] "Discovery Home" was retired and its satellite carriage replaced by the environmentally themed channel "Planet Green" at 6:00 pm on June 4, 2008; the only program to see continued airing after the Discovery Home discontinuation was the HGTV Canada-produced Holmes on Homes, which immediately moved to the American HGTV network.[5][6] The channel focused on environmental issues and ecological living, and Discovery invested $50 million in original programming for the re-branded channel with shows such as a weekly eco-newscast series with Bob Woodruff of ABC News.[7][8] The project began after the Discovery Channel bought the website Treehugger.com from owners Graham Hill and Ken Rother.[9][10] At its launch, Planet Green was available in 50 million U.S. households and included 250 hours of eco-related programming with a programming budget of US$50 million.[11]

In March 2010, the channel's programming was broadened to include non-ecology themed shows, and one year later Discovery Communications executives were acknowledging the channel's failure. Discovery announced a probable rebranding of the channel by the start of the summer of 2012.[12]

Destination America [edit]

On April 4, 2012, Discovery announced through the early release of a USA Today article that the network Discovery Home & Leisure would be rebranded as Destination America, targeted mainly towards Middle America and featuring mainly American-centric travel, food, and natural history programming that has been without a natural home since Discovery's 2007 sale of the Travel Channel to Cox Communications, along with other Discovery archive content that fits the Destination America branding. The channel was originally expected to have a Memorial Day launch on May 28, 2012.[13] The channel's trademark and logo were registered by Discovery Networks on February 28, 2012 through the United States Patent and Trademark Office.[14]

Destination America launched at 12:00 a.m. ET on May 26, 2012 and is available in most areas of the United States through local Satellite and Cable providers such as Dish Network, DirecTV, Comcast, Charter Communications, Verizon FiOS, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Knology. The high definition version of the network is widely available as well.

Programming [edit]

Planet Green programming included ecologically themed shows built around celebrities including Ed Begley, Jr., Emeril Lagasse, Adrian Grenier, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ludacris, Tommy Lee, Tom Bergeron, SuChin Pak, Maria Menounos, Bob Woodruff and Discovery Channel producer Tom Golden. In addition, celebrities gave 'green' tips as the network's bumpers (transitions into and out of commercial breaks). the channel was programmed in eight-hour blocks which repeated three times per day until April 2010. Lacking separate satellite feeds for the East and West coasts of the U.S., prime-time programs run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time and were then repeated.[11]

Despite having broadened its focus from exclusively eco-themed programming, in February 2011 Discovery chief executive David Zaslav acknowledged the channel's failure, saying in a conference call with investors "We think we can probably do something else with that that would be more meaningful."[12] Shortly thereafter the channel had abandoned its theme, re-running programs from other Discovery Communications channels and featuring programming blocks such as "Paranormal Fridays". A block of outdoorsman-oriented programming was added in April 2013.[15]

Former Planet Green programming [edit]

Shows previously seen on Planet Green include:

1 originally shown on Discovery Channel
2 originally shown on Animal Planet
3 originally shown on TLC
4 originally shown on FX

Current Destination America programming [edit]

Logos [edit]

  • Logo as Planet Green. The dot was originally colored green.

  • Secondary logo as Planet Green.

References [edit]

  1. ^ "New Cable Network: Destination America". USA Today. May 2012. 
  2. ^ "Discovery plans launch of four newly created nets". Multichannel News. November 21, 1994. 
  3. ^ "Leisure Time Is Over". Multichannel News. February 29, 2004. 
  4. ^ NY Times
  5. ^ Growth Plan at Discovery
  6. ^ GM and Discovery Communications Form Media Partnership on First-Ever 24/7 "Green" Network, Planet Green, Discovery Communications, May 21, 2008
  7. ^ Discovery Communications press release
  8. ^ Bob Woodruff to Anchor New Series on Planet Green
  9. ^ TreeHugger Home Page
  10. ^ green-treehugger-champion/ Ken Rother - VP of Planet Green & TreeHugger Champion Interview
  11. ^ a b Stelter, Brian (2010-03-10). "Planet Green Moves Away From Its Eco Theme". New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2012-03-12. 
  12. ^ a b Schneider, Michael (2011-02-12). "Discovery Plans to Revamp Planet Green". T.V. Guide (Lionsgate). Retrieved 2012-03-12. 
  13. ^ Levin, Gary (4 April 2012). "Discovery Networks to launch Destination America". USA Today. Retrieved 4 April 2012. 
  14. ^ "DESTINATION AMERICA - Trademark Details". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Justia.com Trademark Database. Retrieved 4 April 2012. 
  15. ^ "Weekly Schedule: Planet Green". Discovery Communications. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2012-03-12. 

External links [edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Destination_America&oldid=549935053"