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Warner Bros. Discovery International

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Warner Bros. Discovery International
FormerlyTurner Broadcasting System International (1985–2020)
WarnerMedia International (2020–2022)
Company typeDivision
IndustryBroadcasting
PredecessorWarnerMedia International
Discovery Networks International
Founded1985; 39 years ago (1985) (original)
2022; 2 years ago (2022) (Merger with Discovery Networks International)
FounderTed Turner (Turner Broadcasting System International)
John S. Hendricks (Discovery Networks International)
HeadquartersWarner House, 98 Theobalds Rd, London, United Kingdom
Piet Heinkade 173 1019 GM, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Key people
List
  • Gerhard Zeiler
    (Chairman & President WBD International)
  • James Gibbons
    (President & Managing Director, Asia-Pacific - Australia, New Zealand and Japan)
  • Clement Schwebig
    (President & Managing Director, Western Europe and Africa/Corporate Officer)
  • Kasia Kieli
    (President & Managing Director, Poland, and CEO of TVN)
  • Christina Sulebakk
    (EVP & Managing Director, Nordics)
  • Fernando Medin
    (President, Latin America and U.S. Hispanic)
  • Jamie Cooke
    (EVP & Managing Director, CEE MENAT, EMEA Creative and PayTV)
  • Andrew Georgiou
    (President & Managing Director, UK & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe)
  • Alessandro Araimo
    (EVP & Managing Director, Italy & Iberia)
ParentTurner Broadcasting System (1985-2020)
WarnerMedia (2020-2022)
Warner Bros. Discovery (2022-Present)
DivisionsWarner Bros. Discovery Americas
Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific
Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA
SubsidiariesTVN Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery International, formerly known as Turner Broadcasting System International and WarnerMedia International, is an international unit of Warner Bros. Discovery led by president Gerhard Zeiler.[1][2] The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key WBD brands outside of the United States. These brands include Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, HBO, TLC, TBS, TNT, and Warner TV, as well as Polish owned TVN Group channels and has a stake of some networks operated by CTV Speciality Television Inc., a joint venture between Bell Media and ESPN Inc. such as Discovery and Animal Planet.

The networks' headquarters are located in London. Other international offices are located in São Paulo, Santiago, Mexico City, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Milan, Mumbai, Paris, Singapore, Bogotá, and Auckland amongst others.[3][4]

Divisions

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Europe, Middle East, and Africa

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Main article: Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA

In 1985, Ted Turner would launch a European division in London, England,[5] which reached across the Middle East and African regional feeds,[6] Around the same time Discovery Channel would launch in April in Europe. In mid-2007, Discovery Networks Europe would be split into two various branches around Europe.[7]

On November 27, 2012, Discovery announced it would acquire Dubai-based broadcaster Takhayal Entertainment, which owns MENA lifestyle channel Fatafeat. This acquisition was then completed.[8]

On December 21, 2012, Discovery announced it had acquired a 20% stake in the pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport from TF1 Group for €170 million (US$221.6 million).[9] On January 21, 2014, Discovery acquired an additional 51% share to gain controlling interest,[10] and subsequently acquired the remainder for €491 million in July 2015 to receive sole ownership.[11]

In June 2015, Discovery acquired pan-European rights to the Olympic Games from 2018 through 2024, excluding Russia, on all platforms, in a €1.3 billion deal. Discovery will primarily broadcast the Games on local outlets (including Eurosport), but will sub-license coverage to over-the-air broadcasters in each region.[12][13][14]

In August 2016, Discovery renewed its distribution deals in 12 countries with shareholder Liberty Global.[15][16] On January 31, 2017, after nearly facing a carriage dispute, Discovery renewed its distribution deals in Germany and the United Kingdom with Sky plc.[17]

In November 2016, Discovery partnered with the streaming media company BAMTech to create a joint venture to serve Europe.[18] In May 2017, ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Discovery announced a joint venture to create a German over-the-top content service, built upon its existing 7TV service.[19]

On July 3, 2020, Discovery agreed to acquire the German free-to-air station Tele 5 from Leonine Holding.[20]

In December 2020, the Discovery-backed GB News received a license from Ofcom to broadcast on their service on various British platforms, such as Freeview, in 2021. GB News was set up by Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider from Liberty Global.[21][22][23]

In March 2021, Discovery was made available to beIN Media Group subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa. The two organizations have worked together since 2016, but this is the first time that Discovery Channel itself has been made available.[24]

In 2022, Discovery merged with WarnerMedia, forming Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA in Europe, with the new entity being responsible for the assets in Europe.

Poland

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Main article: TVN Warner Bros. Discovery

In August 2017, Discovery announced that it would acquire the remaining 51.06% of Green Content, the operator of the Polish DTT channel Metro, from Agora SA for PLN19,000,000 under a share buyback agreement.[25]

Through its purchase of SNI, Discovery added the Polish broadcaster TVN Group to its European portfolio,[26] which SNI had acquired in 2015 from ITI Group and Canal+ Group.,[27][28][29] as well as the UKTV joint venture with BBC Worldwide (later BBC Studios).

In 2022, Discovery completed its merger with WarnerMedia, noting that Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA had no oversight over operations in the country, making it a separate entity under Warner Bros. Discovery International.[30][31]

Latin America

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Main article: Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America

In June 2016, Discovery acquired a 27.5% stake in Bethia Comunicaciones S.A., a division of Chilean conglomerate Bethia that owns Red Televisiva Megavisión S.A., a company which in turn owns both the private television network Mega and a 70% stake in the anime-, Korean drama- and K-pop-focused cable television channel ETC (which is co-owned with its creator, who is businessman and television executive Hernán Schmidt Fuentes). As a result, Bethia acquired 72.5% of the company.[32]

Redknot, a joint venture with Canadian animation studio Nelvana, launched on February 12, 2019.

In 2022, Discovery merged with WarnerMedia, forming Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America, with the new entity being responsible for the assets in Latin America and Brazil.

Asia-Pacific

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Main article: Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific

As part of its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive in 2018, Discovery added Asian Food Network (which SNI had acquired from the co-founders Hian Goh and Maria Brown in 2013)[33] to its Asian portfolio.

On September 7, 2020, MediaWorks New Zealand Limited announced that Discovery would be purchasing the television arm of their business including Three, Bravo, The Edge TV, Breeze TV, streaming service ThreeNow, and current affairs service Newshub. MediaWorks said in a statement that the transaction was subject to "a number of pre-completion approvals" but was expected to completed by the end of the year. .[34][35][36] The sale was finalized in December 2020, with the new entity being rebranded as Discovery New Zealand.[37]

On April 27, 2021, Discovery Inc. confirmed that it would be restructuring its business operations in Australia and New Zealand with the goal of incorporating Three, Bravo and Newshub into a single trans-Tasman organization. Discovery also announced that this new trans-Tasman organization would be headed by two general managers, the Sydney–based Rebecca Kent and Glen Kyne in Auckland. Discovery had also separately acquired MediaWorks' TopTV operations in 2019.[38] In mid-May 2021, Newshub closed its Dunedin office as part of a restructuring of Discovery's business operations in Australia and New Zealand. Following the closure of the Dunedin newsroom, the network's South Island operations will consist of its Christchurch–based bureau and freelancers.[39][40]

In April 2022, WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific merged with Discovery Asia-Pacific and consequently been announced that Discovery+ which currently available in India and the Philippines would be merged with HBO Go which available in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries, that carried several content from HBO Max, to form simply Max on November 19, 2024.[41]

Adult Swim

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Current channels

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Former channels

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Animal Planet

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Current channels

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Former channels

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EMEA & Poland

  • Russia

Boomerang

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Current channels

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Former channels

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Cartoon Network

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Current channels

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Former channels

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Cartoonito

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Current channels

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Former channels

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Discovery Channel

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Food Network

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HGTV

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Investigation Discovery

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Science Channel

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Current channels

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Former channels

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TLC

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TNT Sports

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Travel Channel

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Current channels

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Former channels

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TVN (Poland)

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Warner TV

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Current channels

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Former channels

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Other networks

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References

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  1. ^ Plunkett, John (8 February 2012). "RTL chief Gerhard Zeiler to join Turner Broadcasting". the Guardian.
  2. ^ Middleton, Richard (April 21, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery names int'l team, as Priya Dogra, James Gibbons & Anil Jhingan take new roles". TBI Vision. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "Businesses & Brands – Discovery, Inc". corporate.discovery.com. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "Locations – Discovery, Inc". corporate.discovery.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "Europe Plan By Turner". The New York Times. Reuters. 1993-03-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  6. ^ "The Lost Tycoon". The New Yorker. 2001-04-16. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  7. ^ "Discovery splits UK and EMEA operations". Digital Spy. January 24, 2007.
  8. ^ Szalai, Georg (27 November 2021). "Discovery Communications to Acquire Dubai-based Takhayal Entertainment". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021.
  9. ^ "TF1 & Discovery finalize agreement and move forward to build three-tier strategic alliance across Eurosport, four payTV channels and production". TF1 Group. December 21, 2012. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  10. ^ "Discovery Communications to acquire TF1 Group's Controlling interest in Top Sports platform Eurosport". Discovery Communications. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  11. ^ Garrahan, Matthew (July 22, 2015). "Discovery takes full control of Eurosport in €491m deal with TF1". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  12. ^ "Discovery Lands European Olympic Rights Through '24". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  13. ^ "BBC dealt another blow after losing control of TV rights for Olympics". The Guardian. June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  14. ^ "Olympics coverage to remain on BBC after Discovery deal". The Guardian. February 2, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  15. ^ "Discovery, Liberty Global Renew Distribution Pact | Broadcasting & Cable". www.broadcastingcable.com. August 2, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  16. ^ Barraclough, Leo (August 2, 2016). "John Malone's Liberty Global Signs Deals with All3Media, Discovery". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  17. ^ "Discovery, Sky Renew Carriage Agreement". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  18. ^ Perez, Sarah (November 2016). "Discovery teams with MLB's streaming partner on European partnership". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  19. ^ Meza, Ed (May 2, 2017). "ProSiebenSat.1, Discovery to Launch Streaming Platform". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  20. ^ Kanter, Jake (July 3, 2020). "Discovery Acquires German Free-To-Air Channel Tele5 From Leonine". Deadline Hollywood.
  21. ^ Mayhew, Freddy (5 October 2020). "GB News launch: Why advertisers are positive about new anchor-led news channel for UK". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  22. ^ "GB News". Ofcom. 14 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Discovery-backed GB News to launch in New Year". Broadband TV News. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  24. ^ "beIN MENA viewers gain access to Discovery Channel". Broadband TV News. 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  25. ^ "Discovery przejmie od Agory telewizję Metro". satkurier.pl. 21 August 2017.
  26. ^ Szalai, Georg (March 6, 2018). "Discovery Closes Scripps Acquisition, Creating Non-scripted Content Giant". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  27. ^ "Scripps buys majority stake in TVN". C21media. March 16, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  28. ^ "Scripps Networks Interactive sfinalizował przejęcie TVN". Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  29. ^ Dickens, Andrew (July 2, 2015). "Scripps completes TVN purchase". C21media. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  30. ^ Middleton, Richard (April 21, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery names int'l team, as Priya Dogra, James Gibbons & Anil Jhingan take new roles". TBI Vision. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  31. ^ Zielińska, Urszula (April 21, 2022). "WarnerBros. Discovery w Polsce samodzielnym bytem. Są zmiany w kierownictwie TVN". Rzecpospolita. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  32. ^ "Discovery Group acquires 27,5% of Mega". June 2016.
  33. ^ "Asian Food Channel founders hit on right recipe for TV". The Straits Times. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  34. ^ "MediaWorks TV arm sold to Discovery channel owner". Stuff. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  35. ^ "MediaWorks confirms sale of TV operations to Discovery Inc". Newshub. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  36. ^ Peacock, Colin (7 September 2020). "Global media giant set to be NZ's biggest private TV broadcaster". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  37. ^ "DISCOVERY, INC. COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF NEW ZEALAND'S MEDIAWORKS TV LTD" (PDF). Discovery New Zealand. 1 December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  38. ^ Pullar-Strecker, Tom (27 April 2021). "Discovery restructures operations as it beds down purchase of TV3". Stuff. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  39. ^ Lewis, John (13 May 2021). "Newshub to close Dunedin office". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  40. ^ McConnell, George; McNeilly, Hamish (13 May 2021). "Newshub to close its Dunedin newsroom". Stuff. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  41. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (October 14, 2024). "Warner Bros. Discovery Confirms Max Launch in 7 Asian Markets in November". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  42. ^ "Estádio TNT Sports". Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  43. ^ "Programming Guide CDF HD". Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  44. ^ "Programming Guide TNT Sports 2". Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  45. ^ "Programming Guide TNT Sports 3 HD". Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  46. ^ "Estadio TNT Sports". Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  47. ^ Middleton, Richard (April 21, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery names int'l team, as Priya Dogra, James Gibbons & Anil Jhingan take new roles". TBI Vision. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  48. ^ Kimber, Jeff (June 6, 2022). "Sky Sports Extends PGA Tour TV Deal". Golf Monthly. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  49. ^ DiscoverySports (June 15, 2022). "We are now Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, part of @wbd - the premier, global entertainment company offering the most dynamic media & streaming experience in the world. Stay tuned for updates from our sports business in Europe". Twitter. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  50. ^ Sutton, Mark (April 23, 2021). "Discovery Inc takes full ownership of Play Sports Group". Cycling Industry News. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  51. ^ Reid, Carlton (February 8, 2021). "Discovery Subsidiary GCN To Launch Netflix-Style Streaming TV Channel For Cyclists". Forbes. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  52. ^ Goldbart, Max (September 1, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery & BT Sport Close Joint Venture Transaction". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  53. ^ "Redknot". Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  54. ^ "Discovery acquires Golf Channel Latin America". Gold Digest. December 18, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  55. ^ "RAZE". Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  56. ^ "Discovery Italia". Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  57. ^ "Discovery Nordics". Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  58. ^ "Discovery Danmark". Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  59. ^ "Discovery Finland". Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  60. ^ "Discovery Networks Norway". Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  61. ^ "Discovery Networks Sweden". Retrieved May 23, 2022.
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