The Discovery Channel and Discovery Communications have been on a tear lately. First there’s the company’s original programming, including the continued success of shows like MythBusters and Dirty Jobs (with Mike Rowe, target of many a man-crush). Then there’s the fact that Discovery is the poster child for HDTV, particularly with shows like the miniseries Planet Earth and more Discovery HD content available all the time.
Now it turns out that Discovery Communications is also a pro at multi-platform distribution. According to Rentrak (via Multichannel), video-on-demand access of Discovery programming grew 101% between September 2006 and September 2007. Most of the accessed programming was short-form, showing that Discovery can be flexible with its content, and much of it also was information-based in the areas of military, health and science.
And what about the Web? Discovery’s been successful there too with both tie-ins to product sales and new content initiatives like the cooperative effort with TreeHugger to produce Planet Green.
I liken Discovery to ESPN with its cross-platform success. Few other networks seem to have mastered the new world of media as well.