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Military Channel Launch and Partnership Announcement
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GO BEHIND THE
LINES WHEN
DISCOVERY WINGS CHANNEL BECOMES
THE MILITARY CHANNEL ON JANUARY 10, 2005
--Network’s
New Mission Will Offer a Broad Focus
on All Aspects of the Military.
With a Wide Array of Programming About
its People, Strategy, Technology and
History --
-- Partnerships with the USO, National
D-Day Museum,
Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation
and Military.com Also Announced --
Silver
Spring, Md. Bringing viewers compelling,
real-world stories of heroism, military
strategy, technological breakthroughs
and turning points in history, Discovery
Communications, Inc. announced today
that it will transition its Discovery
Wings Channel to the Military Channel
on Monday, January 10, 2005.
While
Discovery Wings Channel focused exclusively
on aviation, the Military Channel will
feature a dramatically broadened programming
mission, as well as an all-new on-air
look. The network’s revamped slate
of series and specials is designed to
take viewers “behind the lines”
to tell the personal stories of servicemen
and women and offer in-depth explorations
of military technology, battlefield
strategy, aviation and history. The
Military Channel also provides access
to military personnel and hardware,
allowing viewers to experience and understand
a world full of human drama, courage,
innovation and long-held traditions.
“The
Military Channel will represent the
highest quality programming across a
broad spectrum of military related genres
that we believe consumers have a keen
interest in learning more about,”
said Judith A. McHale, President and
CEO of Discovery Communications. “In
an increasingly fragmented marketplace,
the Military Channel will broaden Discovery
Communications' offerings and further
differentiate our portfolio of emerging
networks.”
“We’re
very proud to introduce the Military
Channel, a network that will apply the
Discovery standards of quality, depth
and storytelling to a topic of fascination
and relevance in our world,” said
Billy Campbell, President of Discovery
Networks U.S. “By covering all
aspects of the military and the people
who define it, we will extend the Discovery
brand, create a service that appeals
to our existing viewers and attract
new viewers and sponsors.”
-more-
“Our viewers have a deep interest
in military topics and people,”
said David Karp, Senior Vice President
and General Manager of the channel.
“Our mission is to tap into this
passion by providing a high-quality
lens that details contemporary and historical
events, explores its human elements
and highlights the strategic and technological
advances that define the world of the
armed forces.”
From
Iraq and Afghanistan to historic battlefields,
wartime heroes and peacetime innovators
to state-of-the-art technology and the
key strategies that have shaped military
tactics the network’s programming
will cover a wide range of topics. Programming
comes from sources all over the world,
including Discovery Wings. The following
is a sample of the original efforts
planned for early 2005:
•
DELTA COMPANY: This two-hour special
puts the audience on the forefront of
the action with the Marines of Delta
Company 1st Tank Battalion on their
push to Baghdad during Operation Iraqi
Freedom. DELTA COMPANY premieres on
Monday, January 10, from 9-11 PM (ET/PT).
•
TASK FORCE RED DOG: This world premiere
special tells the story of a unit of
Marine Corps reservists, called to active
duty and sent to the front line of the
war on terror, a "forward operating
base" deep in the mountains of
Afghanistan. Their mission as a quick-response
helicopter unit puts them in the epicenter
of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and
the Taliban. TASK FORCE RED DOG premieres
on Monday, January 10, at 8 PM (ET/PT).
•
TOP TEN: These specials rank the greatest
technological achievements in military
history, in such categories as Top Ten
Fighter Aircraft and Top Ten Tanks.
TOP TEN: Fighter Aircraft premieres
on Friday, January 28, from 8-9 PM (ET/PT).
•
GOIN’ BACK: Iwo Jima: This first
installment of a regular series of specials
allows viewers to travel with American
war veterans and their families as they
return to the battlefields that came
to define their lives, in this case
the Pacific island Iwo Jima. GOIN’
BACK premieres on Thursday, February
24, at 9 PM (ET/PT).
•
THE BLUE ANGELS: A YEAR IN THE LIFE:
This four-hour world premiere miniseries
event covers a year in the life of the
Navy’s legendary flight group.
The special takes viewers behind the
scenes to meet the people and follow
the intricate work that goes into being
the most elite air performance team
in the world. THE BLUE ANGELS: A YEAR
IN THE LIFE premieres on Thursday, March
17, and Friday, March 18, from 9-11
PM (ET/PT).
•
RED FLAG: This one-hour special offers
an unprecedented insider’s view
of the military’s most realistic
combat-training exercise held at Nellis
Air Force Base in Nevada, where air-combat
warriors train to fly, fight and win
beyond the speed of sound. RED FLAG
premieres on Thursday, March 31, at
8 PM (ET/PT).
•
BATTLE PLAN: This multipart series takes
viewers into the heart of famous battles,
examining the development and execution
of the strategy behind each one—from
the hard, fast, merciless assault of
a blitzkrieg to the tactics of deception
of urban warfare. BATTLE PLAN premieres
on Tuesday, January 11, at 8 PM (ET/PT).
In addition to its programming efforts,
the Military Channel has entered into
a number of partnerships with military-related
charitable, educational and marketing
organizations. It is a World Partner
of the USO, the nation’s preeminent
nonprofit organization serving the needs
of the 30 million active-duty personnel,
reservists and veterans, through a relationship
that entails marketing, educational
and programming components.
The
network is also working with The National
D-Day Museum and the Congressional Medal
of Honor Foundation for educational
campaigns, public services announcements,
membership outreach and programming.
In addition, the network is working
with the website Military.com to reach
the worldwide U.S. military and veteran
communities.
Military
Channel programming will begin airing
in North America on Monday, January
10, 2005. Its first night of primetime
programming will be highlighted by the
world television premiere of TASK FORCE
RED DOG and the two-hour special DELTA
COMPANY.
Discovery Communications, Inc. is the
leading global real-world media and
entertainment company. DCI has grown
from its core property, the Discovery
Channel, first launched in the United
States in 1985, to current global operations
in more than 160 countries and territories
with over one billion cumulative subscribers.
DCI’s
60 networks of distinctive programming
represent 21 entertainment brands including
TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel,
Discovery Health Channel, Discovery
Kids, Discovery Times Channel, The Science
Channel, Military Channel, Discovery
Home Channel, Discovery en Español,
Discovery HD Theater and FitTV. DCI’s
other properties consist of Discovery
Education, Discovery.com and 120 Discovery
Channel retail stores. DCI also distributes
BBC America in the United States. DCI’s
ownership consists of four shareholders:
Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE: L),
Cox Communications, Inc. (NYSE: COX),
Advance/Newhouse Communications and
John S. Hendricks, the Company’s
Founder and Chairman.
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