Discovery Communications is pushing deeper into scripted programming, with TLC working with Tyler Perry, whose series have helped turn around OWN, its joint venture with Oprah Winfrey.
At an upfront presentation in Chicago last week and a press briefing in New York Thursday, Discovery, best known for its reality programming, announced it will also take scripted looks at the stories of the Unabomber on Discovery Channel and O.J. Simpson on Investigation Discovery.
Working from a script most large programmers are employing, Discovery also detailed its plans to use data to create more effective advertising as part of its One Discovery offering.
Were connecting our fans with your brands, Discovery ad sales president Joe Abruzzese told a packed house at media agency Spark. One Discovery will put your brands at the center of every consumer touchpoint.
Paul Guyardo, Discoverys chief commercial officer, said Discovery can be a powerful marketing platform to you and your clients across TV, digital, branded entertainment, Web native, audience delivery product, social media VR, talent and custom production.
He added that Discovery Go, the companys streaming app, is delivering an incremental audience with 50% of the streams coming from 18-to-34 year olds. With some TLC shows, between 60% and 70% of the streams are viewers from that millennial demographic, he said.
Discovery Engage, the companys ad sales data platform, houses high powered analytics for targeting, optimization and measurement to deliver greater effectiveness and impact for your ads, Keith Kazerman, head of advertising sales product strategy and development, told the Spark staff.
For example, if an auto company wants to reach a target audience in the market to buy a new car, Discovery would marshal data from Experian on potential car buyers then match those individuals with actual TV viewers using Nielsen respondent level data.
The Discovery Engage optimization engine utilizes sophisticated algorithms to find the best placements of your ads across our portfolio of networks to reach that specific target audience with the right message at that right moment, Kazerman said.
In the car example, Engage delivers a detailed and transparent schedule that pinpoints which networks, dayparts and programs that target audience is likely to view during the campaign.
Not only will we guarantee we reach your target audience and measure impressions, but well go one step further. Were one of the very few content companies that has access to set top box data, which provides us the ability to deliver true ROI measurability and determine the brand lift or sales lift generated by the campaign.
Kazerman said Discovery is in the marketplace developing a small number of partnerships with agencies and clients to launch Discovery Engage. These first movers will partner with us to shape the future of the use of data and technology in advertising, he said.
Discoverys networks also talked about upcoming programming strategies.
TLC is getting into the scripted business with Perrys series Too Close to Home, about a young woman working in Washington who gets caught up in a scandal and has to return to the small town where she grew up. The series is expected to premiere in the second half of 2016.
TLC is also getting back into the home category. One show features designer Nate Berkus, his husband Jeremiah Brent and their daughter Poppy as they renovate their own home.
TLC will be launching a new brand campaign using the theme I am, to highlight unique individuals different values and support them against bullies and critics.
Investigation Discovery also unveiled a new slogan: Real People. Real Stories.
The network, which grew last year to be No. 1 with women 25-54, will air 650 hours of original content next season, with program premieres on 360 nights.
Jumping into the suddenly popular O.J. genre, ID plans to air its version, executive produced by Martin Sheen, called Hard Evidence: OJ Is Innocent, which takes the point of view that Simpson didnt commit the crime and everything we thought we knew about this story was wrong, said general manager Kevin Bennett.
ID has also sent investigators to join law enforcement in Chillicothe, Ohio, where six women went missing and four have turned up dead. The case is ongoing, which means the story could change right up until the six-part series, The Vanishing Women, premieres on June 6.
In addition, ID will air a series of scripted movies that tell stories ripped from the headlines.
Discovery, which will air the scripted series Harley and the Davidsons, about the beginnings of the famed motorcycle company, is also working on Manifesto, about the FBI profiler who caught Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. The series is produced by Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunettis Trigger Street.
Science Channel is bringing back its Punkin Chunkin special after a few years in the patch and searching for a new generation of mythbusters with the series The Search for the Next MythBusters.
The network will also take viewers on a voyage to the largest planet with Mission Jupiter.
Animal Planet goes to the dogs with a series, Life of Dogs, to the vet with Texas Vets, and the Bronx Zoo with The Zoo.
Discovery is also offering native digital programming with two brands that target millennials.
One is Seeker, which aims to feed curiosity that helps viewers experience, observe and explore their world, Suzanne Kolb, executive VP and general manager of Discovery Digital Networks told Spark in Chicago.
The other brand is SourceFed Studio, which is more focued on comedy, including parodies of Discovery shows like Naked and Afraid.
This is content engineered to succeed across all digital and social platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and a soon to launch updated version of seeker.com, Kolb said.
Discoverys production facilities ca
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
NBCU brings together News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo for a 50+ camera live pr...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
02/07/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery UK & Ireland backs Unacceptable for a second series on TL...
02/07/2026
Thursday 2 July 2026
Tea with Judi Dench returns to Sky Arts with legendary guest, Sir Ian McKellen
Sky today confirms Tea with Judi Dench will return this su...
Discovery Communications is pushing deeper into scripted programming, with TLC working with Tyler Perry, whose series have helped turn around OWN, its joint venture with Oprah Winfrey.
