Founded by John Hendricks for Discovery Communications in 1985, The Discovery Channel provides science, historic and world knowledge programs in a documentary style. The channel reaches over 170 countries and 431 million households world wide and is broadcast in 33 different languages.

The channels most popular programs include Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch and the annual Shark Week marathon, featuring facts and video inside the world of the shark. Some of their original series have recently been moved to sister station TLC, including American Chopper. The foreign Discovery Channel contain both their own versions of the original US series along with shows unique to their own lands.

The Discovery Channel also sponsors a team for the Tour de France bike race, which had featured the great cyclist Lance Armstrong.