Discovery Communications, Inc. and Canal+ Enter Into International Expedition Programming Deal
Cannes, 8th October 1998 - Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI) and France's pay television group, CANAL+, announced today a two-year, co-production and distribution agreement for ground-breaking new scientific exploration programming. Working with Discovery Channel in the United States, Point du Jour, a subsidiary of CANAL+, will co-produce four programs chronicling unprecedented expeditions around the globe that uncover lost worlds and reveal new scientific discoveries. The programming will air on Discovery Channel worldwide under the new Expedition Adventure banner, with Point du Jour retaining exclusive television distribution rights in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The announcement was made for DCI by Dara Altman, senior vice president of business affairs; and for CANAL + by Catherine Lamour, head of documentary programming and Pierre Bertrand Jaune, vice president, subsidiaries division.
"We are very pleased to collaborate with the CANAL+ group on this exciting new chapter in Discovery's global offerings," said Altman. "CANAL+'s participation in this initiative will bring some of the most compelling non-fiction programming ever created to a new audience of viewers throughout Europe."
"After our great success with Great Adventures of the 20th Century, a previous Discovery Channel/CANAL+ co-production, we are thrilled to continue our collaboration with DCI," said Lamour.
The first two programs to be produced and distributed under the agreement uncover the sunken ruins of Egyptian queen Cleopatra's legendary palace and the underwater remains of Napoleon's fleet of warships. Cleopatra's Palace and Napoleon's Fleet are being developed in cooperation with renowned French marine explorer Franck Goddio, and the Hilti Foundation of Liechtenstein. These films are being produced by Cinenova Productions, Inc.
Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI) is a privately held, diversified media company headquartered in Beheads, MD. Fueled by the world's largest original, non-fiction production engine, DCI operates three distinct business units including: Discovery Networks, U.S., Discovery Networks, International and Discovery Enterprises Worldwide. DCI's ownership consists of four shareholders- Liberty Media Corporation, a division of Tele-Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LBTYA/LBTYB), Cox Communications (NYSE:COX), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the company's founder, chairman and CEO.
Founded in 1984, CANAL+ is now Europe's leading pay-television company, with world-class expertise in producing pay programs for premium and theme channels and services, as well as in distribution, with marketing capabilities and subscriber management systems, scrambling and conditional access technology. Point du Jour, a subsidiary of CANAL+, is a TV production company based in Paris. Creating quality productions for ten years, Point du Jour produces documentaries with topics ranging from history to new discoveries.
