Discovery Partners with Chinese Web Giant

BEIJING: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific is teaming up with the Chinese search engine giant Baidu for a localized website for the Discovery Channel.

Discovery Channel Chinese, launching today at discovery.baidu.com, provides a platform for users to interact and share knowledge and information about topics seen on Discovery Channel globally. The construction, operation, management and updating of the site will be handled by Baidu, which is the fastest-growing Chinese online platform and the leader in the search industry with a 73.2-percent share. Content for the site will be provided exclusively by Discovery and customized and translated for the Chinese market. Baidu and Discovery will share the responsibility and revenue from third-party advertising sales. 

“Discovery is a content company and we are committed to extending our high-quality content across multiple media platforms," said Tom Keaveny, the executive VP and managing director of Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific. "Through this strategic partnership, we can leverage on Baidu’s high traffic flow and large market share to provide audiences—not just in China but all over the world—with a reliable and efficient engine through which they can search for and share information wherever they are and whenever they want, to satisfy their curiosity and explore the world around them.”

Ren Xuyang, the VP of marketing and business development, at Baidu, added: “Baidu’s mission is to help people obtain information and find what they need in the easiest and quickest way, while Discovery is a leading provider of high-quality factual content. By combining the strengths and resources of both Baidu and Discovery, we can integrate content from a traditional medium such as television with dynamic platforms such as new media, to satisfy the needs and demands of online users while continuing to explore newer and better ways for knowledge distribution.”