Discovery Presents 600 New Hours

CANNES: Discovery Communications has more than 600 hours of new programming to present to buyers, spanning entertainment, observational-documentaries and blue-chip content.

On its entertainment slate, Jon & Kate Plus 8 follows a family who has a set of twins and a set of sextuplets. LA Ink follows tattoo artists Kat Von D as she opens her own shop in Los Angeles. Cake Boss features cake artist Buddy Valastro, who heads up a family-run Italian baker in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Observational documentaries on offer include Deadliest Catch, which tells the tales of men who fish the Bering Sea. In Man Vs. Wild/Born Survivor, Bear Grylls travels to the most remote environments on the planet and puts himself in perilous situations. Whale Wars follows Paul Watson and his team from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Blue-chip programming includes Discovery Atlas, which explores the mysteries, triumphs and tribulations of the world. In celebrating the first 50 years of NASA’s space exploration, When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions reveals details of space exploration. Discovery Channel transferred original mission footage from NASA’s own secret film vault into HD for the first time.

“With over 18,000 hours of the highest quality entertainment available spanning a stable of 26 network brands, Discovery is poised well to bring third party partners diverse programming that presents the world around us in new, fun and entertaining ways,” said Nicolas Bonard, the senior VP of Discovery Enterprises International. “As one of the largest producers of television entertainment in the world, we communicate extraordinary stories in an exciting, passionate and truthful manner that resonates with global audiences.”