Line #129 Creator/DiscoveryFamily


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_untitled470_20220113065732.png]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:Better Together!]]
7
8	->''"Where everything comes together."''
9	-->--[[{{Slogan}} First slogan used]] when it was known as The Hub.
10
11	Launched on October 7, 1996, Discovery Kids was an offshoot of the Creator/DiscoveryChannel, only this time aimed at a younger audience. The channel's content consisted of science, nature, and adventure-themed programs, similar to how the regular channel and its offshoots operated, but watered-down to be more kid-friendly, hence its name. During its early years, they mostly acquired other programming from other channels, namely Canadian programming like ''Popular Mechanics for Kids'', ''Literature/TheSaddleClub'', ''Series/IncredibleStoryStudios'', and ''Series/MysteryHunters''.
12
13	By the early 2000s, they started to produce their own shows alongside the acquired ones, which also included animated programming. These programs ranged from {{Edutainment Show}}s targeted at children to pre-teen or teen-oriented programming that still taught life-lessons. Both of these programs were split into two {{Kids Block}}s, both launched in 2003: The first one, ''Ready Set Learn'', hosted by Paz the Penguin, aimed to teach kids valuable life-lessons; the second one, ''Real Toons'', was more action-oriented, but still gave lessons to its audience. The preschool shows were aired on the former block, while the tween/teen-centric shows aired on the latter.
14
15	In 2002, Creator/{{NBC}} partnered with Discovery Communications to launch the Discovery Kids on NBC programming block, running from October 5 of that year to September 2, 2006. It mostly aired the same programs from the main channel.
16
17	On April 30, 2009, it was announced that Creator/{{Hasbro}} had acquired a 50% stake in Discovery Kids from Discovery Communications, which was in the middle of overhauling its various spin-off channels. At that point Discovery Kids was basically running on auto-pilot, running {{Edutainment Show}}s from the early 2000s that hadn't been refreshed for years, with a mixture of acquired programming and other kid-friendly content from sister channels such as Creator/AnimalPlanet that could fit the network's mission.
18
19	The resulting joint venture [[NetworkDeath changed the channel's name]] to The Hub on October 10, 2010 (following a marathon of ''WesternAnimation/KennyTheShark'', which was carried over upon the revamp). Discovery oversaw ad sales and distribution, while Hasbro was responsible for programming. The network continued to use the Discovery Kids strategy of branding its educational programming as meeting FCC educational and informational programming guidelines. An on-screen logo lists it as E/I on electronic program guide listings despite the E/I policy being targeted fully to broadcast stations, with cable networks completely excluded from E/I regulations.
20
21	As to be expected with a network partially owned by a toy company, MerchandiseDriven programming was a significant part of the channel's schedule. In company with Hasbro product (including franchises with significant storytelling histories), American Greetings was also a presence on the channel. In addition, they aired reruns of kids/family shows from the '80s and '90s and shows that the [[Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} big]] [[Creator/DisneyChannel three]] [[Creator/CartoonNetwork children's]] networks had no room for anymore, family-friendly movies, original game shows based on Hasbro's several board game properties (including ''Series/FamilyGameNight'', ''Series/ScrabbleShowdown'' and ''The Game of Life''), and even older classic sitcoms during the evenings such as ''Series/HappyDays'' and ''Series/TheWonderYears''. Their first RealityShow, ''Majors & Minors'', premiered on September 23, 2011. For a while, they even had a sort of ''[=SportsCenter=]'' meets ''Entertainment Tonight'' series called ''[=HubWorld=]'', which mainly focused on Hub-related news (such as recaps of what happened on shows the previous week) as well as celebrity interviews and such-fairly unique for a cable network.
22
23	During this era, the channel essentially served as a SpiritualSuccessor to what's currently [[Creator/ABCFamily Freeform]], specifically the early '90s Family Channel days (game shows, older family-friendly sitcoms and other programming) and to the "Twister" era of Fox Family (off-the-wall cartoons, often imported from Canada, and reruns of older, well-remembered cartoons). Due to the prevalence of Hasbro's '80s franchises on the channel, like ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', it had a substantial PeripheryDemographic of 20-35 year olds. The surprise favorite of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' (carrying its own wide demographic spread) also helped to support the rebooted channel's newfound success. Likewise, the channel promoted one of the most well-received incarnations of ''Transformers'' to date: ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''.
24
25	On a darker note, The Hub was infamous for making the videos hosted on its website an ugly case of NoExportForYou. They have pinned the blame on Hasbro Studios' international licensing deals with other networks including: Turner Broadcasting (of Cartoon Network and Boomerang) in some countries, Lagardère Active (of Canal J, Tiji and Guili) in France, Tiny Pop in the UK, Nelonen (and Fox for ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'') in Finland, Hasbro's licensing partners in Japan (Takara Tomy for ''Transformers Prime'' and Bushiroad for ''MLP'', both through Creator/TVTokyo and its affiliates), Creator/DisneyChannel in Spain, and Creator/CorusEntertainment (Creator/{{YTV}}, Creator/TreehouseTV, and Creator/{{Teletoon}}) in Canada.
26
27	In September 2014, it was announced that Discovery Communications would acquire 10% of Hasbro's stake on the network, which means they would take majority control of the network back. Thus, [[NetworkDeath Hub Network would become Discovery Family]], aimed at both kids and their parents. Hasbro still has some influence on the network; while the initial press release stated they would control six hours of daytime programming, this appears to have been expanded to 12 hours. Shows acquired and programmed by Hasbro air from 5am to 5pm Eastern Time (Which means if you live on the East Coast and don't have any issues of recording TV programs, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork you're screwed]]).
28
29	The rest of the day of 2014, the classic comedy lineup being removed for repeats of Discovery library content, with family-friendly movies in primetime added with later on. While ongoing Hasbro-produced cartoons from The Hub are able to continue airing new episodes on Discovery Family, Hasbro decided that ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', a sequel to ''Transformers Prime'', would air instead of Creator/CartoonNetwork (ironically now its sister channel), as the new channel's demographics were seen as less favorable compared to Cartoon Network's male-oriented boy audiences.[[note]]''Robots in Disguise'' would end up being yet another installment of the franchise to be [[ScrewedByTheNetwork screwed over]] by Cartoon Network; the show was only seen on early Saturday mornings directly after signing off with Creator/AdultSwim with [[InvisibleAdvertising non-existent promotion]].[[/note]]
30
31	After Discovery Family's launch on October 13, 2014, Discovery fired The Hub's promotional staff and discarded the [=HubWorld=] website in favor of a new website that currently just has a schedule and channel finder. [=HubWorld=]'s older practice of fully streaming episodes in the United States was discarded altogether and later replaced with the Discovery Family GO Android/[=iOS=] app, which streams network programming to people who subscribe to the channel with certain cable/satellite or OTT providers (with Chromecast support).
32
33	While the Discovery Kids channel no longer exists in its original form, the brand itself still sticks around in overseas markets, with the most prominent of these being it's Latin American version. Launched only a month after its native predecessor on November 1, 1996, the channel started off as being a Spanish-speaking version of its American counterpart, even airing the same programs. Eventually, it branched off into its own thing, catering more to the preschool demographic (before they started adding programs aimed at older children again during the mid-to-late-2010s) than it's precursor; introducing its own mascot in 2005, an adventure-loving dog named Doki, who would frequently appear in bumpers and interstitials before getting his [[WesternAnimation/{{Doki}} own TV series]]; and even updating the logo to distinguish itself from its native network. These factors, along with the huge fan following it has there compared to its home country, would define the channel's identity for the years to come and the channel itself would end up outliving its forerunner.
34
35	By 2022, the channel was moved to the same oversight as the CN channels shortly after the formation of Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery. This led to a number of Creator/{{Warner Bros Animation}}/Creator/HannaBarbera content joining the schedule.
36
37	The Hub is not to be confused with a HubLevel, or the [[UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} city of Boston]].
38	----
39	'''Note: Programs that air or formerly aired on Discovery Kids Latin America will be marked with an asterisk'''
40	!!Shows created for The Hub/Discovery Family:
41	[[index]]
42	* ''ComicBook/{{The 99}}''
43	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfChuckAndFriends'' *
44	* ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow''
45	* ''WesternAnimation/BlazingTeam''
46	* ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsWelcomeToCareALot''
47	* ''{{Series/Clue}}''
48	* ''WesternAnimation/CosmicQuantumRay''
49	* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs''
50	* ''Series/FamilyGameNight''
51	* ''The Game Of Life''
52	* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeRenegades''
53	* ''Series/TheHauntingHour''
54	* ''[=HubWorld=]''
55	* ''Hanni and the Wild Woods''
56	* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Kaijudo}} Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters]]''[[note]]an American-created series (later turned into a [[TabletopGame/DuelMasters card game]]) based on the original Japanese-created Franchise/DuelMasters franchise[[/note]]
57	* ''Kid President: Declaration of Awesome''
58	* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' *
59	* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShopAWorldOfOurOwn'' *
60	* ''Majors & Minors'' (reality talent singing competition similar to ''American Idol'' [[note]]Except that no one gets voted off[[/note]]; only original reality show on The Hub)
61	* ''WesternAnimation/MaryokuYummy''
62	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' *
63	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyPonyLife'' *
64	* ''Parents Just Don't Understand''
65	* ''Series/{{Pictureka}}''
66	* ''WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010''
67	* ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaSecretsOfATeenageWitch''
68	* ''Series/ScrabbleShowdown''
69	* ''WesternAnimation/SecretMillionairesClub''
70	* ''Series/{{Spooksville}}''
71	* ''Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless'' (three-part documentary special about Taylor Swift's ''Fearless'' Tour)
72	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''
73	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBots'' *
74	** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBotsAcademy'' *
75	[[/index]]
76	----
77
78	!!Syndicated programs that are airing, or have aired on The Hub[[note]]including Discovery Kids content[[/note]]:
79	[[index]]
80	* ''Series/{{Adventure Camp}}''
81	* ''Series/{{ALF}}''
82	* ''WesternAnimation/AnimalMechanicals''
83	* ''{{WesternAnimation/Animaniacs}}''
84	* ''Series/AreYouSmarterThanA5thGrader''
85	* ''WesternAnimation/AtomicBetty''
86	* ''Series/Batman1966''
87	* ''Series/{{Blossom}}''
88	* ''WesternAnimation/ConanTheAdventurer''
89	* ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse''
90	** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''
91	*** ''The New Batman Adventures''
92	** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''
93	** ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''
94	* ''Anime/DeltoraQuest'' (the channel's only anime series)
95	* ''[[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis and Gnasher]]''
96	* ''Series/{{Dinosapien}}''
97	* ''Series/DoogieHowserMD''[[index]]
98	* ''Series/{{Endurance}}''[[/index]]
99	* ''Series/TheFactsOfLife''
100	* ''Series/FamilyTies''
101	* ''Series/FraggleRock''
102	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFutureIsWild'' (the animated series)
103	* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' ('80s incarnation)
104	* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeSigma6''
105	* ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}''
106	* ''WesternAnimation/GrowingUpCreepie''[[/index]]
107	* ''WebAnimation/HanazukiFullOfTreasures'' *
108	* ''Series/HappyDays''
109	* ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys''
110	* ''WesternAnimation/HollyHobbieAndFriends''
111	* ''Series/HoneyIShrunkTheKids'': The TV Series
112	* ''Series/InTheNightGarden''
113	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}''
114	* ''Animation/TheJungleBook2010''[[index]]
115	* ''WesternAnimation/KennyTheShark''[[/index]]
116	* ''Series/LaverneAndShirley''
117	* ''Series/LoisAndClark''
118	* ''Franchise/LooneyTunes''
119	** ''WesternAnimation/BabyLooneyTunes''
120	** ''WesternAnimation/TheSylvesterAndTweetyMysteries''
121	* ''WesternAnimation/LunaPetunia''
122	* ''Series/MeerkatManor''
123	* ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries''
124	* ''Series/MorkAndMindy''
125	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyG3'' (not on the channel itself, except during the My Little Pony Mega Mare-A-Thon, as well as on its website and ''A Very Minty Christmas'' airing during the holidays)
126	* ''Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation''
127	* ''WesternAnimation/PacManAndTheGhostlyAdventures''
128	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Popples}}'' (the 2015 series)
129	* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch''
130	* ''Literature/TheSaddleClub''
131	* ''Series/SisterSister''
132	* ''WesternAnimation/SheZow''
133	* ''Series/{{Sliders}}''
134	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981''
135	* ''Series/StepByStep''[[index]]
136	* ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures'' * [[/index]]
137	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperheroSquadShow''
138	* ''WesternAnimation/SuperMonsters''
139	* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageFairytaleDropouts''[[index]]
140	* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''
141	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' (titled on network bumpers as ''Transformers: G1'')
142	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''
143	* ''Series/TruthOrScare'' *
144	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTwistedWhiskersShow''
145	* ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego''[[index]]
146	* ''Series/{{Wilbur}}'' * (the only Discovery Kids preschool series aired on the channel once weekly until late June 2012)[[/index]]
147	* ''Series/TheWonderYears''
148	* ''The [=WotWots=]''
149
150	The Hub also originally slated to air ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'', ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTeddyRuxpin'', ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' in late 2014, but this was abandoned due to the rebrand of Discovery Family.
151	[[/index]]
152	----
153
154	!! Discovery-produced programs airing on Discovery Family during midday timeslots:
155	[[index]]
156	* ''Series/AuctionKings''
157	* ''Series/TreeTopCatRescue''
158	[[/index]]
159	----
160
161	!! Shows only aired on Discovery Kids:
162	[[index]]
163	* Animal Jam
164	* ''Bigfoot Presents: ''WesternAnimation/MeteorAndTheMightyMonsterTrucks''''
165	* ''Bindi the Jungle Girl'' *
166	* ''Darcy's Wild Life''
167	* ''Series/{{Flight 29 Down}}''
168	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Grossology}}''
169	* ''Series/HiFive'' *
170	* ''Series/HipHopHarry''
171	* ''WesternAnimation/JayJayTheJetPlane''
172	* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus''
173	* ''Series/MysteryHunters''
174	* ''Outward Bound USA'' *
175	* ''The Paz Show'' *
176	* ''WesternAnimation/PeepAndTheBigWideWorld'' * (Now on Creator/{{PBS}} stations)
177	* ''WesternAnimation/SaltysLighthouse''
178	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSaveUms''
179	* ''Scout's Safari''
180	* ''Skunk'd''
181	* ''WesternAnimation/TimeWarpTrio''
182	* ''WesternAnimation/ToddWorld'' * (moved to Creator/{{Qubo}} for much of its run until the channel's closure in 2021)
183	* ''Tracey Mcbean''
184	* ''Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls''
185	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tutenstein}}''
186	[[/index]]
187	----
188
189	!! Shows only aired on Discovery Kids (Latin America)
190	The following shows are original programs that aired on Discovery Kids Latin America.
191	[[index]]
192	* ''Annie Rose's Critter Camp''
193	* ''WesternAnimation/BaDaBean''
194	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doki}}''
195	* ''Earth to Luna!''
196	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Fishtronaut}}''
197	* ''Mini Beat Power Rockers''
198	* ''Ping and Friends''
199	* ''Underdogs United''
200	[[/index]]
201	----
202	''[[{{Slogans}} Let's Go!]]''

Context Creator / DiscoveryFamily