Discovery Family

Discovery Family Channel
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaNationwide
HeadquartersBaltimore, Maryland, United States[citation needed]
Programming
Language(s)English
Spanish (via SAP audio track)
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner
Parent
Sister channels
History
LaunchedOctober 7, 1996; 27 years ago (1996-10-07)
Former names
  • Discovery Family Channel (2024–present)
  • Discovery Family (2014–2024)
  • Discovery Kids Channel (1996–2001)
  • Discovery Kids (2001-10)
  • The Hub (2010–13)
  • Hub Network (2013–14)
Links
Websitewww.discovery.com/discovery-family-channel
Availability
Streaming media
Service(s) PhiloInternet Protocol television
HuluInternet Protocol television
Spectrum (brand)Internet Protocol television

Discovery Family, currently rebranding to Discovery Family Channel (DFC),[1] is an American cable television channel co-owned by Warner Bros. Television Studios and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Discovery Networks and Hasbro respectively.

The channel was originally launched by Discovery Communications (then Discovery, Inc.) on October 7, 1996 as Discovery Kids Channel (later Discovery Kids), a spin-off of Discovery Channel, with primarily science and nature-themed programming aimed towards a youth audience. In 2010, Discovery Kids was relaunched as The Hub (later Hub Network) as part of a joint venture with Hasbro led by veteran executive Margaret Loesch. The relaunch pivoted the channel towards a general entertainment format, with dayparts targeting preschool, youth, and family audiences respectively. Some of its original programming would include adaptations of Hasbro-owned properties, such as game shows based on its board games, and animated series produced as a part of the toy lines such as My Little Pony, Pound Puppies, Transformers and Kaijudo.

The 2022 merger of Discovery, Inc. with WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros. Discovery brought Discovery Family under the Cartoon Network Group division of Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, with Cartoon Network president Michael Ouweleen now overseeing the channel. Currently, Hasbro's output agreement for the network expires at the end of March 2025.

As of November 2023, Discovery Family is available to approximately 28,000,000 pay television households in the United States, down from its 2014 peak of 71,000,000 households.[2]

  1. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  2. ^ "U.S. cable network households (universe), 1990 – 2023". wrestlenomics.com. May 14, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2019.