Timeline of Discovery in the UK facts for kids

This is a timeline about Discovery channels in the UK. Discovery is a group of TV channels owned by Discovery Inc. that you can watch in the United Kingdom.

Discovery Channels Begin: The Early Years (1980s & 1990s)

How Discovery Started in the UK

• 1989
  • 1 April – The Discovery Channel Europe began broadcasting. At first, people in the UK needed special satellite equipment to watch it.
• 1992
  • 9 March – A new channel called TLC launched.
• 1993
  • 22 July – The main Discovery channel started broadcasting on the Astra satellite. This made it easier for more people to watch.
  • 1 September – Discovery became a pay channel. This meant viewers had to pay to watch it as part of the new Sky Multichannels package. It shared broadcast time with another channel, CMT Europe.
• 1994
  • 5 September – TLC also launched on the Astra satellite. It shared time with Discovery, broadcasting in the mornings. Discovery then started broadcasting for longer hours each day.
• 1997
  • 3 April – TLC changed its name and became Discovery Home & Leisure.
• 1998
  • 1 September – Animal Planet launched. This channel is all about animals and nature.
  • 1 October – When Sky Digital launched, many new Discovery channels became available. These included Discovery Civilisation, Discovery Sci-Trek, Discovery Travel & Adventure, and Discovery Channel +1. The main Discovery Channel and Discovery Home & Leisure also started broadcasting for even more hours each day.

Growing Up: The 2000s

New Channels and Changes

• 2000
  • 1 February – Discovery Wings and Discovery Kids launched. They were first available on the OnDigital platform. Discovery Kids showed programs during the day, and Discovery Wings took over in the evenings.
  • 1 July – Discovery Health launched.
• 2001
  • May – Animal Planet +1 and Discovery Home & Leisure +1 launched. These channels showed programs an hour later.
  • 18 November – The Discovery Channel replaced Discovery Wings and Discovery Kids on the ITV Digital platform. However, Kids and Wings continued to be full-time channels on other TV platforms.
• 2003
  • April – Discovery Science replaced Discovery Sci-Trek.
• 2005
  • February – Discovery Travel & Living replaced Discovery Travel & Adventure.
  • 7 May –
    • Discovery Home & Health and Discovery Real Time replaced Discovery Health and Discovery Home & Leisure. Discovery Home & Health became a channel focused on lifestyle topics for women.
    • Discovery Home & Health +1 also launched.
  • 22 August – Discovery Real Time Extra launched.
• 2006
  • 22 May – Discovery HD launched. This was Discovery's first high-definition channel.
• 2007
  • 1 March – Discovery Turbo replaced Discovery Wings and Discovery Kids.
  • 25 June – Discovery Channel +1.5 launched.
  • November – Discovery Knowledge replaced Discovery Civilisation. Its programs expanded to include engineering, crime, and technology.
• 2008
  • 8 January – DMAX and DMAX +1 launched.
  • 21 April –
    • DMAX +2 launched.
    • Discovery Science +1 replaced Discovery Channel +1.5.
  • June – Discovery Knowledge +1 launched.
  • August – DMAX +1.5 launched.
  • November – Discovery Travel & Living +1 launched.
• 2009
  • January – Investigation Discovery launched. It replaced Discovery Travel & Living +1.
  • 20 March – Discovery Shed replaced Discovery Real Time Extra.
  • 30 September – QUEST launched. This was the first channel in the UK not to have "Discovery" in its name. It was a free channel that showed programs from across the Discovery family of channels.
  • November –
    • DMAX +1.5 stopped broadcasting.
    • QUEST +1 launched.

The Modern Era: The 2010s and Beyond

Expanding and Adapting

• 2010
  • 15 October – QUEST started broadcasting 24 hours a day on most TV platforms.
  • 7 November – Discovery History and Discovery History +1 replaced Discovery Knowledge and Discovery Knowledge +1.
• 2011
  • 30 June – QUEST began broadcasting 24 hours a day on Freeview.
• 2013
  • 30 April – TLC, TLC +1, and Investigation Discovery +1 launched. They replaced Discovery Real Time, Discovery Real Time +1, and Discovery Travel & Living.
• 2014
  • 6 March – Quest+1 launched on Freeview.
  • 21 July – Quest broadcast live sports for the first time. It showed football from the 2014 Schalke 04 Cup.
• 2017
  • 15 March – Quest Red launched.
• 2018
  • March – Discovery Inc. bought Scripps Networks Interactive. This added three new lifestyle channels to Discovery's group: Food Network, HGTV, and Travel Channel. Discovery also gained a 50% share in UKTV.
• 2019
  • 16 January – DMAX became a free-to-air channel. This meant it could be watched on Freeview and Freesat without a subscription.
  • 1 April – Discovery Inc. announced it would take full ownership of some UKTV channels: Good Food, Home, and Really.
  • 11 June – Discovery Inc. officially took full control of the channels Good Food, Home, and Really.
  • 12 September – The Food Network merged with Good Food.
• 2020
  • 21 January – HGTV replaced Home.
  • 27 August – Travel Channel stopped broadcasting.
• 2021
  • 6 January – Discovery Shed and Discovery Home & Health stopped broadcasting.