Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of ) Implementation of Section 208 of the Satellite ) MB Docket No. 05-28 Home Viewer Extension ) and Reauthorization Act of 2004 ) ) Report to Congress )

REPLY COMMENTS OF DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

For twenty years, Discovery Communications, Incorporated (“Discovery”) and its networks have offered the highest quality programming on television.1 From its flagship network, the Discovery Channel, to its 13 other networks, Discovery’s programming is a trusted source of information and a valued destination for world-class entertainment for millions of Americans.2 Discovery’s networks satisfy a wide range of interests, meet the needs of a broad array of audiences, and offer exactly the type of high-quality entertainment that public policy should promote.3

1 The Discovery Channel is the number one Media Brand in Overall Quality for the eighth consecutive year, and the number one Television Network Brand in Overall Quality for the twelfth consecutive year, according to the Spring 2004 EquiTrend brand study by Harris Interactive. In total, the Discovery family of networks holds eight of the top twenty-five spots. See News Release, June 22, 2004 , available at http://corporate.discovery.com/news/press/04q2/040622r.html (accessed March 28, 2005). No other entity can match this record. 2 Discovery’s family of networks includes: TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Health Channel, Travel Channel, BBC America, Discovery Kids, The Science Channel, Discovery Times Channel, Military Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Discovery en Espanol, FitTV, and Discovery HD Theater. 3 For instance, TLC is dedicated to high-quality, intelligent nonfiction entertainment that highlights a “life unscripted” approach to storytelling and provides valuable children’s programming such as the “READY SET LEARN!” commercial-free and sponsor-free programming block for preschoolers. Discovery’s Animal Planet similarly fills a unique niche as Discovery files these brief reply comments to complete and correct the record with respect to inaccurate statements the National Association of Broadcasters (“NAB”) made about Discovery in this inquiry. In its initial comments – and despite Discovery having already refuted the assertions in the prior proceeding – NAB repeats attacks it initially made in the Federal Communications Commission’s (“Commission’s”) a la carte proceeding. Specifically, NAB again challenges Discovery’s allegation that broadcasters’ use of the retransmission consent rules to force carriage of broadcast- affiliated networks has resulted in the exclusion of Discovery’s award-winning programming in some markets.4 As it did in the a la carte proceeding, NAB cites the presence of Discovery networks in the Manhattan market as evidence of the falsity of

Discovery’s contentions. In so doing, however, NAB simply ignores the fact that an

the only channel devoted exclusively to the relationship between humans and animals and has grown to become television’s leading broad-based, family-friendly, entertainment network. The Travel Channel provides a wealth of information on a wide array of travel-related topics, including leisure activities, destiny adventures, and numerous exotic locales. The Discovery Health Channel provides viewers with a window into the fascinating and informative world of cutting-edge medicine and health. Such diverse and high quality programming is similarly provided by Discovery’s digital networks, including: Discovery Kids, which is dedicated to providing the best of real-world entertainment for kids of all ages and to being a leader in children’s entertainment around the world; the Science Channel, which is the only network dedicated to making science programming accessible, relevant, substantive and entertaining; Discovery Home Channel, which offers expert advice and creative ideas for home and lifestyle improvements; Discovery en Espanol, which offers Spanish-speaking viewers the best in real-world entertainment, including nature, science and technology, history and world exploration, biography and children’s programming; FitTV, which is the sole network dedicated to fitness and wellness programming; Military Channel, which brings viewers compelling, real-world stories of heroism, military strategy, technological breakthroughs and turning points in history; BBC America, Discovery’s partnership with the BBC, which brings U.S. audiences a new generation of award-winning television; Discovery Times Channel, Discovery’s partnership with The New York Times, which brings the highest standards of reporting excellence and storytelling techniques to programming that sheds light on the historical roots behind the events and ideas shaping viewers’ lives and times; and Discovery HD Theater, which provides cutting-edge high-definition programming. 4 Comments of the National Association of Broadcasters in the Inquiry Required by Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act on Rules Affecting Competition in the Television Marketplace, MB Docket No. 05-28, DA 05-169 (filed Mar. 1, 2005), at 21 n.42.

2 examination of the Manhattan market actually demonstrates the truth of Discovery’s

assertions regarding the negative effects of broadcasters’ use of the retransmission consent rules to obtain carriage of broadcast-affiliated networks.

Discovery very clearly demonstrated this point in an ex parte letter filed in the a la carte proceeding in October of last year, a letter to which NAB has never responded.5

As Discovery stated in that letter:

[O]ne need look no further for an example of exclusion than the very market NAB references. In the Manhattan market, Discovery has been unable to gain carriage on the expanded basic level of service of either Animal Planet or the Travel Channel, two of Discovery’s leading and consistently highly rated networks. The vast majority of channel capacity on the tier is taken up by the operator’s need to carry other programming, almost 60 percent of which is broadcast-affiliated. A review of the total line-up, including digital programming, in Manhattan is similarly telling as broadcast stations and their affiliated networks comprise approximately 43 percent of the channels in the line-up.

Thus, a true accounting of the Manhattan market – one that considers not only broadcast stations themselves but also their affiliated networks – illustrates that broadcasters have and do exercise significant market power with respect to both expanded basic and digital tiers, often to the detriment of non-affiliated programmers. Absent corrective action by the Commission, we fear the trend will continue, depriving consumers of quality programming at reasonable rates.6

In light of the foregoing, Discovery respectfully requests that the Commission

5 Letter from Bill Goodwyn to W. Kenneth Feree, In the Matter of A la Carte Themed Tier Programming and Pricing Options for Programming Distribution on Cable Television and Direct Broadcast Satellite Systems, MB Docket No. 04-207 (filed Oct. 19, 2004). 6 Id. at 1-2.

3 disregard NAB’s erroneous statements with respect to Discovery and consider the above information in its further evaluation of retransmission consent issues.

Respectfully submitted,

______/s______Alexa Verveer Senior Vice President Public Policy and Government Relations Discovery Communications, Inc. One Discovery Place Silver Spring, MD 20910

March 31, 2005

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