Venture will combine: linear
network Velocity,
MotorTrend.com, Motor
Trend YouTube channel,
Motor Trend OnDemand OTT service and TEN's complete
portfolio of automotive digital, social, live events, and original content
Venture aims to nourish
automotive superfans on all platforms, garner incremental share of
multibillion-dollar automotive ad market and provide a quality male audience to
general-market advertisers. It also marks Discovery's first direct-to-consumer
OTT push in the U.S.
·
Cumulative reach of
more than 150 million auto superfans spanning 50+ brands across TV, digital,
subscription video-on-demand, social, print and live event properties
·
Velocity, the #1 TV
network for automotive fans in the U.S., available in 73 million homes
·
Nearly 100,000
paying subscribers to Motor Trend OnDemand OTT service
·
Motor Trend, the #1
automotive publisher on YouTube with 5+ million subscribers and nearly 1.5
billion cumulative video views
·
2,000+ hours of
content on the top automotive digital video subscription service and a library
of nearly 7,000 hours of Velocity content
·
Nearly 1 billion
monthly social video views
Silver
Spring, Md. – Discovery
Communications
announced today that it has agreed to form a new consolidated joint venture
with TEN: The Enthusiast Network. The venture will bring together
Discovery's Velocity channel, the number one automotive TV network, and TEN's
entire automotive digital, direct-to-consumer, social and live event portfolio
including industry leading brands Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Roadkill, Automobile,
and more than 20 others. The venture will create a top automotive media company
in the U.S. and an unrivaled destination for automotive enthusiasts, auto
buyers and advertisers looking to reach this high-quality audience on all
screens and platforms. Discovery will take a majority controlling interest in
the venture.
"Continuing
with Discovery's strategy to reach superfans on all platforms in popular and
durable content categories, this joint venture brings together the most trusted
media brands in the automotive industry to create a multiplatform business with
the reach, talent, and consumer insights to nourish car enthusiasts on all
devices," said David Zaslav, President and CEO, Discovery Communications. "By
combining popular brands like Motor Trend, Hot Rod and Velocity, this venture
will create a content engine that fuels not only our linear platform but also
new direct-to-consumer, social and mobile opportunities with the goal of owning
the car vertical across all platforms."
Unparalleled
360-Degree Solution for Advertisers
Upon
closing of the transaction, the venture, to be called TEN: A Discovery
Communications Company, will offer advertisers a unified offering with a
combined reach of more than 150 million automotive superfans, car buyers and a
quality male audience. The new venture will also bring proven expertise in
the branded content space, as well as sophisticated audience targeting
capabilities.
While
TEN's print businesses will not be contributed to the new venture, a commercial
agreement will allow for continued cross-promotion between the print portfolio
and the new venture for a true multiplatform, 360-degree advertising
offering.
"This
venture is about giving advertisers the quintessential way to reach auto
enthusiasts, prospective car buyers and an affluent male audience that buys a
lot more than cars," said Paul Guyardo, Chief Commercial Officer for Discovery
Communications. "It's also about giving consumers OTT access to world-class
automotive content on every screen."
Guyardo
will serve as CEO, and Chairman of the new venture's Board of Directors in
addition to his current responsibilities. Leading the new venture will be Scott
Dickey, President of TEN, and Bob Scanlon, who will be appointed President of
Velocity and TEN Video Content. Both Dickey and Scanlon will report to Guyardo.
New
U.S. Direct-to-Consumer Offering
With
plans to add Velocity content to TEN's Motor Trend OnDemand subscription video
on demand (SVOD) service, the new joint venture will mark Discovery's first
direct-to-consumer push in the U.S. and a growth opportunity for the country's
top automotive video subscription service. Motor Trend OnDemand will feature
thousands of hours of automotive video, including exclusive original series,
such as Roadkill, Head2Head, Dirt Everyday and Ignition alongside motorsports
and live auto event content. Motor Trend OnDemand also will offer new, original
content featuring some of the best-known talent from series across TEN and
Velocity, including WHEELER DEALERS, BITCHIN' RIDES, BARRETT-JACKSON LIVE,
FANTOMWORKS, SPEED IS THE NEW BLACK, IRON RESURRECTION, THE AUTO FIRM WITH ALEX
VEGA, and GARAGE SQUAD, and will be available across millions of connected
devices via IOS/Apple TV, Google Play, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast and Amazon
platforms.
"Velocity
is the fastest growing network on cable since launching in 2011 and is the #1
television destination for automotive super fans, with a stable of experts and
personalities that represent the most respected names in the car world," said
Scanlon. "By combining Velocity and TEN's high-quality content, wide-reaching
talented hosts and comprehensive production expertise, we are creating a
powerhouse of short-, mid- and long-form content for the passionate and growing
base of automotive super fans in the U.S. and around the world."
"TEN's
automotive brands have become leaders in their categories by delivering a high
quality, high engagement audience," said Dickey. "We've made significant
investments in digital, mobile, experiential and SVOD/direct-to-consumer.
Working closely with Discovery, we believe these investments, combined with the
appeal of Velocity, will allow us to collectively expand leadership in the
multibillion-dollar automotive market."
In the
future, TEN has an option to put its stake in the venture to Discovery at fair
market value. Discovery will have an option to acquire 100% of the new venture.
TEN is a
portfolio company of GoldenTree Asset Management LP.
About
TEN: A Discovery Communications Company
TEN: A
Discovery Communications Company will bring together Discovery's fast-growing
Velocity network and TEN's entire automotive digital, direct-to-consumer,
social and live event portfolio including industry leading brands Motor Trend,
Hot Rod, Roadkill, Automobile, and more than 20 others to form a top automotive
media company in the U.S. Together, the company will reach more than 150
million cumulative fans and will encompass the #1 TV network for automotive
superfans with Velocity; the #1 automotive YouTube Channel with Motor Trend;
and the only auto-dedicated SVOD service with Motor Trend OnDemand.
About
Discovery Communications
Discovery
Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) satisfies curiosity and captivates
superfans around the globe with a portfolio of premium nonfiction, lifestyle,
sports and kids content brands including Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation
Discovery, Animal Planet, Science and Turbo/Velocity, as well as OWN: Oprah
Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport,
the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the
Olympic Games across Europe. Available in more than 220 countries and
territories, Discovery's programming reaches 3 billion cumulative viewers, who
together consume 54 billion hours of Discovery content each year. Discovery's
offering extends beyond traditional TV to all screens, including TV Everywhere
products such as the GO portfolio and Discovery Kids Play; over-the-top
streaming services such as Eurosport Player; digital-first and social video
from Group Nine Media; and virtual reality storytelling through Discovery VR.
For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.
CONTACTS:
For
Discovery:
Catherine
Frymark 240-662-2934
Catherine_Frymark@discovery.com
For The
Enthusiast Network:
Ryan Payne 949-705-3105
RPayne@enthusiastnetwork.com