An interesting story today from the Hollywood Reporter of all places that indicates that the Discovery Channel is about to jump into the adventure travel industry in a big away.
According to the story, Discovery has aligned itself with G.A.P. Adventures, widely considered one of the top adventure travel operators in the world, to form a new brand entitled "Discovery Adventures". The website for this new venture will launch in July, and offer 30 trips to a variety of locations around the globe.
The move by Discovery is not a complete surprise, as they announced a strategic plan a number of months back to extend their brand beyond television. They've already announced plans to introduce a line of outdoor gear called "Discovery Expeditions" and they are in discussions with other companies to throw the Discovery logo on other products as well.
Obviously this is a big move for Discovery. Their closest competitor is probably National Geographic, who alread has its own line of adventure trips under the National Geographic Expeditions brand. In the case of Nat Geo, you do end up paying a premium for the trip, but they try to include some extras that you can only get from them, such as having the guide on the trip be one of their Explorers in Residence or something similar. I'm guessing Discovery will do the same. Just be careful when you sign up for the Man vs. Wild Treks or the Deadliest Catch Cruise.
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