Animal Planet (European TV channel)

Summary

The Pan-European Animal Planet is a feed of Animal Planet, which broadcasts to several countries in Europe, UK, Africa and the Middle East.

Animal Planet
CountryUnited Kingdom
Broadcast areaArmenia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Middle East, Africa
NetworkWarner Bros. Discovery EMEA
HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Timeshift serviceAnimal Planet +1 (UK)
Ownership
OwnerWarner Bros. Discovery International
Sister channelsDiscovery Channel
Discovery HD
Discovery Home & Health
Discovery Historia
Discovery History
Discovery MAX
Discovery Science
Discovery Shed
Discovery Travel & Living Europe
Discovery Turbo
Discovery World
Investigation Discovery
DMAX Germany, Austria, Switzerland & Liechtenstein
DMAX United Kingdom & Ireland
Quest
Real Time Italy
TLC Netherlands
TLC Poland
TLC UK and Ireland
History
Launched1997; 27 years ago (1997)
ClosedMarch 9, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-03-09) (Russia)
Availability
Terrestrial
evotv (Croatia)Channel 112
Zuku TV (Kenya)Channel 416

The channel is broadcast in English, Czech, Hungarian and Russian. The HD feed also carries a Turkish audio track. Turkey has its own SD feed. The channel also carries DVB subtitle tracks in Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Greek, Macedonian, Norwegian, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian and Swedish.

There used to be a separate feed for Romania, but the channel closed down in 2013.

Many regions in Europe that previously received the pan-European version of the channel, now receive a localised version.

Ukraine, CIS and the Baltic countries still get the pan-European feed in Russian and English.

History edit

The channel launched in Europe in 1997 and on 1 September 1998 it began broadcasting in the UK via the Astra Satellite and on analogue cable.[1] It was on air each day from midday until midnight.

In October 2008, Animal Planet adopted the new branding and current logo.

In March 2009, the on-air logo changed its colour from green to white and became transparent.

On September 4, 2012, Animal Planet improved its picture quality by increasing the resolution from 544x576 to 720x576.

Since October 2012, all of the programming - including promos - is broadcast in Anamorphic widescreen picture format.

On 31 December 2017, Animal Planet ceased broadcasting in Africa on DStv.[2]

Currently, Animal Planet is ad-free on its main feed. Some countries, like Romania and Moldova, get localised ad blocks. Animal Planet Italy for Italy and the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland ceased broadcasting on 31 January 2019 after a new distribution agreement between Discovery and Sky Italia.

On 9 March 2022, Discovery Inc. closed Animal Planet in Russia due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[3]

Programming edit

  • After Dark
  • Animal Battlegrounds
  • Baby Planet
  • Bad Dog
  • Cats 101
  • Dark Days in Monkey City
  • Dogs 101
  • Galapagos
  • Growing Up...
  • I'm Alive
  • Killer Wales
  • Max's Big Tracks
  • Must Love Cats
  • Penguin Safari
  • Rescue Vet
  • Safari Vet School
  • Search for the Knysna elephants
  • Shamwari: A Wild Life
  • Talk to the Animals
  • The Magic of The Big Blue
  • Trophy Cats
  • Wild Africa Rescue
  • Wild Animal Orphans
  • Wild France
  • Wildest Islands
  • Wildest Islands of Indonesia
  • Wildlife SOS
  • World Wild Wet

References edit

  1. ^ "Discovery unveils digital TV nets". 19 August 1998.
  2. ^ BREAKING. Discovery's Animal Planet axed from DStv after 14 years at the end of December; MultiChoice says other 4 Discovery channels will remain after a carriage deal. TV with Thinus. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. ^ "WarnerMedia and Discovery join the stampede of businesses leaving Russia". CNN. 9 March 2022.