Discovery Channel Launches News Web Site

Discovery Communications (The Discovery Channel) launched a new web site dedicated to reporting science news Monday, seeking to fill a gap in mainstream science news.

News.Discovery.com is pretty clear about its coverage, if you just look at the site’s title bar, and it’s all very Discovery Channel-esque stuff: “Earth, Space, Tech, Animals, Dinosaurs, History,” the bar reads (talk about your SEO!)

The Discovery Channel’s main site has featured news reporting for more than a decade, but this is its first venture into a standalone news site.

The Washington Post reports that Miguel Monteverde, the site’s general manager, declined to say when he expected the ad-supported site to turn a profit.

I just hope that the work [Discovery News does] is high-quality,” media analyst John Morton told the Post. “Some of their television programming leaves a lot to be wanted and is very entertainment-oriented…[but] the public generally ought to welcome it. This is at least a gesture in the right direction.”

Discovery News’ main competitors are likely National Geographic News, Science News, and Science Daily, and, to a lesser extent, Popular Science and Wired.

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