Culture

Discovery Plans to Buy Web Site

by PEP | October 15, 2007 at 01:07 am

405 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment

A fascinating techno-web marriage: the Discovery Channel and HowStuffWorks.com. Let's hope that Discovery learns from HowStuffWorks in terms of website access, as the Discovery sites tend to be clunky, over-laden with flashy stuff and clips that must run, and often hard to navigate seamlessly.

Discovery Communications Inc., looking to jump-start a stalled Internet strategy, plans to acquire the HowStuffWorks.com Web site for $250 million.

Discovery, owner of cable channels such as Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, said it will use the site as the cornerstone of an effort to bring its vast library of video content to the Web. HowStuffWorks.com is a closely held company whose owners include investor Carl Icahn. The purchase also includes a number of digital properties, such as a map database, owned by HowStuffWorks, which isn't yet profitable.