Discovery, Gaiam Forge Licensing Deal

Gaiam will release DVD and Blu-ray sets of programs from Discovery networks

By David Tanklefsky -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/15/2009 12:40:04 PM

Discovery Communications and distributor Gaiam, Inc. reached an agreement Monday that will make Gaiam the exclusive home video distributor of programming from Discovery networks. Per the terms of the deal, Gaiam will release DVD and Blu-ray complete seasons of series such as TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8, and The Little Couple, and Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, among other titles from the Discovery family of networks.

"By consolidating our distribution, we will be able to work more effectively with key video, mass and specialty retail accounts," said Kelly Day, chief operating officer for Discovery commerce and digital media, in a statement. "We are also able to reach beyond traditional video and mass retail outlets with Gaiam and their well-established direct-to-consumer division."

Gaiam will release programming from Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, ID: Investigation Discovery, Science Channel, HD Theater, and Military Channel. DVDs will be available at media retail outlets and other specialty chains starting in the fall.

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Gaiam has had NO SUCCESS producing original franchise media products. Its most notable franchise properties, Rodney Yee, Billy Banks, The Firm were not developed internally but evolved through acquisitions. Gaiam's B2B channel was not engineered internally either but evolved through the purchase of Living Arts - 1999 and Goodtimes - 2005. The Gaiam Discovery deal represents Gaiam's failure as a proprietary media supplier and reinforces its transformation as lifestyle company to wholesale distributor of 3rd party product. Rather than building valuable media franchises Gaiam is now the defacto product manager of DVD's - exchanging real dollars for mere pennies. Given the shrinking B2B real-estate its not surprising that Discovery has handed off its day to day management of their home media product to Gaiam. Let's see how Gaiam wrangles a profit from this deal, not to mention how the Discovery product overwhelms Gaiam's B2B infrastructure and further erodes Gaiam ability to feature its own programming. With Discovery's OWN launching in winter 2010 - Gaiam's kiosks at Target will be filled with Oprah product, Shape, Reebok, Prevention and not Rodney Yee, Billy Banks or the Firm.

John Muir - 6/16/2009 10:09:52 AM EDT

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