Discovery refreshes Military Channel

Discovery Communications is relaunching its US cablenet Military Channel under a new name and with a refreshed programming line-up in a bid to widen its appeal.

The net will start broadcasting under the name American Heroes Channel (AHC) on March 3 and will expand its output of military series, with a focus on shows targeting men and more history-based, narrative-style documentary programming.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, said he wanted the relaunched channel to “engage and entertain an information-hungry audience.” He added that the network, which is available to around 62 million viewers in the US, would provide “an exciting intersection of military and history programming.”

As part of the rebrand, the net has 17 new series and specials slated, with original shows including Against The Odds, which tells survival stories involving outnumbered troops; CIAL Declassified, which delves into secrets from the Cold War; photographic show Raw War: The Lost Film of Dak To; and Codes & Conspiracies, which takes viewers into some of the world’s most secretive organisations.

The announcement was made as part of the Discovery Communications TCA presentation in California yesterday.

Elsewhere, Investigation Discovery has greenlit Sharp Entertainment’s housewife reality show Secret Lives of Stepford Wives (12×30’), which will air in April, and has extended news show Deadline Crime with Tamron Ha, which explores shocking crimes, into a second 10-part season.

Meanwhile, Discovery Channel will broadcast Klondike, its first foray into scripted miniseries, on January 20. The show is coproduced by Discovery, Entertainment One (eOne) and Nomadic Pictures in association with Scott Free Productions, and is based on Charlotte Gray’s book Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike.