Discovery Canada’s Flagship DAILY PLANET Explodes with Biggest Ratings Week in 18 Years!

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TORONTO (February 21, 2013) – High-Tech Toys! Blackberry 10! Russian Meteor Explosion! Oh my! It’s been three months of ratings heaven for Discovery’s DAILY PLANET. Canada’s favourite science show hit a new peak last week (February 11-15), becoming the most-watched five days in the series’ 18-year-history. Helmed by co-hosts Ziya Tong and Dan Riskin, the special “Invent This!” theme week reached almost two million* Ziya-and-Dan fans across the country, averaging 251,000 total viewers, 92,000 A25-54 viewers; and 92,000 A18-49 viewers through the week. Monday’s episode kicking-off “Invent This! Week” became the series’ most-watched episode ever, reaching 733,000 Canadians** from coast-to-coast-to-coast, averaging 350,000 viewers, and ranking as the #1 program of the day on Canadian specialty TV.

When the biggest meteor observed to the hit Earth in a century landed on Friday, Feb. 15, Tong, Riskin, and the DAILY PLANET team expertly assembled an all-new special episode– FIRE IN THE SKY – hitting 246,000 fascinated Canadians (P2+) in its world premiere, and ranking among the Top 10 episodes of all-time. Discovery’s in-house distributor, Exploration Distribution Inc., sold the one-hour special to Science Channel in the U.S. and Discovery Networks on the international market.

**Media Note** Download DAILY PLANET photography at BellMediaPR.ca

From DAILY PLANET’s signature theme weeks, like High-Tech Toys and Future Tech Week, to the best topical coverage anywhere on Canadian television, DAILY PLANET continues to own its 7 p.m. timeslot on Canadian speciality television. In fact, since December 2012, DAILY PLANET has recorded six of its Top 10 audiences of all-time (P2+), including its two top-rated episodes ever (the aforementioned “Invent This! kick-off episode, and last December’s special doomsday episode End of The World at #2 with 329,000 viewers).

Source: BBM Canada

* The exact figure is 1,953,000 viewers, including 7 a.m. airings.

About DAILY PLANET

An international success story, DAILY PLANET is produced by Exploration Production Inc. (EPI), a production house wholly owned by Discovery Canada. The series’ Executive Producer is Kelly McKeown; Senior Producers are Cindy Bahadur and Steven Hunt; Supervising Producer is Agatha Rachpaul; Managing Producer is Julie Borthwick; and Director is John Morrison.

About Discovery

The world is just awesome!  With compelling real-life programming that inspires and entertains, Discovery reveals the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. Discovery offers a signature mix of adrenaline-charged stories, larger-than-life personalities and vivid imagery for viewers with curious minds. With the best non-fiction programming from Canada and around the world, Discovery captures the excitement of a passion for life – one lived fully and at its most extreme. With exceptional and immersive storytelling, the channel offers in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the extraordinary people and places that shape our world. Launched in Canada in 1995 and now available in more than eight million Canadian homes, Discovery consistently ranks first among all English-language Canadian specialty networks for overall viewer satisfaction according to the TV Trends and Quality (TVQ) Survey. Discovery is a joint venture between Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company, and Discovery Communications Inc. Find more information and interactive online features at  Discovery.ca.

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SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Discovery Canada on Twitter: twitter.com/DiscoveryCanada
Discovery Canada on Facebook: facebook.com/discoverycanada
Daily Planet on Twitter: twitter.com/dailyplanetshow
Daily Planet on Facebook: facebook.com/Daily-Planet 
Ziya Tong on Twitter: twitter.com/Ziya_Discovery
Dan Riskin on Twitter: twitter.com/riskindan

For more information:

Noah Zatzman, Discovery, 416.384.5903 or noah.zatzman@bellmedia.ca                                    

Jodi Cook, Discovery, 416.384.4603 or jodi.cook@bellmedia.ca