Discovery Channel (often referred to as simply "Discovery", and formerly "The Discovery Channel" from 1985 to 1995) is an American basic cable and satellite television channel (which is also delivered via IPTV, terrestrial television and internet television in other parts of the world) that is the flagship television property of Discovery Communications, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. As of June 2012, Discovery Channel is the second most widely distributed cable channel in the United States, behind TBS; it is available in 409 million households worldwide, through its U.S. flagship channel and its various owned or licensed television channels internationally.

It initially provided documentary television programming focused primarily on popular science, technology and history, but in recent years has expanded into reality television and pseudo-scientific entertainment. Programming on the flagship Discovery Channel in the U.S. is primarily focused on reality television series, such as speculative investigation (with shows such as MythBusters, Unsolved History and Best Evidence), automobiles, and occupations (such as Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch); it also features documentaries specifically aimed at families and younger audiences. A popular annual feature on the channel is Shark Week, which airs on Discovery during the summer months