Exciting New Venture by Two Media Giants - Discovery Networks Asia and Reader's Digest Set to Launch Discovery Channel Magazine in Asia in February 2008

Exciting New Venture by Two Media Giants - Discovery Networks Asia and Reader's Digest Set to Launch Discovery Channel Magazine in Asia in February 2008

SINGAPORE, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The most distributed television brand and renowned global publisher of the largest selling monthly magazine in the world have joined forces: Discovery Networks Asia, a division of the number- one nonfiction media company Discovery Communications, and Reader's Digest Asia, part of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., global publisher and marketer of books, magazines, music and video today announced a new partnership to launch the Discovery Channel Magazine. The bi-monthly magazine will hit the newsstands around the region on 22 February 2008.

It will debut with an initial circulation of 100,000 primarily in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines comprising both subscriptions and newsstands. It will also be on sale in China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. There are plans to roll out to other Asia- Pacific markets later in 2008.

Tom Keaveny, executive vice president and managing director, Discovery Networks Asia, said, "The Discovery Channel Magazine is a natural extension of our successful brand beyond TV and provides our viewers with the ability to take Discovery Channel everywhere they go. This partnership taps the synergies and strengths of both Discovery and Reader's Digest -- both have a long history of compelling story telling and quality content -- and ultimately, the consumer will benefit from an excellent product. We are now also able to offer our advertisers a fully-integrated campaign, incorporating on-air, online, on- ground and print, with a regional platform to reach a broad base of affluent readers across Asia Pacific."

"We are extremely excited about the new partnership with Discovery and the prospect of creating a magazine that will add yet another quality publication to the stable of 93 magazines Reader's Digest currently publishes worldwide," says Rosemarie Wallace, regional managing director of Reader's Digest Asia. "Our consumer research and test results in the region have been extremely encouraging with terrific response towards the new publication. Together with Discovery, we hope to continue our philosophy of informing, enriching, entertaining and inspiring people of all cultures."

Like Discovery Channel, the Discovery Channel Magazine will engage readers with extraordinary stories that share knowledge, satisfy curiosity and inspire the very joy of discovery. The Discovery Channel Magazine is built around five core pillars: Demystifying science and technology to simplify and amplify learning; Grasping the Universe to better appreciate its wonders; Presenting knowledge seekers and adventurers to inspire us to discover more of the world; Decoding animal behavior to learn more about ourselves; and Unraveling History to see what shaped us -- and our future. Just as Discovery's television channels revolutionized documentaries by providing viewers with the best television experience, the Discovery Channel Magazine will set itself apart from the competition by its quality, breadth and accessibility.

Editor-in-chief of the English edition of Reader's Digest in Asia, Jim Plouffe, will also oversee the Discovery Channel Magazine. Reader's Digest will be forming a separate team of experienced writers and designers to work on the new magazine, which will be based in Singapore.

"The magazine will engage readers with concise, well-written articles based around stunning visuals," says Jim Plouffe. "It will not only inspire readers to learn more about the world around them, but also make the journey enjoyable for the entire family."

The Discovery Channel Magazine will retail in Singapore for S$7.90, in Malaysia for RM$14.90, Philippines for PHP250, in Hong Kong HKD45, in Taiwan TWD180, in Thailand THB190, in Japan JPY987 and Korea KRW5,600. It will be offered at a discount for yearly subscriptions.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications is the number-one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Through TV and digital media, Discovery's 100-plus worldwide networks include Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Science and Discovery HD. In Asia Pacific, seven Discovery brands reach 343 million cumulative subscribers in 24 countries with programming customized in eight languages. Discovery Communications is owned by Discovery Holding Co. (NASDAQ:DISCA) (NASDAQ:DISCB) , Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, Discovery's founder and chairman.

About Reader's Digest

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (RDA) is a global publisher and direct marketer of books, magazines and home entertainment products that inform, entertain and inspire people of all ages and cultures around the world. The company publishes 93 magazines, including its flagship magazine - Reader's Digest, the world's biggest-selling magazine. It is published in 51 editions and 22 languages. RDA's corporate headquarters are located near Pleasantville, New York. Reader's Digest Asia's website is www.rdasia.com.

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Source: Reader's Digest Association

CONTACT: Melissa Tham, +65-6510-7637, melissa_tham@discovery.com, or
Charmaine Huet, +65-6510-7545, charmaine_huet@discovery.com, both of Discovery
Networks Asia; Tan San San of Reader's Digest Asia, +65-6843-3332,
tan_san_san@rd.com; or William Adler of Reader's Digest Association,
+1-914-244-7585

Web site: http://www.rd.com/
http://www.rdasia.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment