Discovery, Equinix Get Together on Cloud Network Content Options

The Discovery Channel is easily one of the best—and some might say only—reasons to have cable television. Featuring some exciting programs all about nature, at least occasionally or tangentially, it's also one of the best reasons to have a top-of-the line television. A recent move between Discovery Communications and Equinix is setting up a new option, though: using the power of the network to build a cloud-based distribution model for content.

The arrangement calls for Discovery to use Equinix network-related systems to build a complete Interconnection Oriented Architecture (IOA), which in turn helps migrate many of Discovery's current digital offerings to a complete cloud-based operation.  Procedurally, this is accomplished by Discovery collocating the current IT infrastructure with Equinix's International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers.

This move also allows significant consolidation of Discovery's infrastructure—about 80 percent of it at last report—and makes it easier for the network to engage in worldwide content delivery. Better yet, the network's latency is also improved, which makes for less buffering and a better customer experience.

Discovery Communications' senior vice president of infrastructure and support services, David Duvall, commented, “The cloud is the future for

digital media and entertainment – the agility and cost advantages are immense. Once we started our digital journey, it was quickly apparent that we needed a neutral interconnect partner who would enable us to connect our entire ecosystem physically and virtually, allowing us to scale up or down to address current and future requirements. Equinix has been key to Discovery's success with this digital transformation, and we look forward to expanding our network with Equinix as we grow our global business.”

Discovery is likely facing many common problems of media companies these days, particularly as relates to the growing phenomenon of cable cutting in the face of growing cable bills with little new content to recommend such expenses to users. So by augmenting its network, it can better adapt to growing new alternatives like direct online content provision, streaming operations, or the cloud-based “skinny bundle.” These points give Discovery a lot more to work with, but it must augment its network in order to take advantage of these, and this move with Equinix is just part of that.

Such a move should give Discovery a real leg up going forward, especially as more users look to online options. By planning ahead with the new move with Equinix, it should be a smoother transition, and should keep more users in the Discovery camp.