Animal Planet is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the global media company that also owns channels like Discovery Channel, TLC, and HGTV (through its Discovery legacy).

Who owns Animal Planet?

  • Animal Planet is an American multinational pay television channel.
  • It is currently owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, via the group’s global linear networks division.
  • The channel was originally a joint venture between Discovery Communications and BBC Worldwide, but the BBC sold its remaining stake to Discovery in 2010, giving Discovery full control.
  • Discovery Communications later became part of Warner Bros. Discovery after corporate restructuring and mergers, so Animal Planet now sits under that larger umbrella.

Brief history of the ownership

  • 1996 launch: Animal Planet started as a joint venture, majority-owned by Discovery with a minority stake held by BBC Worldwide.
  • 2006: BBC sold its 20% interest in the U.S. Animal Planet network back to Discovery Communications.
  • 2010: BBC Worldwide sold its remaining 50% interest in international Animal Planet channels to Discovery, giving Discovery full global ownership.
  • 2020s: Discovery’s networks, including Animal Planet, became part of Warner Bros. Discovery after the Discovery–WarnerMedia combination, so ownership is now consolidated there.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.