Discovery has announced it will be suspending its operations in Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and that its 15 channels will go off air in the country starting from Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Discovery said that, “Discovery has decided to suspend the broadcast of its channels and services in Russia.”
According to Variety, sources at Discovery have explained the move as stemming from concerns over media censorship in Russia, as the network is a major player in Europe through its ownership of the Poland-based TVN24 news channel, as well as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The list of cable channels that Discovery aired in Russia included the Discovery Channel, Discovery Science, The Food Network, Animal Planet, TLC, A&E, and Eurosport, among others.
Discovery joins a growing number of major media companies like Netflix, CNN, CBS, ABC, Universal Pictures, and the Walt Disney Company, as well as consumer goods behemoths such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks, who have decided to suspend their operations in Russia to protest the military operation in Ukraine.