Ever since its acquisition of Revision3 back in May 2012, Discovery Communications has been on a tear in terms of launching independent, online video verticals.
First there was TestTube, a repository of series like Nature Hates You, Pick Your Poison, Fail Lab, and more, all of which are “designed to ignite online audiences who are incurably curious about the world around them.” Next came Animalist, a destination that Head of Discovery Digital Networks, Jim Louderback explains as being for all types of viewers with an affinity for furry, scaly, slimy, and other such fauna “wether you identify with an animal’s instinctive nature – to hunt and fight for territory, or you identify with that innocent and trusting relationship between us and them.”
And now there’s Sci2, a digital extension of Discovery Communications’ Science Channel “for the science-minded audience that is hungry for the most engaging, mind-blowing content online.” The destination will be comprised of a mix of UGC videos curated by none other than I F***ing Love Science’s very own Elise Andrew and the following original series and feeds:
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- Streaming video of assembly lines across America in the aptly named How It’s Made feed
- Special slow-motion video streams
- Live city cams from around the world
- Time-lapse video feeds
- Footage from NASA
- A vintage science experiments feed
“I’m so excited to be working as content curator with Science Channel for Sci2 – it’s just such a fantastic way to showcase the amazing science videos people are creating every day,” said Sci2’s Chief Curator, the aforementioned Elise Andrew, in the release. “The Internet is a wonderful place for knowledge but as it grows larger the signal to noise ratio increases. Hopefully, I’ll be able to use my eye for content to introduce our audiences to some really talented, deserving people.”
The only major difference between this vertical and Discovery Communication’s other verticals (aside from its particular content focus) is that curatorial and user-generated component. TestTube, Animalist, and Revision3 all feature original series from the digital network, all of which are shown on Revision3’s video player. And none of them have vast amounts of UGC programming. Sci2 is the network’s for foray into content curation and showcases content on YouTube videos throughout.
If you have a science-oriented video you’d like more of the internet to see that you think would be ripe for the Sci2 audience, you can submit it here for Andrew and her team to review.
