• USA Today, Wednesday, September 2, 2009 10:51 PM

Discovery Communications and its kinetic CEO David Zaslav, are on the move. Zaslav plans to launch a women's channel with Oprah Winfrey in early 2010, and a kids' channel with Hasbro later next year. He's also talking with director Steven Spielberg about producing high-profile shows about science.

The initiatives may prove too extravagant if ad sales, which account for 45% of his company's revenue, don't pick up. Still, Wall Street is optimistic. Discovery's shares have rocketed 55% this year. Investors like the fact that Discovery owns almost all of the predominantly non-fiction programming it airs. These shows appeal to audiences around the world -- including growing markets such as India and China. About one-third of Discovery's revenue comes from outside the U.S.

In the second quarter, about 885,000 viewers were tuned in to Discovery's 13 channels, including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC, up 10.4% vs. the same period last year. Among the top shows: "Deadliest Catch," "MythBusters," " Whale Wars" and TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8."

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