• by David Kaplan , April 8, 2005

Discovery Networks upfront presentation Thursday doubled as a 20th birthday fete, as the company celebrated itself--and ad agencies and marketers, of course--by unveiling a lineup that includes a show combining the best of eBay and "Antiques Road Show": "Pop Nation: America's Coolest Stuff."

Discovery certainly won't be outdone on the titles. Aside from "Pop Nation," a series that ends in a "mega online auction," the channel looks globally to a show entitled "Planet Earth," which is in the vein of Discovery's "Blue Planet," and examines the world's natural wonders. The channel also has a new documentary series titled "I Shouldn't Be Alive," which Discovery describes as a chronicle of "nearly inconceivable sagas of human survival." The show is by the producers of 2003's art-house docudrama, "Touching the Void."

The channel is also preparing the high-definition documentary series "Atlas," 30 two-hour specials of unusual places around the world--with crews currently scouting China for the premiere, with Australia and France to follow.