Enter the Master Control Core Where We Can Control All Networks!

 Here we are in my home -- the Master Control Core!  My name is Scotty Ham, and I’m one of the supervisors here at the Discovery Broadcast Center.  And yes, I'm a Brony.

 

So, here’s one of our Supe Stations that I work at daily.  I have the same abilities that each pod has and I can take control of any of our 13 networks in a matter of seconds if needed.  My main function out here is to troubleshoot the issues that operators find and come up with solutions and answers.  If we have content that is in question, whether it is a commercial with an incorrect phone number or a promo that advertises an incorrect time, I’ll pass that on to people like Darren in Encode who will correct it on their end and coordinate with us back here.  We also execute changes out here for content daily -- whether they are commercial or even program changes.  Our operators are the best in the business and make my job look easy.

The Sweet Taste of Success

Sure, prostate exams are a fine way to celebrate ratings success... but we're a little more traditional around here when it comes to pats on the back. When the numbers came in for An Idiot Abroad's record-setting premiere, the team was treated to a massive (science word) cake courtesy of the company's CEO. Which was nice.

There was a bit of a wrestling match among some of the staff over who would get to eat Karl, but no one was hurt.

Tyler Korba
Marketing Supervising Producer
SCIENCE

Record Ratings and a Prostate Exam

Have you heard the news?!?

Last weekend's premiere of An Idiot Abroad 2: The Bucket List shattered previous ratings records for a new series on Science Channel with 1.3 million viewers! We've been working behind the scenes here at the network for months to make this show a breakout success. It is such an amazing feeling to see it do so incredibly well.

From the Hollywood Reporter: "'It's fantastic news. I won’t be satisfied until Karl is as big a phenomenon as Justin Bieber,' said Gervais."

We even got a shoutout from Perez Hilton: "According to the stats, the series has pulled in 4.3 million viewers since its January 22nd premiere, and is its most-watched to date among P25-54!Ha! Amazing! We'll definitely need to check it out! Congratulations, guys!"

On the Set: An Idiot Abroad 2

In this case, the Idiot Abroad was me...flying to London with two members of our marketing team to shoot with Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington. As the new year approaches and we all anticipate seeing Karl accomplish all the "things to do before you die," we needed to get all the elements for an epic promotional campaign to do justice to this gem of a show.

What's it like being on set with Ricky Gervais? Simply put, it's f*$#ing hilarious.

Here's just a small bit of the footage we shot that day:

 
Overall, their ability to improvise, to mold and create comic genuis as they are on camera is second to none. Karl, as Karl is, continuously delivers for Ricky and Steve as they poke, prod and torment him throughout the shoot. The result is way too much comic gold to be contained in one video clip. But that doesn't mean we didn't try!