MINERS AT WAR, NEW MONSTER MACHINES AND BOLD CHALLENGES PEAK AS DISCOVERY'S #1-RATED SHOW "GOLD RUSH" RETURNS FOR ITS EIGHTH SEASON

Two-Hour GOLD RUSH Season Premiere to air Friday, October 13, at 9 PM ET/PT with a Special Live Event Featuring the Mine Bosses at 8 PM ET/PT on Discovery

(LOS ANGELES) - The gold miners of Discovery's #1-rated show GOLD RUSH are back. And this year, the rivalry among the miners has reached new levels. But will they be able to put their money where their mouth is? GOLD RUSH returns with a 2-hour premiere on Friday, October 13 at 9 PM ET/PT on Discovery.

Before the new mining season even kicks off, gold miner Todd Hoffman lays everything on the line and wagers a massive bet with 22-year-old Parker Schnabel. The ever-confident Todd believes he can pull in the most gold this season. If not, he owes Parker 100 ounces of gold worth over $100,000 dollars. This sets off a head-to-head competition for the season between these two rivals.

It's a bold move for Todd, especially after last year's disaster. Todd's 5,000-ounce goal was shattered in Oregon, where he began last season, and his crew went into a meltdown. This season, Todd and his crew are in Colorado where he is joined by his father, Jack, and 18-year-old son Hunter. This year, Todd believes that he'll be the ultimate mine boss by running three plants at the same time - a challenge no gold miner has ever pulled off in the series. Meanwhile, Hunter demands a promotion and wants to run his own operation. But will he be able to handle the pressure?

In the Klondike, young Parker Schnabel meets with his long-time, dedicated crew and fills them in on the wager with the Hoffmans. However, this isn't the only battle for Parker. He's going to war on two fronts - not just with Todd, but his landlord Tony Beets, aka "The Viking." Over four years, Tony has taken $2.3 million in royalties. This season, Parker has a plan to buy his freedom with a deal on new virgin ground. Parker doesn't underestimate anyone as he knows mining is as much about perseverance as it is about luck. But first Parker needs to get his ice-bound washplant Big Red up and running - since every day not sluicing gives Todd and Tony a head start in the race for gold.

Meanwhile, legendary Klondike miner Tony Beets is back and continues his on-going obsession with dredges. Last year, his plan to move and resurrect a 75-year-old dredge proved to be a big failure. But "The Viking" never gives up. This year, he and his family set the goal to move Dredge #2 and get it mining for gold. He has everything in place, but first needs to convince legendary mine boss Sheamus Christie to help him move it. But even for Sheamus, moving a 500-ton dredge is a first.

At 8 PM ET/PT, just before the official GOLD RUSH season premiere, Discovery will broadcast an all-new live event featuring Todd, Parker and Tony. Anything can happen in this special one hour live broadcast where the mine bosses will dish stories about what really went down and discuss season highlights as they field real-time audience phone calls and Facebook questions throughout the broadcast.

New crew members, unexpected equipment failures and heated rivalries prove no two seasons are alike in Discovery's hit series GOLD RUSH. Each week, the gold total will be tallied, pushing the miners to their limits to prove who is ultimately on top. And for viewers who want to catch up on prior seasons, GOLD RUSH is available to binge on Discovery GO, the network's live and on demand TV Everywhere streaming service, and through TV providers - free with their subscription.

GOLD RUSH is produced for Discovery Channel by Raw Television, where Dimitri Doganis, James Bates and Mike Gamson are executive producers and Tim Dalby and Edward Gorsuch are series producers. For Discovery Channel, Matthew Vafiadis is executive producer and Greg Wolf is associate producer.

About Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 224 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the leader in global entertainment reaching 3 billion cumulative viewers in more than 220 countries and territories. Discovery satisfies curiosity, entertains and inspires viewers with high-quality content through global brands, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Science and Turbo/Velocity, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, and through the Discovery Digital Networks portfolio, including Seeker and SourceFed. Discovery owns Eurosport, the leading pan-regional sports entertainment destination across Europe and Asia-Pacific. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.