ANIMAL PLANET'S MOST-WATCHED SERIES "RIVER MONSTERS" HOOKS BIGGEST AUDIENCE EVER IN ITS THIRD SEASON

-- Third Season of RIVER MONSTERS Delivers More Than 1.5M P2+ Viewers -

-- Monday Night's RIVER MONSTERS Finale, 'Jungle Killer,' is the Most-watched Season Three Episode Among Men 25-54 --

-- Following RIVER MONSTERS Season Finale, Sneak Peek Telecast of FINDING BIGFOOT Scores More Than 1.3M P2+ Viewers --

(June 2, 2011, Silver Spring, Md.) - Animal Planet's best-performing series in network history - RIVER MONSTERS - featuring extreme angler and biologist Jeremy Wade, completed its third season, capturing its largest audience yet. The seven episodes this season delivered 1.505M P2+ viewers and outperformed season two among P18-49 (+9%, 878K), M18-49 (+14%, 551K), P18-34 (+23%, 484K), M18-34 (+24%, 297K) and W18-34 (+21%, 187K).

On a Live + 7 basis, the first five episodes of the third season of RIVER MONSTERS reached around the 1.0 mark, garnering 1.1 M25-54, 1.0 P18-49 and 0.9 P25-54 rating.

The RIVER MONSTERS' season three finale, 'Jungle Killer,' which aired Monday, May 30, at 10 PM et/pt, was the most-watched episode of the season among M25-54 (566K) and helped rank Animal Planet third among all ad-supported cable networks in its timeslot.* Season four of RIVER MONSTERS is slated to premiere April 2012.

Following the RIVER MONSTERS season finale, the sneak preview telecast of FINDING BIGFOOT delivered 1.387M P2+ viewers, 805K P25-54 and 565K M25-54, making it the network's most-watched late-night telecast ever among these demos. In addition, FINDING BIGFOOT helped rank Animal Planet third among all ad-supported cable networks in the Monday, 11 PM et/pt timeslot among M25-54 (565K) and M18-49 (562K).

In the third season of RIVER MONSTERS, extreme angler and biologist Jeremy Wade is back on the hunt for legendary, flesh-eating freshwater fish. Wade's international excursions into the dark side of the watery depths mixes action and adventure with incredible mysteries, edge-of-the-seat chases and a battle of wills between man and the nearly supernatural beasts that lurk in the world's serpentine waterways. This season brings Wade to some of the most scenic and feared locations on Earth in search of all-new, mysterious aquatic life. And, like all the best horror movies, the images are intense, immediate, gritty and real.

In FINDING BIGFOOT, four eccentric, passionate members of the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) sweep through Southern small towns and remote areas of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska in search of the elusive "creature" known as Bigfoot or the Sasquatch. The foursome engage in the ultimate sleuth, trying to prove that Bigfoot really does exist and is alive and well in the United States! FINDING BIGFOOT airs Sundays at 10 PM, beginning June 5, at 10 PM.

RIVER MONSTERS is produced for Animal Planet by Icon Films. Harry and Laura Marshall are the executive producers for Icon Films, and Lisa Lucas is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Charlie Foley is vice president of development for Animal Planet.

FINDING BIGFOOT is produced for Animal Planet by Ping Pong Productions. Keith Hoffman is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Brad Kuhlman and Casey Brumels are the executive producers for Ping Pong Productions. Marc Etkind is Vice President of development for Animal Planet.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 97 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.

*Excluding movies and sports