The Global Television Outstanding Achievement Award will be presented to Discovery Communications at the 22nd Banff Television Festival, June 10-15.

The prize is emblematic of innovation and program excellence.

Discovery Communications grew out of Discovery Channel, first launched in 1985, into a multi-platform global enterprise with 33 networks serving more than 453 million subscribers worldwide.

The winner of the award is selected annually by the Banff festival’s board of governors, an international advisory council made up of such senior industry execs as John Cassaday, president and ceo of Corus Entertainment; Whitney Goit ii, executive vp of A&E Networks; Ivan Fecan, president and ceo of Bell Globemedia; and Jerome Clement, president of ARTE France.

The announcement was made at the RealScreen Summit in Washington, d.c. earlier this month. *

-www.banfftvfest.com