Root: Discovery clear on its purpose

In a speech midway through a festival consumed by debate over the meaning and relevance of public service broadcasting in a mature multichannel market, Discovery Channel president Jane Root said that the broadcaster has a clear idea of its ethos: "Smart is sexy."

Referring to Jeremy Paxman's MacTaggart lecture last night, in which the veteran broadcaster argued that television had to define what it was for, Root said:

"At Discovery we know exactly why we're here... both in the US and throughout the world we're about knowledge. Smart is sexy: our big idea.

"It's the core of our brand and the mission of the entire company. And we're spending many, many millions on clever, exciting, immersive programmes."

Root drew a distinction between being "brainy" and "elitist".

"Not 'voice of god', educational. Not siting in a classroom with little chairs. Replace that with exuberant, astonishing, wide-eyed wonder."

She added: "People love it. In the US our ratings were up 21% last year. This year so far we're up another 11%, and I'm sure it will end higher. It's just lovely to work somewhere wehere our viewers are purely and simply passionate about the brand, in an affectionate, good humoured sort of way.

"I have to tell you that's a major relief after years of working at the BBC, where licence fee payers are grumpy even when you do great."

Root noted that Discovery has an average audience age of 37 - essential for the commercial broadcaster - compared to average ages of 43 at Channel 4, 53 at BBC One, and 54 at BBC Two. She described Discovery's audience as "the Insatiables" - viewers who "want knowledge because it makes them feel alive, feel connected, feel sexy."

Root did, however, say that despite Discovery's success in the US, Americans remain "envious" of "British talent and creativity". She said that observing the UK from the other side of the pond, it was possible to see "a brilliantly creative culture" - one that should "cut the endless debate about how crap everything is and get on with it."