Discovery Channel purchases Revision3 for ‘roughly $30 million’

The Discovery Channel has expanded beyond its cable TV roots today and purchased Revision3, an internet video network that produces shows like Tekzilla and Epic Meal Time. The New York Times’ Brian Stelter, who first reported on the acquisition, says that the cable network is paying “roughly $30 million” for Revision3, citing an anonymous source. According to AllThingsD, Revision3 will retain its approximately 50 employees and will continue to work at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.

The move marks the cable network’s first major play into the expanding web television market — a field that’s seen a large investment from Google with its relatively-new YouTube original content channels. In a press release, Discovery says that its “mission to ignite viewers’ curiosity and its history of pioneering new platforms - from cable to HD to 3D - make it the logical leader in this explosive new wave of digital video growth.” Web content will certainly separate itself from Discovery’s traditional broadcasting: the company’s Chief Digital Officer JB Perrette told AllThingsD that “We produce content on a $500,000 to $750,000-an-hour scale... Producing something at a tenth of that cost means it has to be very different.”