He will remain chairman through Discovery's
annual shareholder meeting on May 16, the company said in a
statement.
Hendricks created the Discovery Channel, which was launched in
1985 to offer documentary programming. He served as chief
executive of Discovery Communications until he stepped down from
that role in 2004.
Discovery now operates more than 190 worldwide television
networks including the Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet.
"For over three decades now, I have somewhat envied the legions
of documentarians that we have employed who have traveled the
world to bring great stories and experiences to our viewers,"
Hendricks said in a letter to the board. "It is now finally time
for me to go exploring!"
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; editing by Bernard Orr)
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