DISCOVERY ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEW STREAMING SERVICE

Discovery is entering the ever more crowded “streaming wars” as it announced the launch of its new SVOD platform, Discovery+, on January 4, 2021. The service will include a $4.99 per month ad-supported tier and a $6.99 per month ad-free tier, CNBC reported. The lower $4.99 tier costs the same as NBCUniversal-owned Peacock’s premium tier with ads, while the ad-free $6.99 tier is on par with what Disney+ costs. Both offerings are much less expensive than WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, which costs $14.99 a month, and Netflix, which raised its standard plan to $13.99 a month in October.

Furthermore, Discovery announced that it is partnering with Verizon, which will give 55 million customers up to 12 months of the ad-free Discovery+ plan for free, depending on their wireless plan with the carrier. The company owns networks like the Discovery Channel, home improvement channel HGTV, and Food Network, among others. Discovery+ is also adding content from A&E, the History Channel, and Lifetime in a new partnership. According to the group, Discovery+ will launch with the most content of any new streaming service: 55,000 episodes from 2,500 shows.

The service is already being rolled out internationally in territories including the United Kingdom, Ireland, and India, and will be available in the Nordics, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Latin America, Brazil, and in parts of Asia. In Europe, Discovery+ will be the home to the Olympics, beginning with next summer’s Tokyo Games, through the company’s ownership of Eurosport. Along with the Olympics, European customers will also have access to tennis Grand Slams, cycling Grand Tours, motorsport, football, and winter sports.

“We have been working methodically the past two years to bring all of our strategic advantages to the launch of Discovery+, including distribution and advertising partnerships around the world, a world-class offering of quality brands, authentic personalities, and the largest content library at launch, as well as a broad slate of exclusive programming,”  said David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications.

“With Discovery+, we are seizing the global opportunity to be the world’s definitive product for unscripted storytelling, providing households and mobile consumers a distinct, clear and differentiated offering across valuable and enduring lifestyle, and real-life verticals. We believe Discovery+ is the perfect complement to every streaming portfolio, and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Verizon to bring this incredible content to their customer base,”  he added.