Discovery+
Logo for the Discovery+ service.
Logo used since 2021
Screenshot
Discovery+ homepage on January 4, 2021
Type of site
OTT streaming platform
Available in11 languages
List of languages
FoundedMarch 23, 2020 (2020-03-23)
Predecessor(s)
List
Country of originUnited States
Area servedUnited States, Canada, Brazil, and parts of Asia-Pacific and Europe (see full list of countries)
OwnerDiscovery, Inc. (2020–2022)
Warner Bros. Discovery (2022–present)
Key peopleDavid Zaslav (President & CEO; Warner Bros. Discovery)
Industry
Products
Services
  • Film production
  • Film distribution
  • Television production
  • Television distribution
ParentWarner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming
URLwww.discoveryplus.com
RegistrationRequired/Free (content varies in most countries)
UsersIncrease 24 million (as of March 31, 2022)
LaunchedJanuary 4, 2021 (2021-01-04)
Current statusActive

Discovery+ (pronounced "Discovery Plus"; stylized as discovery+) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).[1] The service focuses on factual programming drawn from the libraries of Discovery's main channel brands, as well as original series (including spin-offs of programs from Discovery's television networks), and other acquired content.

It was first launched in India on March 23, 2020. It launched in the United States on January 4, 2021, and replaced Discovery's Dplay and Eurosport Player services in Europe the next day. As of April 1, 2022, Discovery+ has 24 million subscribers.[2]

Discovery+ became a sister service to WarnerMedia's HBO Max following their merger in April 2022. HBO Max was relaunched as Max the following year, adding Discovery content to its library. While WBD originally planned to discontinue Discovery+ in favor of Max, the company elected to continue offering Discovery+ because it was still profitable.[3]

History

Discovery first launched Discovery+ in India on March 23, 2020, and included content from Discovery's various brands.[4] In September of the same year, Discovery announced plans to launch an international version of Discovery+ in early 2021.[5]

In October 2020, it was announced that Dplay would be renamed Discovery+ in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the following month.[6][7]

On January 4, 2021, Discovery+ launched in the U.S. with both a paid ad-supported plan and an ad-free plan.[8][9] On January 5, 2021, Discovery+ launched in eight European territories, subsuming Dplay and the Eurosport Player services.[10][11][12][13][14]

In an earnings call on November 3, 2021, president and CEO of Discovery Streaming and International JB Perrette discussed potential options for the service following the then-proposed spin-off and merger of WarnerMedia into Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery. These involved a bundling and/or eventual merger of Discovery+ with WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max, and offering such a merged service in markets where Discovery+ has yet to launch, such as other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.[15] On March 14, 2022, after Discovery shareholders approved the merger, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels stated that the merged company planned to pursue a merger of HBO Max with Discovery+ as a long-term goal, following the process proposed by Perrette earlier.[16] Following the merger, selected Discovery library programs had begun to appear on HBO Max.[17]

In August 2022, Perrette announced that a merged service would launch in the United States "next summer", if not sooner, followed by Latin America in late-2023, HBO Max's European markets in early-2024, and additional Asia-Pacific and European markets. Perrette stated that HBO Max and Discovery+ had complimentary scopes targeting "appointment viewing" and "comfort viewing" respectively, and thus described the unified service as being "an unprecedented combination in an already crowded market."[18] In November 2022, it was announced that the new service would now launch in spring 2023.[19][20] In early-December 2022, it was reported by CNBC via inside sources that the unified platform was being developed under the codename "BEAM", and that multiple names were being considered—including simply "Max".[21][22]

In February 2023, Zaslav stated during an earnings call that WBD no longer planned to shut down Discovery+ in favor of the merged service, due to its profitability and low churn. He explained that its customers were "very happy with the product offering", and asked, "why would we shut that off?".[17] The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier in the month that WBD had planned to continue operating Discovery+ in conjunction with the new service, which was expected to have a higher price than HBO Max, and would feature "most", but not all, of the content of Discovery+.[23] Max was officially unveiled on April 12, 2023, for a U.S. launch on May 23.[24] In contrast to WBD's plans to keep Discovery+ operational in at least the United States, Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific announced in March 2023 that Discovery+ would be discontinued in the Philippines on April 27, 2023, in favor of the local HBO Go service; WBD had announced an Asia-Pacific launch for Max in fall 2024.[25][26][27]

Programming

Original programming

Original programming carried by Discovery+ includes spin-offs of programs from Warner Bros. Discovery's networks.

Content library

The library of Discovery+ is drawn primarily from the original programming of Warner Bros. Discovery's channel brands, including but not limited to Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Travel Channel, Magnolia Network, HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery, CNN, and other international brands where applicable such as Asian Food Network.

In the U.S., Discovery+ has also licensed non-scripted programming from A&E Networks—including A&E, History, and Lifetime programs[28]—and NBCUniversal Global Distribution—including American Ninja Warrior, The Biggest Loser, Flipping Out, Queer Eye, The Real Housewives of Melbourne, Cheshire, Johannesburg, Top Chef Canada (which is produced for the Canadian version of Food Network), and WAGS.[29]

On August 4, 2022, WBD announced that a CNN content hub featuring a selection of its original series and documentaries would be added to the service. CNN had attempted to launch a streaming service, CNN+, during the lead-up to the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger, but it was discontinued by Perrette and new CNN head Chris Licht only a month after its launch due to its conflicts with the merged company's OTT strategy.[30]

Sports

In selected European territories, Discovery+ offers sports content via Warner Bros. Discovery's Eurosport and TNT Sports networks, subsuming Eurosport's previous streaming platform Eurosport Player.[31][32] The service began to subsume GolfTV following its December 2022 shutdown.[33]

Also, in September 2023, BT Group and Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the BT Sport app and web player would close on October 12, 2023, making Discovery+ the new streaming home for TNT Sports.[34][35]

Device support and service features

Discovery+ is available through traditional Windows/macOS web browsers, the major digital media player platforms (such as Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast), Android TV, Xbox One/Series X/S gaming consoles, and through Android and iOS apps.[36]

Launch

  Available
  Former operations
  Available as content hub
  Confirmed launch
Launch rollout timeline
Release date Country/Territory Release partner(s)
March 23, 2020 India None
October 10, 2020 United Kingdom BT Group[37][38]
Ireland None
December 2020 Armenia MEGOGO[39]
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Lithuania
Moldova
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
January 4, 2021 United States Verizon
January 5, 2021 Denmark Ex-Dplay
Finland
Netherlands
Italy
Norway
Spain
Sweden
Poland player.pl[40]
May 5, 2021[41] Turkey BluTV
May 20, 2021 Estonia Go3[42]
Latvia
Lithuania
June 18, 2021 Latvia MEGOGO[43]
October 13, 2021[44] Philippines[lower-alpha 1] Globe[45]
October 19, 2021[46] Canada Corus Entertainment
November 9, 2021[47][48] Brazil Globoplay
Claro
June 28, 2022[49] Austria Sky
Germany
September 14, 2022[50] Israel yes
Sting TV
Early 2024 Czech Republic Vodafone
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Portugal
Romania
Mid-2024 Bahrain Lionsgate+[51][52][53]
Kuwait
Saudi Arabia
North Africa

In October 2021, Discovery announced that Discovery+ would launch in Canada on October 19. Corus Entertainment (which is the Canadian licensee for most of Discovery's lifestyle brands) is a marketing partner for the service, and has promoted Discovery+ via its television networks, digital platforms, and radio. Discovery stated that over a thousand episodes of programming would be available with French-language subtitles at launch.[54][55]

It is planned that Discovery+ will be available on Sky Glass, Sky Q and Sky X in Austria and Germany and to Vodafone customers in Romania, Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary and Iceland by mid-2022.[56][57]

In May 2022, it was announced that BT Group would become a distribution partner for the service in the UK, as part of a planned joint venture between Eurosport and BT Sport.[37][38][58]

In August, Brazilian website vcfaz.tv has said that Discovery+ will launch in Brazil on September 1, but Discovery has denied this.[59] It was then confirmed by Discovery that Discovery+'s launch date in Brazil would be November 9, 2021.[47][48]

Criticism

There was criticism of the service at launch by some viewers of the networks and industry analysts, especially concerns that existing Discovery programming is being taken away from cable and satellite viewers and is being placed behind an additional paywall that may be inaccessible to viewers without robust broadband plans, or are in rural areas with little access to broadband, which in turn may imperil future carriage of those channels by Discovery's provider partners.[60][61] Other viewers have criticized Discovery's bait-and-switch tactics in forcing them to sign up for Discovery+ to have the 'full experience' of a series, as is being done for various Discovery+ spin-offs of 90 Day Fiancé, along with obtrusive Discovery+ advertising throughout the broadcast day (including a lower third sized banner in the top-right corner during actual programming) of many Discovery networks.[61][62]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Discontinued on April 27, 2023, and will be replaced by Max in late-2024.

References

  1. ↑ "Warner Bros. Discovery". Warner Bros. Discovery. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Discovery+ Reached 24 Million Subscribers Before Merger with Warner Bros". Cord Cutters News. April 26, 2022. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  3. ↑ Spangler, Todd (April 12, 2023). "HBO Max to Be Renamed 'Max' With Addition of Discovery+ Content, Launch Date and Pricing Revealed". Variety. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Discovery Plus App Debuts With Content 'Curated Specifically for India'". NDTV Gadgets 360. March 16, 2020. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ "'This is for cord cutters': Discovery aims to launch Discovery+ streaming service in early 2021". Digiday. September 21, 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  6. ↑ "discovery+". Discovery+. Denmark. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  7. ↑ Kanter, Jake (October 20, 2020). "Discovery UK Rebrands Streamer Dplay As Discovery+ & Adds Subscription Tier". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  8. ↑ Alexander, Julia (December 2, 2020). "Discovery, home of Shark Week, HGTV, and Food Network, enters the streaming wars with Discovery Plus". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  9. ↑ Hayes, Dade (December 2, 2020). "Discovery Reveals Streaming Rollout Plan For Discovery+, With Verizon Deal In Place For January U.S. Launch". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  10. ↑ Linares, Iván (January 5, 2021). "La app de Dplay cambia a Discovery+ y pasa de ser gratuita a ofrecer contenido 'premium'". Xataka Móvil (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Dplay va in pensione: Discovery+ disponibile in Italia". D-Day (in Italian). Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Dit moet je weten over streamingdienst Discovery Plus". Android Planet (in Dutch). Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  13. ↑ Breinstrup, Thomas (January 5, 2021). "Streamingtjenesten Dplay skifter navn". Berlingske (in Danish). Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Discovery+ als online streamingdienst in Nederland begonnen". Totaal TV (in Dutch). Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  15. ↑ Bunson, Ben (November 3, 2021). "Discovery+, HBO Max may bundle before combining after merger". FierceVideo. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  16. ↑ Maas, Jennifer (March 14, 2022). "HBO Max and Discovery Plus Will Be Combined Into One Platform". Variety. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  17. 1 2 Hayes, Dade (February 23, 2023). "Discovery+ Economics Justify Continuing It As A Stand-Alone Streamer After Launch Of Merged HBO Max Offering, WBD CEO David Zaslav Says: "Why Would We Shut That Off?"". Deadline. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  18. ↑ White, Peter (August 4, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery: HBO Max & Discovery+ Combined Streamer To Launch In U.S. In Summer 2023". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  19. ↑ White, Peter (November 3, 2022). "HBO Max & Discovery+ Combo Service Launch Date Moved Up". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  20. ↑ Forristal, Lauren (November 4, 2022). "Combined HBO Max/Discovery+ service gets an earlier launch date, price hike is to be expected". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  21. ↑ Rizzo, Alex Sherman,Lillian (December 5, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery closes in on 'Max' as the name of its combined HBO Max-Discovery+ streaming service". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ Spangler, Todd (December 5, 2022). "'Max' Could Be the Name of Merged HBO Max/Discovery+ Service". Variety. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  23. ↑ Toonkel, Jessica; Flint, Joe (February 8, 2023). "Warner Bros. Discovery to Keep Discovery+, in Strategy Shift". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  24. ↑ Spangler, Todd (April 12, 2023). "HBO Max to Be Renamed 'Max' With Addition of Discovery+ Content". Variety. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  25. ↑ Malasig, Jeline (March 23, 2023). "Documentary fans mourn pending closure of discovery+ PH". Interaksyon. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Discovery+ to cease operation in the Philippines on April 27". GMA News Online. March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  27. ↑ Maas, Jennifer (April 12, 2023). "Warner Bros. Discovery Unveils 'Max': Everything Revealed at Combined HBO Max-Discovery+ Streaming Presentation". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  28. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (December 9, 2020). "Rivals Discovery and A+E Networks Forge Streaming Alliance". Variety. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  29. ↑ "discovery+ Strikes Licensing Deal with NBCUniversal Global Distribution, Expanding Platform's Expansive Nonfiction Content Library" (Press release). Discovery, Inc. January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022 – via The Futon Critic.
  30. ↑ Weprin, Alex (August 4, 2022). "Magnolia Network Shows Go to HBO Max and CNN Originals Go to Discovery+ as Warner Bros. Discovery Keeps Streaming Services Separate, For Now". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  31. ↑ "'Discovery+ will change Eurosport's rights acquisition strategy', says Andrew Georgiou". SportsPro. December 3, 2020. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Discovery and YouTube in Olympics content partnership; Seven-Twitter alliance". Sportcal. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  33. ↑ Fry, Andy (November 14, 2022). "Golf TV in the bunker as WBD dispenses with another niche streamer". Digital TV Europe. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  34. ↑ "The BT Sport app is closing on 12th October". community.bt.com. August 30, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  35. ↑ "The BT Sport app is closing on 12th October". EE Community. August 30, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  36. ↑ Otterson, Joe (January 4, 2021). "Discovery Plus Launches on Multiple Platforms, Including Roku and Amazon Fire TV". Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  37. 1 2 Frater, Patrick (May 12, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery and BT to Launch Sports Venture in U.K. and Ireland". Variety. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  38. 1 2 "BT and Warner Bros Discovery join forces to create pay-TV sport business". the Guardian. May 12, 2022. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  39. ↑ "Discovery teams up with Megogo". November 11, 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  40. ↑ "Discovery+ launches in Poland". December 8, 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  41. ↑ "Stratejik ortağımız discovery+'ın içerikleriyle platformumuz büyümeye devam ediyor! discovery+ 5 Mayıs'ta BluTV'de! (Our platform continues to grow with the contents of our strategic partner discovery+! discovery+ is on BluTV on May 5th!)". Twitter. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  42. ↑ "discovery+ launches in the Baltics". May 20, 2021. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  43. ↑ "discovery+ launches in latvia". June 18, 2021. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  44. ↑ Reyes, Shiela (October 13, 2021). "Streaming service discovery+ is now in PH". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  45. ↑ Frater, Patrick (September 1, 2021). "Discovery Plus Launching in The Philippines". Variety. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  46. ↑ Szalai, Georg (October 12, 2021). "Discovery+ to Launch in Canada Next Week". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  47. 1 2 "Discovery+ chega oficialmente ao mercado brasileiro" [Discovery + officially arrives in the Brazilian market]. vcfaz.tv (in Portuguese). November 4, 2021. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  48. 1 2 Easton, Jonathan (November 5, 2021). "discovery+ to launch in Brazil on November 9". Digital TV Europe. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  49. ↑ Kreiger, Jörn (June 22, 2022). "Discovery+ to launch in Germany on June 28". Broadband TV News. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  50. ↑ "discovery+ to launch in Israel". Broadband TV News. September 12, 2022. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  51. ↑ "Discovery Forges Strategic Partnership with Saudi OTT Service Jawwy TV". February 24, 2021. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  52. ↑ "Discovery Eyes Market of 70 Million U.S. Subscribers for Discovery Plus Streaming Service". December 2, 2020. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  53. ↑ "Discovery Plus Launches in the Middle East and North Africa via Starzplay". January 6, 2021. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  54. ↑ Spangler, Todd (October 12, 2021). "Discovery Plus Set to Launch in Canada". Variety. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  55. ↑ Szalai, Georg (October 12, 2021). "Discovery+ to Launch in Canada Next Week". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  56. ↑ Krieger, Jörn (January 25, 2022). "Discovery+ to launch in summer via Sky Deutschland". Broadband TV News. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  57. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (January 4, 2021). "Discovery Plus Set to Debut in 12 European Markets With Vodafone Deal". Variety. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  58. ↑ Metz, Axel (May 12, 2022). "BT Sport subscribers to get major package upgrade completely free of charge". TechRadar. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  59. ↑ "Discovery+ dará 30% de desconto em pré-venda. Saiba a data de estreia do serviço". vcfaz.tv (in Portuguese). August 14, 2021. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021. O grupo Discovery entrou em contato com a redação VCFAZ.TV para informar que, ao contrário do publicado no site oficial, não está confirmada a pré-venda para o período de 17 a 31 de agosto e a estreia no dia 1º de setembro. Novas informações devem ser publicada em breve.
  60. ↑ Swann, Phillip (February 3, 2021). "Discovery+ Stealing Shows: Unfair to Rural Residents?". TV Answer Man. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  61. 1 2 O'Brien, Jennifer (January 5, 2021). "90 Day Fiance: TLC Viewers Are Over Hearing About Discovery Plus". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  62. ↑ Dehnart, Andy (March 11, 2021). "Restaurant Impossible back on Food Network after its move to Discovery+ is reversed". Reality Blurred. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
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