Discovery UK unveils SVoD

Discovery has confirmed the launch of its UK unscripted SVoD, Discovery+, which will be priced at £4.99 per month and has tied with Sky on distribution. 

Earlier this year Broadcast revealed that Discovery was prepping its “real-life entertainment” streamer, driven by the success of ad-supported service dplay.

The move will see the AVoD subsumed under the discovery+ banner, which will add a subscription tier and will aggregate Discovery UK’s premium pay-TV and free-to-air brands alongside originals.

Accessible via web or app purchase, Discovery+ will cost £4.99 per month in the UK or £29.99 for a limited-period annual fee, following a 14-day trial. The standard annual price will be £49.99. In Ireland, the price will be €5.99 (£5.45) per month or €59.99 (£54.70) a year, with a similarly discounted price of €34.99 (£31.90), for a limited time.

Following a distribution deal agreed with Sky, Discovery+ will be available to Sky Q customers in the UK & Ireland for 12 months at no extra cost.

Once the 12 months is over, Sky customers will be able to add Discovery+ directly to their Sky bill, and the app will be fully integrated into the Sky Q platform alongside existing streamers such as Netflix and Disney+. Discovery+ will be rolled out on additional devices and platforms in 2020 and 2021.

The subscription tier includes live TV and 30-day catch-up for Discovery UK’s portfolio of 13 pay and free-TV brands: Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, ID, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery History, Quest, Really, Quest Red, HGTV, Food Network and DMAX.

Subscribers will also have access to 30 Discovery+ originals such as Prince Andrew, Maxwell & Epstein, Faking It: Jimmy Savile and Salvage Hunters: Design Classics alongside monthly originals launches, early releases of network titles including World’s Greatest Cars and Ghost Adventures, and boxsets of popular franchises such as Gold Rush and 90 Day Fiancé with same day release as the US. Tailored programming collections featuring key talent or genres, will also be available.

For the AVoD tier, audiences will have access to live TV and 30-day catch-up for Discovery’s free-to-air brands.

Targeted commissioning

Speaking to Broadcast in July, James Gibbons, executive vice-president, general manager of UK and Nordics, said the platform would “require some targeted commissioning”, adding that programming on Discovery’s linear channels and dplay will help inform commissioning.