Discovery Inc. has inked a partnership agreement with Hulu that will bring live and on-demand content from five of its networks to the streaming video services. This deal, coupled with the three Discovery channels already providing content to the streaming service – HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel – make Discovery Hulu’s largest content provider outside of its equity owners.
The multi-year agreement increases Hulu’s offering of top Discovery programming to nearly 4,000 episodes of shows including Deadliest Catch, MythBusters, Naked and Afraid, Say Yes to the Dress, Property Brothers, Gold Rush, Street Outlaws, Chopped, Chopped Jr., Fixer Upper, House Hunters and House Hunters International, available outside of Discovery’s networks exclusively to Hulu across all of its subscription plans.
The deal also brings the five Discovery networks – Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Motor Trend, Velocity and Animal Planet – to Hulu’s live TV service, Hulu Live. They join HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel, which have been available on the service since its launch through a previous agreement with Scripps Networks Interactive, now owned by Discovery. The five additional channels will be available to stream live beginning in December.
“At Discovery, we are committed to bringing our portfolio of high-quality, safe family friendly brands and content to viewers across every screen, service and device around the world,” said Discovery president of affiliate distribution Eric Phillips in a statement. “Our new agreement with Hulu affirms the strength of our brands and their value to viewers in a marketplace with an increasing array of options.”
Concurrent with the Discovery partnership deal, Hulu also reached a licensing agreement with Discovery’s OWN network to bring four scripted series – Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots, If Loving You is Wrong, The Paynes and Love Thy Neighbor – exclusively to Hulu. They join the complete library of OWN series Queen Sugar from Ava DuVernay and Warner Horizon.
“As the only streaming service offering a complete television experience, Hulu continues to strike strategic, efficient deals with top brands that bring extraordinary value to all of our subscribers,” said Hulu’s vice president of content acquisition Lisa Holme and vice president of network partnerships Reagan Feeney in a joint statement. “Discovery’s brand is synonymous with high-quality unscripted entertainment that TV fans love, which is why we are excited to bring their entire portfolio to our platform, across all of our subscription plans.”
Hulu launched Hulu Live TV in May 2017. The streaming service is owned by The Walt Disney Co. (30%); 21 Century Fox (30%); Comcast’s NBC Universal, (30%); and AT&T (10%). After Disney completes its purchase of certain Fox assets – expected in the first quarter of 2019 --Disney will control 60% of the streaming service.
