Discovery Plus (stylized by the company as discovery+) launched nearly two years ago in the U.S. with hundreds of hours of original and library content from Warner Bros. Discovery's portfolio of networks, including Food Network, TLC, ID, OWN, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Magnolia Network, and most recently CNN.
The streaming offering faces stiff competition from behemoths Disney Plus, Netflix, Hulu, among others. But Discovery hopes that its nonfiction content will set it apart.
“Our ambition is simple: bring consumers the definitive and most complete destination for real life entertainment at a price point that makes this the perfect companion for every household's streaming and TV portfolio,” Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav said in a statement. “There is nothing like it in the market today. We launch with significant advantages, including the world’s greatest collection of nonfiction brands and content, built over more than 30 years across popular and enduring verticals, as well as powerful partnerships with leading distributors and platforms.”
Discovery Plus is available in the U.S. for $4.99 a month. Subs can shell out $6.99 a month for an ad-free version. Not sure if you want to pay for another service? Discovery is offering a free seven-day trial.
Accounts include up to five user profiles and up to four concurrent streams.
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Where can I stream Discovery Plus?
Unlike some of the other streamers (it took HBO Max more than six months to ink a deal with Roku), Discovery Plus launched with support from all major OTT platforms and devices.
Supported platforms include Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Microsoft Xbox One, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, Vizio SmartCast, LG Smart TVs, and Cox Contour TV and streaming.
Discovery has also partnered with Verizon Communications in the U.S., Sky in the U.K. and Ireland, and Vodafone in Europe. (Vodafone subs in the U.K. who pay monthly get the platform for free for six months.)
New Verizon Fios Home Internet or 5G Home customers will get a year of ad-free Discovery Plus. New and existing customers with Play More or Get More Unlimited plans will also get a year of Discovery Plus while Start or Do More Unlimited plan customers will get six months.
The multiyear Vodafone deal will give Vodafone TV and mobile customers in 12 European markets access to Discovery Plus. The markets include Vodafone subs in the U.K., Germany, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and Iceland.
What content will I be able to watch?
Discovery Plus boasts a bevy of original content (more than 150 hours to be exact).
Subs can watch more than 50 exclusive series, including 90 Day Bares All, American Detective with Lt. Joe Kenda, Amityville Horror House, Amy Schumer Learns to Cook: Uncensored, BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, Bobby and Giada in Italy, Dr. Pimple Popper: This is Zit, Frozen in Time, HGTV’s House Party, Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines, Mysterious Planet and Super Dad. New episodes of Jesse James’s Monster Garage will also stream on the service.
Magnolia Network has also launched on Discovery Plus — and the Magnolia app — as of July 15, adding more than 150 hours of content to the platform. The linear version of Magnolia took over DIY Network in January 2022. Magnolia Network shows officially premiering on Discovery Plus July 15 include Fixer Upper: Welcome Home, Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines, Homegrown, Family Dinner and First Time Fixer, said network officials.
“From the beginning, our aim for Magnolia Network has been to tell good stories,” said Chip and Joanna Gaines in a statement. “And while our plan has evolved along the way, our original vision for this network has remained the same: to create a space where people leave feeling like it was time well spent.”
What does the merger of parent Discovery with WarnerMedia mean?
In April, AT&T and Discovery Inc. completed their transaction to merge AT&T‘s WarnerMedia assets with Discovery. The new company, which has been touted as a “TV and streaming giant,” is called Warner Bros. Discovery.
WarnerMedia‘s assets include HBO and streaming service HBO Max. Those assets, along with Discovery‘s portfolio of networks and Discovery Plus, put the new company in a better position to compete with streaming juggernauts Netflix and Disney Plus.
Initially, it was unclear what the fates of Discovery Plus and HBO Max would be after the merger. But, during an investment conference in March, Discovery chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company plans to combine the products into one “blowout DTC product.”
“Right out of the gate, we’re working on getting the bundling approach ready,” Wiedenfels said during the Deutsche Bank Annual Media, Internet & Telecom investor event. “But the main thrust is going to be harmonizing the technology platforms, building one very strong combined direct-to-consumer product and platform, and that’s going to take a while.”
WBD said in November that the combined DTC product will launch in spring 2023, earlier than originally planned.
One other goal the combined company has is to reach 130 global million DTC subs.
The company has a ways to go, though. During its most recent earnings call, WBD said Discovery Plus and HBO Max jointly added 2.8 million customers, bringing its combined total tally to 94.9 million paid users. ■
