discovery+ Set for U.K., Ireland Launch

Discovery UK is rebranding its dplay service as discovery+ next month, delivering content from the company’s pay-TV and free-TV brands, and has aligned with Sky as the exclusive launch partner.

The platform will be directly available to all consumers in the U.K. and Ireland, and to Sky Q customers for 12 months at no additional cost. It will deliver content across the categories of food, homes, motoring, adventure, weddings, true crime and more, with content from Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, ID, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery History, as well as Quest, Really, Quest Red, HGTV, Food Network and DMAX. The service includes a subscription Entertainment Pass and an ad-funded catch-up service. The Entertainment Pass delivers live TV and 30-day catch up for Discovery UK’s portfolio of premium brands; over 30 discovery+ originals like Prince Andrew, Maxwell & Epstein, Faking It: Jimmy Savile and Salvage Hunters: Design Classics with new launches every month; early releases of hit network titles; extensive box sets of franchises such as Gold Rush and 90 Day Fiancé with same-day release as the U.S.; and “Superfan Collections” around key talent or core genres. The ad-funded service includes live TV and 30-day catch up for Discovery’s free-to-air brands.

The service is priced at £4.99 a month or £29.99 a year (for a limited period). The standard price is £49.99 in the U.K., or a monthly fee of €5.99 or a discounted annual fee of €34.99 (for a limited period). In Ireland, the standard price is €59.99, with a 14-day free trial in both markets. Sky Q customers will be able to access discovery+ for 12 months at no extra cost and the app will complement Discovery’s existing linear offering on Sky.

James Gibbons, EVP and general manager for the U.K. and Nordics at Discovery, said: “We’ve just celebrated our best quarter ever for audience share, and buoyed by that success are excited to announce the launch of discovery+, to fuel the rapidly evolving demand for consumers to stream content at a time and on a device of their choosing. The home of real-life entertainment will satisfy consumers’ growing appetite for premium unscripted entertainment, from food and homes to motoring and adventure, and will complement the streaming services already available in the market. We’re particularly pleased to share this milestone moment with our long-standing partner Sky, who has been with us every step of the way in our quest to reach fans of real-life entertainment wherever they are in the U.K.”