{"id":15470,"date":"2020-12-09T08:00:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T13:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2020-12-10T09:03:15","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T14:03:15","slug":"inside-discoverys-streaming-bet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/inside-discoverys-streaming-bet\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Discovery\u2019s Streaming Bet"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a presentation last week, senior execs from Discovery, Inc. unveiled the new discovery+ platform, which is set to launch January 4.<\/em><\/p>\n

Last week, senior management at Discovery, Inc., including David Zaslav, president and CEO, and JB Perrette, president and CEO of Discovery International, lifted the lid on the company\u2019s upcoming streaming platform. Set for launch January 4, discovery+ is being positioned as the definitive subscription streaming service for real-life entertainment, delivering content from across the Discovery portfolio of brands, select acquisitions and a raft of originals in the verticals of lifestyle and relationships; home and food; true crime; paranormal; adventure and natural history; and science, tech and the environment.<\/p>\n

Unveiling the service in a 90-minute presentation that included appearances from an array of Discovery\u2019s key personalities\u2014among them Chip and Joanna Gaines, Bobby Flay, Giada\u00a0De\u00a0Laurentiis, Mike Rowe and Guy Fieri\u2014Zaslav called the new platform \u201cthe most distinct, clear and unique streaming service in the world,\u201d with a January launch \u201cthat harnesses the marketing power of our networks, platforms and the reach we have across the entire world. All of our touchpoints can push people to discovery+, whether it\u2019s through franchise extensions, community building around our stars and genres, behind-the-scenes content and so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stable of beloved personalities that front shows across the Discovery portfolio \u201cis one of our biggest strategic advantages,\u201d Zaslav said. \u201cWe have always believed that great IP that we own globally in every language, great brands, great talent and a wealth of entertainment and sports content around the world sets us apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The platform will launch in the U.S. with a partnership with Verizon in place; the telco\u2019s customers on select plans will get 12 months of free access to discovery+. At launch, the platform will feature more than 55,000 episodes from Discovery\u2019s own brands, the BBC\u2019s natural-history slate and A+E Networks, as well as 50-plus original series. \u201cFor the last two years, we have been quietly and aggressively producing and acquiring a vast amount of content just for discovery+, in every language,\u201d Zaslav said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been hard at work with our favorite producers and new producers, award-winning storytellers and our vast cast of authentic personalities to create original and exclusive stories for discovery+.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting that the streaming landscape in the U.S. and globally remains crowded, Zaslav said Discovery sees a \u201ccompelling white space to offer consumers everywhere a broad and unique unscripted streaming product. It will be a perfect complement to every household\u2019s streaming portfolio. It will be additive to the market, everywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discovery plans to bring discovery+ to more than 25 countries over the next year and has already secured deals with Telecom Italia and Sky in the U.K. The platform will be the streaming home of the Olympics in Europe, Zaslav noted.<\/p>\n

Perrette said that the global reach of Discovery\u2019s channels will be hugely beneficial as it embarks on its direct-to-consumer push. \u201cDiscovery pioneered what it means to be a truly global media company,\u201d Perrette stated. \u201cOur footprint extends to over 200 countries and territories. We are distributed in more than 50 languages, and we reach more than 800 million global viewers every month. With 80 percent awareness, Discovery is at the very top, right alongside Disney, as one of the world\u2019s most recognizable and admired media brands.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pandemic has further proven the appeal of Discovery\u2019s content, Perrette added. \u201cIn these challenging times, people are gravitating to content that is comforting, centered around areas they love most, and that gives them and their families joy. That\u2019s in part why our international audiences are at all-time record highs in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perrette stressed the importance of Discovery\u2019s on-the-ground presence as it embarks on the discovery+ launch plans. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned over the last three decades that in order to scale, and not just skim, it requires going deep with local faces and local stories. That is a key pillar of the Discovery difference. No streaming service will bring the full world of real-life entertainment to you like discovery+.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pricing internationally will mostly be in line with the U.S. model\u2014ad-supported for $4.99 a month, ad-free for $6.99 a month. However, Perrette explained, \u201cto maximize scale and economics, it\u2019s best not to take a one-size-fits-all approach. So outside the U.S., discovery+ consumer packages will vary by market. Only ad-free subscription in some, both ad-lite and ad-free in others, and in a few markets, particularly where we have free-to-air networks, a small ad-supported free tier.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll adapt to local market dynamics as we launch in LatAm and Asia,\u201d he continued. \u201cMarkets with a sports offering will have additional pricing and packaging options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perrette said that he and his team have been laying the groundwork for the discovery+ launch internationally over the last few months by \u201cexpanding our partnerships with some of our biggest and most important international distributors in many key growth markets. We have methodically secured strong long-term value for our core TV portfolio, while also partnering on our direct-to-consumer future, striking this balance between preserving and extending the economics of our traditional business, and growing our next-generation business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The presentation also saw Lisa Holme, group senior VP of content and commercial strategy, teasing some of the upcoming originals, which includes a slate of 90 Day<\/em> extensions, Bobby and Giada in Italy<\/em>, American Detective with Lt. Joe Kenda<\/em>, Mysterious Planet<\/em>, Six Degrees with Mike Rowe<\/em> and P.S., Burn This Letter Please<\/em>.<\/p>\n

CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels closed out the presentation by noting the potential of the new service amid headwinds in the pay-TV space. He said the Discovery-Scripps transaction two years ago laid the foundation for the company to be better positioned for this direct-to-consumer pivot. \u201cWe believe [discovery+] will appeal to not only the growing broadband-only universe, which we currently do not reach, but also to many current subscribers to our linear channels that desire an even deeper level of engagement with these beloved brands and personalities\u2014or simply an ad-free viewing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The potential market for the service in the U.S. is 70 million homes, Wiedenfels said. Internationally the potential market is more than 400 million households.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senior execs from Discovery, Inc. unveiled the new discovery+ platform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":15471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[5219,82,5259,4742],"class_list":["post-15470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-david-zaslav","tag-discovery","tag-jb-perrette","tag-lisa-holme","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nInside Discovery\u2019s Streaming Bet - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/inside-discoverys-streaming-bet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inside Discovery\u2019s Streaming Bet - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Senior execs from Discovery, Inc. unveiled the new discovery+ platform.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/inside-discoverys-streaming-bet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-09T13:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T14:03:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/Discovery-plus-logo-1220.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"386\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/inside-discoverys-streaming-bet\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/inside-discoverys-streaming-bet\/\",\"name\":\"Inside Discovery\u2019s Streaming Bet - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-09T13:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-10T14:03:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/inside-discoverys-streaming-bet\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/inside-discoverys-streaming-bet\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/inside-discoverys-streaming-bet\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Inside Discovery\u2019s Streaming Bet\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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