Discovery Inc. on Wednesday evening during a virtual media event announced that it will be launching its new global video streaming service discovery+ in the United States on 4 January 2021 and thereafter worldwide to 25 countries within the next year and commissioned at least 50 original new series exclusive to the service.
With Britain's Sky pay-TV service that already added discovery+ last month where Sky Q subscribers are getting discovery+ free for a year, it's highly likely that MultiChoice in South Africa that recently partnered with Netflix might add discovery+ to its new DStv Explora Ultra decoder as well - perhaps even before The Walt Disney Company Africa rolls out Disney+ or WarnerMedia brings its HBO Max streamer to the continent.
While no mention has been made of Africa or the continent's most developed TV market South Africa, Discovery will start its global rollout of discovery+ in the United Kingdom and Ireland, India, the Nordics, Italy and the Netherlands. That will be followed by Spain, Latin American markets - including a planned launch in Brazil - and in parts of Asia.
discovery+ will cost $4.99 (R76) with ads and $6.99 (R107) per month without commercials although Discovery says the price will differ per territory.
In America, Discovery+ will launch with the largest-ever content library for a new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service with more than 55 000 episodes from Discovery's so-called "passion bouquet" of brands and TV channels. This will include 2 500 current and classic shows from Discovery's portfolio of channels like HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, OWN, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.
The streamer will include more than 1 000 hours of discovery+ original content in its first year. Some of the content will eventually also be shown on Discovery's linear TV channels, but will be handled differently in different countries where discovery+ launches.
Discovery Inc. says that it is still very much committed to its strong existing distribution relationships with pay-TV operators for its set of linear TV channels but is embracing the "next generation" distribution model of direct-to-consumer streaming to find new subscribers - mostly through mobile and broadband internet who haven't yet subscribed to a traditional pay-TV bundle.
As part of new, exclusive discovery+ originals, Discovery Inc. has commissioned content from Chip and Joanna Gaines, David Schwimmer, Will Packer and Kevin Hart, Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis and will be bringing a whole new 90 Days Fiance spin-off series exclusively to its streaming service.
New original content on discovery+ will include shows like the topiary reality competition show Clipped that will have Michael Urie as host and Martha Stewart as lead judge, who together with landscape expert Chris Lambton and landscape designer Fernando Wong will judge how contestants make sculptures out of meticulously trimmed shrubbery and plants and flowers.
"We have been working methodically the past 2 years to bring all of our strategic advantages t the launch of discovery+, including distribution and advertising partnerships around the world, a world-class offering of quality brands, authentic personalities and the largest content library at launch, as well as a broad slate of exclusive programming," said David Zaslav, Discovery Inc. president and CEO.
"With discovery+ we are seizing the global opportunity to be the world's definitive product for unscripted storytelling, providing households and mobile customers a distinct, clear and differentiated offering across valuable and enduring lifestyle, and real-life verticals."
JB Perrette, Discovery International president and CEO, said "Discovery drives inspiration, aspiration and loyalty everywhere, like few media brands can. discovery+ will harness our unique global and local model and strategy to serve fans around the world as we bring the best of real-life entertainment to customers in a whole new way".
Discovery: Pay-TV glue
"We are very important to the traditional pay-TV bundle - the satellite pay-TV distributors have been extremely happy with us because we've been producing the most content during Covid-19 and they're making more money selling us, we're making more money selling us because of the value of our content," David Zaslav said on Wednesday during an investors' call for discovery+.
"We think we're great in the bundle - we're the glue: News, sports and us. And now we have something that's really unique. As you look at all of entertainment, there are 6 or 7 players that are playing for the scripted series and scripted movies, so they're one of 5, one of 6, or one of 8. We're one of one."
"Not only are we one of one, but we're going to have it all. If you love real-life entertainment and you love non-fiction - which is what people spend more than 55% of their time on consuming on television - so maybe the scripted series is sexy, but what they really watch is our stuff," said David Zaslav.
He said "We hit the market now with a fresh library that's as big as Netflix, with 50 originals and loads of people that you love and brands that you love and can hang around with".
He said Netflix and Disney+ "have great services but with us facing over the next couple of months a continuing challenge of people spending more time at home -it's one of the reasons we wanted to hurry up and get the discovery+ launch in January 2021."
"We want to get this into the marketplace. We think this is something that people will really love. We think this could be very big."
"If we can own non-fiction we can really be a competitive service to Netflix globally and that is our ambition. That is what we want to be, that what we think we are," he said.
"We do see ourselves as a competitor to Netflix and as a competitor to Disney+ but we see it in that we're competing to be as successful as they are. Netflix has been able to get so many subscribers around the world to sign up and they have a brand that people love around the world,"
"Disney+ has been so successful here in the United States and they're taking it around the world. I think discovery+ is a great companion to those two services."
"People love Netflix, there are loads of people who love Disney+, there are people who love HBO Max but we're one of one. We're completely different. We fill out the entertainment pie, we're full broadscale in non-fiction and real-life entertainment with all of our brands and characters."
"We're competing to be a real-scale player that's profitable and global as an IP company in every language around the world which Netflix has been able to do and that's how we want to compete. We want to be there with them, we'd love to be alongside them and alongside Disney, and alongside all those great services that are providing scripted series and scripted movies," David Zaslav said.
"When Oprah was in India she was visiting and she looked inside of a tent and they were watching Discovery. We have brands that people know. And they couldn't get us before without paying for a big bundle."
"It's not in our model but it's in our heart that there are 2, 3, 4 billion smartphones out there on which people can consume content, they can buy content, they don't want to pay for a big bundle, but they take a look at this huge library, they look at all of these brands and characters that they know and in many of these markets we are less than $5."
