In March, Discovery will introduce an Ad-Lite version of discovery+ in the U.K. and Ireland.
The Ad-Lite product will offer access to discovery+’s unscripted content at a lower price. It will cost £3.99 or €4.99 a month, compared to the ad-free price of £4.99 or €5.99 a month.
The discovery+ Entertainment & Sports Pass, which offers subscribers all of Discovery’s free and pay-TV channels, exclusive originals plus sports including the Winter Olympics, will remain ad-free on-demand. It costs £6.99 or €6.99 a month.
This will be the first subscription streaming service to offer an ad-supported version in the U.K. Later this year, there will be a further rollout across Europe and the Middle East.
U.S. streaming services have already found that lower-priced ad-supported subscriptions generate more revenue per subscriber. Connected TV has become a popular option for advertisers and Discovery will be able to take advantage of that with its new product.
James Gibbons, executive VP and GM for Discovery in the U.K. and Nordics said, “Increased SVOD stacking is driving interest in ad-supported options globally and, as the market only gets more competitive, we want to offer UK consumers that same choice and value through Discovery Plus…We know there is an appetite for choice amongst our users as research shows us nearly three-quarters of discovery+ subscribers are open to seeing adverts if it means a reduction in price and we look forward to launching our new offering in response.”
“The move to an Ad-Lite proposition for discovery+ in the UK will offer brands omnichannel solutions that reach highly engaged, passionate superfans,” said Katie Coleman, VP, head of advertising and partnerships for Discovery Networks in the UK and Ireland.
“We know that connected TV is where advertiser budgets are growing as they seek to follow viewers beyond linear, traditionally there hasn’t been the premium scale available in the UK but over three-quarters of consumption of discovery+ through connected TV we are able to offer a premium environment with the scale advertisers have been looking for,” she said.
discovery+
discovery+ is a video streaming service that offers more than 70,000 episodes of 2,500+ current and classic shows from several popular TV brands including Discovery, Investigation Discovery, HGTV, TLC, Food Network, A&E, Lifetime, and History.