Everything You Need to Know About Discovery Plus, Discovery’s New Streaming Service

discovery+ is officially live. The much anticipated streaming service launched with 55,000 episodes of TV across 2,500 series with content from HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, OWN, Animal Planet, Discovery and Magnolia Network. The service also includes content from BBC, A&E, History, Lifetime, The Dodo, and Popsugar.

The service has exclusive discovery+ Originals and will feature notable personalities like the Irwins, Jonathan and Drew Scott, Chip and Joanna Gaines, Bobby Flay, Ree Drummond, Guy Fieri, Giada De Laurentiis, Lieutenant Joe Kenda and so many more - all in one place.

How Much Does discovery+ Cost?

discovery+ has two tiers—a $4.99 ad-supported tier, as well as a $6.99 ad-free tier. You can try it out with a 7-Day Free Trial.

Verizon customers will be able to get it up for to 12 months for free. New and existing wireless customers with a Play More or Get More Unlimited plan will get 12 months of discovery+; customers with Start or Do More Unlimited plans will receive 6 months of streaming on Verizon

What Devices Support discovery+?

At launch, discovery+ will be available across major platforms, including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Android TV, iOS, Android, and your browser. In addition, you will be able to stream on Xbox (including Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S) and Samsung Smart TV (2017+).

For now, the major missing platforms are PlayStation, VIZIO SmartCast TVs, and LG Smart TVs. If your Smart TV supports AirPlay or Cast, you may be able to stream without an official app.

What Features will be Available on discovery+?

Each account will include up to five user profiles and four concurrent streams, among the most offered in the streaming video category. While it has profiles, it doesn’t offer “Kids Mode” or any parental controls.

When you open the app it will give you a “For You” tab which will recommend content from the different Discovery properties. Additionally, you can browse by network or by theme like “True Crime”. Each network will also have its own network hub to explore. You can also add content to a “Watch List”, so you can track your favorite shows.

One noticeable missing feature however, is that discovery+ doesn’t offer the ability to download shows for offline access.

Click here for a full walk-through of the discovery+ app.

Does discovery+ Support 4K?

At launch, discovery+ will in fact include 4K content on the service. That content will be a selection of episodes and specials, but not the full catalog of content. To start, they will offer this feature on Fire TV and Apple TV devices, but plan to roll this out to more devices soon.

To find it, you can search “4K” or browse the “Nature and Animals” section which will have most of that content.

What Can You Watch on discovery+?

At launch, discovery+ will have 2,000 series and 55,000 episodes of content on the streaming service. There will be series from HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, OWN, Animal Planet, Discovery. Some popular shows included are The First 48, Fixer Upper, 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Chopped, and Property Brothers.

The service also includes 1,500 episodes of content from popular franchises from A&E Networks like The First 48, Bring It, Dance Moms, Ice Road Truckers, Pawn Stars, Ancient Aliens, Storage Wars, 60 Days In, Intervention and Ghost Hunters.

In their first year, they will bring 1,000 hour of original content across Discovery brands. You can see a full list of original content here.

Can You Watch Live Discovery Channels?

There are no linear feeds of their channels, you will need a Live TV Streaming Service like Philo for that. Most of the content on discovery+ will first premiere on linear TV and then become available on the streaming service after the season airs.

However, soon after launch, they will launching discovery+ Channels, which will include 24/7 feeds of your favorite shows like Fixer Upper, 90 Day Fiancé, and more. These are similar to the type of channels you would see on Pluto TV or Peacock.

Where is discovery+ Available?

The U.S. version of discovery+ will only be available to subscribers in the United States including American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The global rollout of discovery+ across an initial 25 countries has already begun with the U.K. and Ireland, as well as India continuing through Latin America in 2021.

For now, if you travel internationally, you won’t be able to use the service. You need to be in your local market to access discovery+.