The BBC has some incredible shows to offer like Frozen Planet and Planet Earth, among others, but if you enjoy watching any of the original programming from the brand, Netflix won’t be the spot to do it from. That’s because, during a conversation with a Wall Street analyst about Netflix and Hulu, Discovery CEO David Zaslav said that the BBC will no longer be available on Netflix.
“Yes, Hulu’s doing a few food shows and Netflix does some stuff, and a little bit of natural history. But all of the BBC content is coming off Netflix.”
There are no details as to when BBC shows will be removed from Netflix, although it’s likely to happen prior to the launch of the new streaming service coming from Discovery/BBC in 2020. While the shows will remain in Netflix for the time being, the BBC also announced that it’s offering some of its content for free on Pluto TV, which gives viewers another streaming option.
Discovery previously secured a deal with BBC on a 10-year content partnership — which the company hopes will help bring in a younger audience — and, in January, the company acquired a cycling-focused YouTube multi-channel network called Play Sports Group, which it hopes to ultimately support with a subscription OTT service.
Considering the direction of Discovery’s streaming content, Zaslav had previously mentioned that the brand is looking for skinny bundles as a way to attract a new, youthful audience, with the company’s CEO & President mentioning that they plan to launch the Peloton of Food, which will allow subscribers to take classes with celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay. The company also plans to rebrand one of their smaller channels, Magnolia Network, with lifestyle gurus, Chip and Joanna Gaines.
“The skinny bundles in many cases may be much better for us. People will spend more time with our channels. In the first quarter we delivered a solid start to 2019, as we continue to power people’s passions through our loved brands and our owned global IP in genres that nourish audiences around the world.”
Despite a drop in overall pay TV customers, one savior of the company has been the continued growth and their wide distribution on vMVPDs like Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV — which collectively reach 7-8 million subscribers.