Today, Discovery finally unveiled their upcoming streaming service. Named discovery+, the service will launch with 55,000 episodes of TV across 2,500 series with content from HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, OWN, Animal Planet, and Discovery.
Prior to making the announcements today, company CEO David Zaslav previously alluded that they would want discovery+ to make the same big splash as Disney+. Their deal with Verizon, which was also announced today certainly made is seem as though Discovery is gunning for the Mouse House streamer’s position.
Well, it looks like the company is gunning for all the big guns. During a press conference regarding discovery+ hosted today, Zaslav revealed that he believes the new offering can actually be a competitor to Netflix.
“We hit the market with a fresh library that’s as big as Netflix with 50 originals and loads of people and brands that you love at a time when most people in America are asking, ‘What series do I watch now?…’” Zaslav explained. “We think this could be very big. We have the right partners, we are fully global…[and] we have ambitions to be very big…None fiction is out there for our taking and if we can own it, we could really be a competitive service to Netflix, globally.”
discovery+ will launch on Jan. 4, 2021 with two tiers—a $4.99 ad-supported tier, as well as a $6.99 ad-free tier. 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.
In addition to launching with a slew of content, discovery+ will also have a major advantage in the European market. The company announced that discovery+ will be supported by Eurosport’s unrivaled, premium and locally-relevant multi-sport offering, which includes the tennis Grand Slams, cycling Grand Tours, motorsport, football and winter sports.
Beginning with the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year, it will become the streaming home of the Olympics in Europe with access to every minute, every medal, and every hero live and on demand. Olympic rights exclude Russia. Eurosport will be an official broadcaster in France and the UK in 2020.