Discovery hopes to reach 12 million paying subscribers by the end of this month, as global roll-out of streaming service continues.
Reporting its full year results, Discovery also told investors its UK business was performing strongly. It follows deals with Sky and other providers to carry discovery+ and comes as Discovery plans to boost its new streaming service further. It first launched in India in March 2020, but only arrived in the USA last month. UK viewers have been able to subscribe to discovery+ since the autumn, when it replaced dplay. Sky Q users were offered a 12 month free subscription to the service.
Discovery+ will become the streaming home of the Giro d’Italia cycle race, complementing linear coverage on Eurosport. The new multi-year rights deal is part of a strategy that will see the existing Eurosport Player service phased out.
Overall, Discovery’s full year results were flat or in slight decline in some areas due to the pandemic.
discovery+ 11 million
Disney+ 95 million
Netflix 204 million
COMPARISON OF Global subscriber figures (Rounded to nearest million) February 2021.
David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery said:
“Our unmatched global scale and ability to serve consumers everywhere with a truly differentiated offering across platforms, as well as our robust cash flows, even amidst the significant investments in our next generation initiatives and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, position us to achieve sustainable long-term growth and drive long-term shareholder value.”