The Great Transmission Wars continue to rage in 2021, with the January 4 launch of Discovery + inaugurating the newest competitor competing for subscribers against names like Netflix, Amazon and Disney +. In 2020, three new streaming services (HBO Max, Peacock and Quibi) were launched, which resulted in the first major victim of the war. Quibi’s $ 2 billion failure after just six months on the market proved that during streaming perhaps the future of how we watch, not all streaming services are created equal and large budgets do not always translate into large audiences. However, where Quibi has never found its rhythm, Discovery + seems to have a bright future in the streaming space, offering a completely different approach from its competitors. While Discovery + doesn’t have successful scripted franchises like Marvel, Star Wars and Game of Thrones, it stands out in the improvised space when it comes to food, nature and home renovation shows. Discovery Inc.’s catalog includes popular cable channels like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, the BBC’s Natural History Collection and many others. In fact, David Zaslav, Discovery’s president and CEO, has revealed that he wants Discovery + to be “the definitive product for improvised narratives”. So instead of looking for recognizable characters from comics, video games and books, Zaslav and his company want to have the space for reality shows, and so far, they’ve started well.
For a reasonable price of $ 4.99 per month in the U.S. ($ 6.99 for the ad-free version), you have access to an impressive library of over 55,000 episodes of Discovery’s iconic brands. While Quibi tried to do something completely new with his “quick bites” from TV shows, films and documentaries, Discovery + is clinging to what he does best and what he has been able to do successfully for years, only this time, all of its various scripted content is perfectly grouped into an easy-to-use streaming service. There are some major features missing from the platform that we would like to see, but overall, Discovery + makes an attractive debut in Streaming Wars.
Discovery Plus TV shows and movies
With more than 55,000 episodes from Discovery’s vast catalog of improvised series for the launch spree, the streamer is not lacking in the content department. Discovery +’s programming is very diverse, offering engaging series of real crimes like American Detective with Lieutenant Joe Kenda, who offers a unique view of disturbing real-life cases in the United States.
If you like home repairs and DYI projects more, Chip and Joanna Gaines bring their lively personalities to the Magnolia chain, which will be home to several new series like The Courage to Run, Restoration Road with Clint Harp and The Lost Kitchen. Other popular HGTV hosts, like Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead, from Flip or Flop, are featured in the new Discovery + Originals that can only be seen on the streaming service.
And as a brand known for launching jaw-dropping documentaries about nature, like BBC’s Planet Earth and Blue Planet, it’s no surprise that Discovery is bringing even more nature documents to its new platform. At launch, David Attenborough’s A Perfect Planet and Judi Dench’s Wild Borneo Adventure offer breathtaking glimpses into some of our planet’s most fascinating features, such as volcanoes and the oceans.
Looking ahead, the streamer is working on several other Discovery + Originals, including an impromptu series called Route 66, starring comedian and actor Kevin Hart. Per Discovery, “Route 66 features Kevin Hart taking the road, taking America’s famous Route 66 to see what’s going on in America. He will visit people and places and bring friends on an exploration of the heart of the USA from Chicago to Los Angeles . “
Discovery + user interface
Although not innovative when compared to other streaming services, Discovery + offers an attractive and easy to navigate user interface. The app and website layouts feature a variety of colorful logos highlighting Discovery Inc.’s various networks, including TLC, Discovery + Originals, History and more. There is also a “Main genres” section conveniently located at the top of the page, which includes links to programs focused on lifestyle, home, food, real crime, adventure, relationships and nature, to help you find the types of programming that you love it.
The main streaming features, like adding programs to a “favorites list” and features like “keep watching”, are easily accessible across the platform. Some 4K content is available at launch also at no extra cost (4K content on Netflix has an extra cost), most notably seen on Discovery + Originals and some of nature’s high-production series, like Planet Earth and A Perfect Planet. Overall, there’s a lot less 4K content than Netflix or Amazon, but since many of the shows fall into the reality show genre, I didn’t expect Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound while watching Joanna Gaines cook home-cooked food. Of course, it would be nice to have more 4K content, but it is not an obstacle for this type of programming.
The only noticeable omission at launch is the lack of a “download option” for offline viewing. Although a source close to the service informed IGN that offline viewing options are in progress for 2021, this omission is hard to ignore, as streamers like Amazon and Netflix have made this feature common in recent years.
How and where to watch Discovery Plus:
Discovery + is currently available in the United States and the United Kingdom through its partnership with Sky. The streamer also announced a multi-year agreement with Vodaphone in Europe, which will take the platform to several markets in Europe, including Germany, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and Iceland. No exact timetable has been revealed for the European launch. In terms of accessibility, Discovery + can be easily found on several streaming platforms and set-top-box devices:
Discovery + Price
In terms of price, Discovery + falls in the lowest price range of streaming services at $ 4.99 per month with ads and a modest $ 6.99 for the ad-free version. For 55,000 frantic episodes at launch, we would say it’s a good deal considering streaming services like Apple TV + launched with only a handful of shows for the same price. And while there is (at the time of writing) a free 7-day trial and up to 12 months free for qualified Verizon Wireless customers, it would have been nice to see Discovery + offer a limited “free tier”, just like Peacock launched in August 2020 .