Discovery+ Streaming Service Will Launch Next Month for $5

Discovery is making its soon-to-launch streaming service super cheap or all-out free to millions of users right out of the gate.

Discovery+ will bring together Discovery Channel, OWN, Animal Planet, ID, A&E, the Food Network, TLC, HGTV, and other networks from Discover’s portfolio in a single streaming service that will feature on-demand content as well as exclusive originals. During a presentation on Wednesday, Discovery chief David Zaslav revealed that the service will launch Jan. 4 with two subscription tiers: an ad-supported tier for $5 per month and an ad-free option that will cost $7 per month.

If you’re a Verizon customer, however, you may be eligible to receive a year of the service for free—a familiar tactic to boost subscribers used by services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ at launch. Per the terms of the Verizon partnership, new and existing customers on a Play More or Get More Unlimited plan will be able to stream Discovery+ for a year at no charge, as will new Verizon 5G Home Internet or Fios Gigabit Connection customers. Start or Do More Unlimited customers will have access to six months of the service for free, with some new Fios customers also getting six months at no cost depending on which plan they’re on.

Discovery+ knows that it’s not going to be the sole product to which cord-cutters subscribe for their entertainment, but Zaslav did describe it as “perfect complement” to every household’s streaming portfolio. Rather than trying to compete directly with services like Netflix, Discovery+ is leaning hard into its reality cache and will focus on producing “quality unscripted content” with personalities like Will Packer, Kevin Hart, Sebastian Maniscalco, Ludacris, David Schwimmer, Guy Fieri, and Chip and Joanna Gaines.

Beyond demolition, true crime, cooking, and any Deadliest Catch or 90 Day Fiancé-adjacent entertainment that will live on the service, Discovery+ will feature an impressive portfolio of other content as well. In a bid to lure sports fans to the service, Discovery+ will be home for coverage of the Olympics Games in Europe. And in an appeal to viewers interested in science, nature, and environmental content, exclusive streaming access to natural world BBC programming includes Serengeti, The Mating Game, Planet Earth, and Blue Planet.

David Attenborough-narrated documentaries alone should be reason enough for natural world enthusiasts who subscribe to Verizon services, but the company also said Attenborough’s forthcoming series Perfect Planet will be available on the service early next year.

Zaslav said Discovery+ will be available in more than 25 countries in the next year. The service will launch with 55,000 episodes available to stream, with new originals debuting every single week. The service will be available on TVs, web, mobile, and tablets, but the company did not immediately say which specific devices would have access.