Discovery+, the streaming subscription service dedicated to lifestyle, factual and sports content, now has adverts on all of its premium subscription tiers – following a change that was made last month.
Back in March, when Discovery+ added adverts to its basic Entertainment Pass, its monthly cost was lowered, thanks in part to those adverts – while the higher tier, which also includes live and on-demand sports content from Eurosport – remained ad-free.
We recently found out, however, that ad breaks were also added to the on-demand content on the Entertainment + Sports tier – with its price remaining the same.
Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed to us that this change was made in November. Therefore, subscribers no longer have the option to watch any of the premium content on Discovery+ without adverts.
Furthermore, Discovery+ is also available via Amazon Prime Video’s Channels, where the subscription remained ad-free for a while. But now, the Prime Video versions also include adverts (see more on that below).
This change seems to be part of a recent trend to add adverts to premium on-demand TV content.
As we previously reported, Sky recently hiked the number of adverts on Sky Glass and Sky Stream’s on-demand content, despite the fact that customers were already paying for a premium product.
Shortly thereafter, Sky started charging for the ability to fast forward those adverts, with new customers now having to pay £5/month.
Ad-supported streaming services like Pluto TV, Amazon’s Freevee and more are becoming common these days, with some of the premium paid services like Netflix and Disney+ adding cheaper ad-supported tiers (which remain optional).
But with adverts now present on both of Discovery Plus’ tiers, you’re already paying for a premium subscription – without the option to watch without adverts.
Price-wise, according to Discovery+, “The introduction of ads to the on-demand content enables us to maintain our competitive price points and offer our subscribers the best content at the best value” – so, in theory at least, without the adverts the subscription price might have gone up.
Discovery+ is a streaming service that launched in 2020, replacing Discovery’s Dplay service (which was totally free), with a combined offering of both free and “premium” channels.
The free (for everyone) tier on Discovery+ includes several Freeview channels, such as Quest, Really, HGTV and others, while the paid tiers add additional live premium channels, along with their on-demand content – Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC and more.
Back in May 2022, BT Sport and Discovery/Eurosport announced a merger, and a new joint platform was formed. The new joint venture will feature one of the most extensive portfolios of premium sports rights, including UEFA Champions League, the Premier League, the Olympic Games, Premiership Rugby and more.
And, as we reported last week, Discvoery+ is now available at no extra cost to some BT Sport subscribers.
When Discovery+ first launched in the UK, it featured two subscription tiers.
The Entertainment Tier, which includes everything from Discovery+ EXCEPT for sports, used to cost £4.99/month, and was then lowered to £3.99/month (or £39.99/year) when the ad-lite product was added.
The Entertainment + Sports tier also includes the content that used to reside on the now defunct Eurosport Player (though it’s worth mentioning that the linear Eurosport channels are still available – both on Discovery+ and on the pay-TV platforms).
The sports content on Discovery+ will include the 2023 Australian Open and Roland-Garros tennis, more than 300 days of cycling – including the Tour de France – and every moment of the upcoming Olympic Games Paris in 2024.
This higher tier costs £6.99/month or £59.99/year. Until November, it remained ad-free – but that is no longer the case (the live channels on both tiers always had adverts – but the ad breaks during on-demand content are new).
Customers can subscribe to Discovery+ either directly, or via Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, which also come in those two flavours (along with a 7-day free trial) –Discovery+ Entertainment and Discovery+ Entertainment + Sport.
Subscribing via Prime Video Channels requires an Amazon Prime subscription – but you can then watch the service on any device that supports the Prime Video app.
Back in March, adverts were not added to the Prime Video Channels version of Discovery+, therefore the price for the lower tier remained £4.99/month.
But a few months ago, adverts were added to the Prime Video Channels version as well – and the price was lowered to £3.99/month.
Discovery+ is a streaming-only app, therefore it relies on your broadband connection.
It is available on most streaming devices sold in the UK, including:
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About The Editor
My name is Or Goren and I’ve been a personal finance writer for many years, as well as a long-time TV cord cutter and a tech enthusiast. Learn More.
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