Discovery+, a major player in the UK streaming market, has been quietly tweaking its playbook and tweaking its pricing tiers, rolling out changes set to change prices for some of its subscribers.
These changes include removing one of the discounted annual subscription options (at the level that includes Eurosport), and renaming the service tiers, just months after adding the expensive ‘Premium’ tier – Which includes TNT Sports.
It’s worth noting that Discovery+ (usually the base tier) is available for free via some pay TV subscriptions (eg On some BT TV planssome Layers of the skyetc.).
Therefore, price changes will mostly affect those who subscribe to Discover+ directly.
What is Discovery+?
Discovery+ is a streaming service (owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) that offers a wide range of entertainment and sports content to viewers in the United Kingdom.
It serves as a hub for a variety of lifestyle, nature and on-demand reality programming from Discovery’s extensive network, including popular channels like Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, TLC and more.
Some Freeview-based on-demand content is available for free on Discovery+, while most content is only available through one of the paid tiers.
The Standard Sports tier also includes Eurosport, which offers a large number of global sporting events, both live and on-demand.
An important development in the Discovery Plus offering in the UK was the addition of TNT Sports a few months ago (Which replaced BT Sport), and enhance its sports programming with premium events such as UEFA Champions League and English Premier League matches (but only on the newly created “Premium” tier).
Discovery+ caters to a broad audience with its tiered subscription model, which is designed to accommodate viewers from casual viewers to die-hard sports fans.
However, the recent changes indicate a shift in how Discovery+ positions itself within the competitive streaming landscape.
New discovery + prices and levels
Recently, Discovery+ changed its pricing structure, with new names for each tier — and one discounted annual option that’s now gone.
Previously, Discovery+ offered three basic paid plans in the UK:
- entertainment: £3.99 per month or £39.99 per year
- Entertainment + Sports: £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year
- Premium (with TNT Sports): £29.99 per month (no annual option)
These plans have now been renamed and restructured:
- Basic (formerly entertainment):
- £3.99 per month or £39.99 per year (Saving 16% on the annual plan)
- Catalog includes on-demand entertainment and select live channels.
- standard (formerly Entertainment + Sports):
- £6.99 per month (annual option has been discontinued)
- Based on Basic with additional sports content from Eurosport.
- beloved (including TNT Sports):
- £29.99 per month (No annual option)
- It offers all the standard features plus access to TNT Sports.
The notable change here is the removal of the discounted annual subscription for the “Standard” plan.
This means that sports fans (who weren’t looking to get TNT Sports) who plan to keep the service for a full year will have to pay £83 per year, rather than the previously available discounted price point of £59.99.
It’s also worth noting that all Discovery+ tiers also include advertising, both on live channels and on-demand content.
According to Discovery, there are fewer ads than with traditional live TV — but it’s still an annoying trend, when people pay for a premium streaming service just to get ad breaks.
As for Ultra HD (4K) content, it is intended for specific shows and movies (not including live content) on devices that support 4K UHD.
This means that live sporting events are not being shown in 4K via Discovery+, which is disappointing in this day and age – especially when TNT Sports Ultimate (formerly BT Sport Ultimate), which is available on pay TV platforms, is broadcasting some live events 4K resolution.
How do I get Discovery+?
The standalone Discovery+ app is available in most… Streaming devices Sold in the United Kingdom.
You can subscribe to the service directly, Or via Amazon’s Prime Video channelsAll three levels are available on a monthly basis.
While removing the Standard plan’s discounted annual subscription offer may be seen as a step backwards for long-term subscribers who value the savings, it is at least in line with the flexible monthly pricing models typically associated with cutting the TV cord.