Sky’s Sibling NOW TV Streaming Service Drops Discovery Channel
Sky’s sibling UK ISP and TV video streaming service, NOW (NOW Broadband), has confirmed to ISPreview.co.uk that they’ve taken the decision to drop the popular Discovery TV channel (usually included as part of the ‘Entertainment Pass‘) and related content from their platform, which will take effect from 30th June 2021.
Customers began noticing that the Discovery channel was no longer being mentioned on NOW’s FAQ and other website pages earlier this month. More recently, the provider’s support staff have also begun to confirm the change, which is despite Sky reaching a new “long-term” partnership with Discovery last year (here).
However, Discovery has also launched their own streaming service called Discovery+ (not to be confused with Disney+), and we note that Sky’s deal with the channel didn’t specifically clarify what would happen on their NOW platform in the future. But now we know, Discovery is no more, and it follows the loss of FOX.
A NOW Spokesperson told ISPreview.co.uk:
“We are constantly evaluating the needs of our customers and aim to deliver an ever-changing range of high-quality content that they love. From June 30, Discovery content will no longer be available on NOW, however our members can still enjoy fantastic shows from Sky Documentaries, Sky Crime and many more.”
All this comes after the recent price increase to the NOW Boost add-on service for new customers (currently £3 per month, but increasing to £5 from 15th July 2021), which is currently the only way to get full HD viewing (want 4K.. like every other stream service? Hard luck, NOW hasn’t heard of it!), an extra stream, as well as better quality Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and soon 50fps content (where supported on the sport channels).
At this point NOW would perhaps point out that they’re bundling the Kids selection of TV channels for free to all customers who pay for the Entertainment Membership, but that’s unlikely to be seen as a positive development by adult viewers and those who don’t have very young children.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and Linkedin.
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Is this a news article or an opinion piece?
News articles on a pro-consumer site like ISPreview.co.uk are always partly opinion pieces, that is kind of the whole point, as opposed to it being a robotic summary or copy and pasted press release.
Is there anything actually left on Now entertainment that isn’t a Sky branded channel? I fell that’s all that’s left.
SyFy, Gold, MTV and National Geographic.
Yet more reason this failing service is poor value and a dinosaur in today’s market place. No 4K, have to pay extra for 1080P, just stupid pricing for the sports and you cannot separate the sports you watch. It’s a service really designed to push you to Sky.
I hate the fact Sky have the monopoly on F1 in the U.K. for full race coverage or live coverage, I hope their contract for it isn’t renewed. Or they are forced to allow channel 4 to show the full race.
That is the fault of the sport organisations whether it is F1, Football, Golf etc. Exclusivity increases their value. As we know Football has got out of hand. The only criticism of Sky would be the amount they are willing to bid and the profit margins they apply. Highlight programmes like Match of the Day are facilitated to retain wider interest in the sport and support the exclusiveness.
Sky build their product in bits even still charging extra for HD and if they burdened the sport packages with more premium content it would raise their prices further.
Best to vote with your feet and watch something like BTTC.
> Best to vote with your feet and watch something like BTTC.
Is that the Barnet Table Tennis Club, or the Brighton one?
All the sports providers know next to nobody will pay for Cricket or Tennis or F1 or Rugby its football that most of the UK want. So they force you to take expensive packages where money goes to them all whether we want it or not.
Sorry but that’s totally anecdotal and complete tosh. I’d happily pay £2-3 a month for F1 and Rugby and I have absolutely zero interest in football. Dazn is currently only £2 a month for boxing and I happily pay that. But it’s all a distraction for the real problems Sky have and that’s the fact that a lot of their better content has gone from the platform (looking at you Disney and Discovery) and the continued, ongoing fragmentation of the content.
Having been a member of this service from Oct 2014 I find the service exactly fits my needs use solely for sky sports so currently don’t have a working pass no football enough football else where like F1 use channel 4 catch up service will watch F1 Silverstone live on channel 4 will wait to see what offers available when football season restarts currently have offer to renew sports pass for £20 for a month rarely pay full price for a pass as a valued customer yes I do pay the extra £3 to watch in HD on 3 devices I don’t want sky channels but would have to pay for these if had sky TV package via dish along with other unwanted stuff and would still be paying for a service I wouldn’t be using so NOW fits my needs thanks sky (two sides to any story)
Cheap vouchers if you shopped around, the main channels you needed.
OK, so this service is laid to rest for us now. That made a decision for us.
No kids at home, so kids channels won’t cut it as substitute.
And they keep upping the charges recently now the vouchers hardly on offer. £5 just for HD, they can take a running jump…..
These foreign owned companies really think its Treasure Island here. Brits = cash cows.
Discovery fund GBNews in the UK. GBNews starts a week ago and knocks the socks off the established far left news media. An advertising boycott starts by the far left radicals to try and hurt GBnews financially. It doesn’t work.
A week later NowTV pulls Discovery off its service……Coincidence?
If this was an opinion peace news article I would be saying this in it. As it seems likely in my eyes.
Conspiracy theory
Discovery leaving is nothing to do with GB News or crazy right wing conspiracy theories. This is part of the strategy of streaming platforms to make their offering more valuable to drive subs.
Disney+ have done this with significant moves to close linear children’s channels and now Fox in the UK. All content moves into the Disney+ offering.
Discovery dropping their channel from NowTV will be down to carriage costs to Now and looking to make their content available through their app.
decisions like this are not made in a week – the sane answer is that either Sky and Discovery couldn’t come to a new deal, or Discovery wants to do a Disney and cut out the middleman.
Given that Discovery actually manages to stay on air and with good picture and sound, it’s clear there’s not much collusion with their news channel cousin.
GBNews is a disgusting far right sensationalist disgrace responsible for spouting anti gay, anti vaxx bigoted and far right wing propaganda. It’s terribly made, terribly researched and is nothing more than a bile spouting waste of air time. Anyone who both watches it or worse believes any of the misguided rubbish they claim is “real” and “news” deserves to catch Corona and not have a very good outcome. It’s nothing more than an extension of the Facebook and Social Media idiots who spout pseudoscience and misunderstanding as “truth” because they’re either too stupid or too ignorant to know any better. It should be ridiculed and sidelined for the fact it’s complete trash.
All you need to know about it is said in the very first guest they interviewed on the channel when it opened – Nigel Farage. Any channel that opens with an interview with that disingenuous waste of skin should be immediately closed.
To Anthony Goodman: Far left news media? It feels so good to laugh like this again! It’s the way you tell ’em!
Yeah I agree, there’s nothing sinister going on here. Sky and Discovery have had disputes previously if I recall, but they agreed a new multi year deal for satellite broadcast. A previous comment pointed out that Now have been moving more towards Sky branded channels.! Yeah this will be the future for Sky too I believe. With more and more apps available on Sky Q, it doesn’t make sense to broadcast that content, especially as things move more and lots towards IP.
Wow discovery was the only thing I watch when I jump on a now entertainment package once a year. I just signed up and have 5 days left. Will struggle to get my £2 worth this year
Glad I found this article as NOWTV support is / has been fobbing me off with “wait a while and they’ll appear in catch up” for several Discovery shows I follow, looks like we’ll be ditching it
Discovery plus is really good value in my opinion. The app itself isn’t fantastic but sure it will improve as time goes on. I guess the frustration is that your now TV sub offers less value and if your only interested in the one channel then discover plus may not be quite as good value to you
Thats why i payed for now tv in the first place they need to get another channel in replacement to ve honest or im looking for something else im gutted was looking for texas metal couldnt find it then realizied the whole channel was missing
I
Can’t actually believe this
Has happened it’s one off the best channels for entertainment on nowtv n one I regularly use why would they just take it off for what reason is there no how can I watch it do I get a reduced fee as I’m not having the Chanel i so love ???
Deadliest catch gold Rush gold divers wheeler dealers naked and afraid it’s the only reason I have NOW TV!!!!
I like Chris above enjoyed Deadliest catch gold Rush gold divers wheeler dealers naked and afraid along with others on Discovery and find it a total let down that you have removed Discovery channel from NOW TV ~ Whoever did this is upsetting a lot of people and should make it available on NOW TV even at a fee of £4.99 per month ~ I would gladly cancel the films option to have the Discovery channel back
Even with a discount NOW TV isn’t as good value as it once was for me, when other streaming services like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video include Full HD streaming at no additional cost. I’ll subscribe for a few months a year for as long as they still have the Warner Bros/HBO TV shows, but those will likely disappear from NOW TV once HBO Max launches. I notice the Kids section is now part of the Entertaimnent Membership again, but I’m not 8 years old so that’s not something that would convince me to keep my subscription. Sky Originals might though if Sky keep doing more in that area.
Wotta liberty!!! We’re leaving now…Literally
NOW TV shooting themselves in the foot. Have subscribed to Entertainment for some years and never had to pay full price so it has been good value. At £9.99 a month it is now far too expensive. Netflix at £5.99 includes movies which costs a lot extra with NOW. Then we now have advertisements on the catch up. We lose Discovery which I like a lot. And of the remaining programmes too many are effectively repeats. Not enough new quality programmes. The weekend newspapers seem to struggle mentioning anything new on NOW that is worth watching. Such a pity that we feel we will cancel our subscription after many years enjoyment.