Discovery sets out SVOD stall with 12-country Vodafone partnership

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Discovery and Vodafone have announced a major long-term partnership across 12 countries in Europe.

The deal will see Vodafone TV customers in the UK, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and Iceland have access to Discovery’s channels including Eurosport and the newly launched discovery+ SVOD.

The service first launched in the UK in November ahead of a rollout to more than 25 key markets including the Nordics, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain in 2021 and 2022. Discovery claims that discovery+ will launch with the most content of any new streaming service with 55,000 episodes from 2,500 shows, with unscripted content being the focal point of the service.

The pair have not announced any sort of deals like the 12-month free promo with Sky in the UK, but Discovery said that it will give the company access to roughly 100m Vodafone TV, Fixed Broadband and Mobile subscribers “to which discovery+ can be made available for a promotional period that will vary by market.”

In addition to the pushing of discovery+, Discovery’s linear channels will continue to be available to Vodafone customers on TV in Germany, Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and Iceland.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery. said: “We are delighted to announce this multi-territory and multi-platform partnership with Europe’s largest mobile and fixed network operator. Vodafone’s vast and deep consumer relationships will provide a powerful engine for discovery+ as together we bring the definitive destination for real-life entertainment to consumers across Europe. Our hybrid agreement with Vodafone advances our broader strategy of expanding our linear distribution relationships to bring our popular content to consumers across more platforms and devices.”

Ahmed Essam, chief commercial operations and strategy officer, Vodafone Group, said: “I am extremely pleased to have made this agreement with Discovery, which extends our existing partnership and perfectly demonstrates Vodafone’s positioning as one of Europe’s leading video content platforms. Discovery will be a key part of our Entertainment offer, providing a rich choice of content that will enhance Vodafone’s provision of a superior customer experience across its high-quality TV and flexible streaming services.”