discovery+ launches in Italy with TIM

Cortesie per gli ospiti

Discovery+ has launched in Italy via a distribution deal with TIM.

The SVOD, which began its international rollout earlier this month, launches with more than 8,000 hours of content with 55,000 episodes from 2,500 shows from brands like HGTV and Food Network.

Claiming to be the only streaming service available in Italy solely focused on non-fiction content, discovery+ will play host to well-known US shows like Say Yes To The Dress along with a wide range of Italian productions. Local content includes Matrimonio a Prima Vista Italia and Cortesie per gli ospiti.

The partnership between Discovery and TIM was previously announced, and will see discovery+ offered to TIMVISION customers in Italy. The broadcaster has similar deals in place in the UK with Sky and in the US with Verizon.

Alessandro Araimo, EVP and GM Discovery Italy said: “We are delighted to expand our strong and longstanding relationship with Italy’s largest distributor of video experiences though this innovative agreement. This renewed partnership will allow us to offer discovery+ to broader audience of consumers in Italy, reinforcing our strategy of expanding content distribution across all platforms and devices.” 

 Antonella Dominici, head of TIMVISION and Entertainment Products TIM, said: “We are proud that discovery+ has chosen TIM as partner in Italy. This partnership is part of the strategy of alliances with major international players that TIM is pursuing to consolidate TIMVISION as the most complete platform in the content market in Italy and offers customers an increasingly broad, rich and exclusive range of entertainment and sports contents, and the opportunity to extend their audience base to partners. An integrated content experience will also allow customers to easily and quickly access discovery+ content.”

The announcement also comes with a renewed sports distribution deal that will see TIM be the official broadcaster of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games which are still set to go ahead this summer. TIM will launch a dedicated app for the Games which will provide users with exclusive content. 

As a part of the deal, Eurosport will continue to be offered by the operator, with the broadcaster holding the rights to competitions including Serie A basketball and PGA Tour golf.