Q. I’ve been reading your stories on how Discovery has taken our favorite shows and made them exclusives on Discovery+ which I think is really unfair to their loyal viewers. I know they won’t tell you if they are coming back, but do you think they will come back? If so, when do you think they will come back? We really miss the real estate guys and the Pimple Popper shows. — Judy, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Judy, Discovery has decided to offer new episodes of several popular Discovery-branded shows as Discovery+ exclusives. The move is designed to attract new subscribers to the streaming service, but ‘old’ subscribers to Discovery-owned channels on cable and satellite are crying foul, saying the company is forcing them to pay more money to continue watching their favorites. (Discovery+’s plans start at $4.99 a month.)
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Since Discovery+ launched on January 4, the service has been the exclusive home of new episodes of several shows that have built strong followings on channels such as Discovery, HGTV, the Travel Channel, the Food Network and TLC. The shows that now air their new episodes on the streaming service includes Dr. Pimple Popper, Property Brothers: Forever Home, Ghost Adventures, and Paranormal: Caught On Camera, among several others.
In early January, soon after the launch, I asked the network’s media team if shows would be moved to Discovery+ and a spokesperson would only say, “We are experimenting with some show premieres on Discovery+ during a brief window during the service’s launch.”
Since then, I have asked Discovery — twice — if the new episodes will ever air on the Discovery-owned channels on cable and satellite. They have not responded to my inquiries.
I believe Discovery will eventually air the new episodes of Dr. Pimple Popper and other popular shows on cable and satellite. However, I think I know why it doesn’t want to say that now.
If Discovery says, for instance, that the new episodes will be available on cable and satellite in April, Discovery’s viewers might just wait until then instead of subscribing to Discovery+. By keeping quiet, Discovery is leaving open the possibility that they will never air on anything but Discovery+, which could boost streaming subscriptions at a time when the company is investing heavily on building that audience.
But, in my opinion, it’s unlikely that Discovery will ‘black out’ its pay TV channels much longer. If they did, it would diminish their value, which would lead to cable and satellite operators ultimately deciding not to carry them. And that would lead to a significant revenue loss.
So, Judy, if you don’t want to subscribe to Discovery+, but you do want to see new episodes of your favorite shows, I would advocate patience. I can’t say when it will happen, but eventually the new episodes will find their way to your cable or satellite box.
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— Phillip Swann
If the programs you watched on HVTV and Discovery are not available anymore, then quit watching those channels. That will cause Dish and DTV to cancel those channels if the popular shows that their customers watched are gone.
Does anyone remember cable tv being advertised as “the way of the future: the shows you love without ads”?????? Now cable/sat tv programs are LOADED with the most unimaginative, boring and frankly depressing ads ( yeah all the Rx drugs they advertise) and now I read some people’s comments about Discovery+ being the way of the future… Wake up consumers and stop forking your hard earned money to companies that will do the same bait-n-switch down the road
I use to watch property Brothers on HGTV I m not paying$4.99;on discovery plus I want them back on HGTV
Since discovery+ stole all our shows…I don’t watch TLC at all anymore…And all google info..about the discovery+shows …I don’t watch the I D..chnl.. any more because discovery+ is always popping up with their advertisement…and when ever I see their adverti advertisment I stop watching that network because I DONT want to keep remembering how cold bloded they are…THEY WONT GET MY MONEY..no matter how much I loved the shows GOODBY discovery+ I can do without yo..u
I think they purposely let Travel Channel rot, because they should already know that premiering episodes after the audience leaves will never work. They tried this with Paranormal Lockdown on Destination America after they abandoned that network and literally no one saw the third season of episodes. If you are a fan of the ghost shows on Travel don’t even bother. I think we have the answer, and that they are all cancelled. A big clue is that they never advertise any of them, whereas we had to endure millions of ads for 90 day fiance and their incredibly boring new channel for Chip and Joanna.
Discovery is just becoming the network of abandoned cable channels, plus an app where most subscribers are there for the free trial. I think the app has a 30% chance it will still be around in two years. After that, one of the big streamers will buy the library of content, but most Discovery shows will no longer be produced.
I have the opposite issue….First, I’m a cord cutter..so cable or satellite service. I have an antenna for local channels. Best move ever! Saving SO much money, and I have Apple TV +, HBO Max, CBS All Access, Showtime, Hulu, and Discovery +. My issue is my favorite show is The Kitchen. Watch it every week for years. But the 2 latest seasons are not on the streaming service. Only on broadcast. So, I don’t get to watch….but I’m not switching back for just one show…..
I think everybody, and that has to be hundreds of thousands of us, should sign up for the free 7 day trial, and then cancel after we’ve watched all of our shows that are now exclusively on Discovery+. They can all celebrate the thousands of new subscribers, then cry in their beer when the numbers drop precipitously.
I just signed up today. I plan to watch all my shows this weekend, then cancel.
I think that is a dirty shamee that we. the senior citzens have our favorite shows taken away from us. Sure we see them if we pay more but to those of us that live on social security those few dollars can make a big difference Isn’tt it.enough we are stuck here in our homes because of the covid Now we do’t have our favorite shows taken away.
Discovery networks greed is astounding! How transparent as well! I will never watch their channels again.
I already pay for Discovery Channel on Xfinity and I really resent how they let us watch the first two episodes of our favorite shows this season (Ghost Nation, Expedition Bigfoot, along with others), then it’s gone and you can only watch it on Discovery Plus for an additional $5.00 bucks a month (which will probably go up after a year). If this continues, I will drop Discovery and the channels that go with it. JERKS!!!
I think that’s it’s really low for a big company like that got so big off of the people who Support them all these years and now the elderly who lives on a fixed income and made these companies big are getting the big SCREW for the years of Support.
Discovery seems to think everybody has Wi-Fi or unlimited data. On a limited budget and in rural Nebraska there’s no Discovery+ for me.