Business

Discovery to launch streaming service discovery plus in Brazil by the end of the year

Discovery plus is working with Latin American production companies on more than 40 originals scheduled to premiere in 2021

LABS

24.Jun.2021 11:38 BRT
UPDATED 02.Sep.2021 12:20 BRT

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The practical effect of the content mix of AT&T and Discovery deal on discovery plus’ competition with HBO Max is not yet known;
Fernando Medin, President of Discovery Latin America and US Hispanic said that the Latin America production team is working with local and global companies on more than 40 titles.

This article has been updated with the information that Discovery Plus will arrive in Brazil later this year, but no longer in September, as initially reported by the company.

Discovery has announced that its Discovery+ streaming service will arrive in Brazil later this year. Yes, one more “plus” to be added up.

Discovery plus debuted in 2021 in the United States. As the battle for streaming subscribers has become overseas with major players such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, and HBO Max (which debuted in Latin America in June) competing in global markets, Brazil is Discovery’s first step in adding another competitor in the region.

Three years ago, U.S. phone company AT&T acquired the media entertainment WarnerMedia focusing on content competition. But in May, AT&T gave that up and decided to spin off its media operations to Discovery. Under the $43 billion deal expected to be completed in mid-2022, the new business will be called Warner Bros. Discovery and will combine content from WarnerMedia – including the Harry Potter and Batman franchises, news network CNN and sports programming – and Discovery’s unscripted shows from lifestyle TV networks such as HGTV and TLC.

Today, Warner’s content is the flagship of HBO Max offered by Warner Media, which had the parent company as AT&T. The practical effect of the content mix on discovery+’s competition with AT&T’s owned HBO Max is not yet known.

On May 26, during HBO Max’s announcement, LABS asked how AT&T‘s content merge with Discovery would impact HBO Max and discovery plus rivalry, but Luis Duran, general manager of HBO Max in Latin America, deflected. LABS also reached out to Andre Mermelstein, Director of Discovery Brazil, who said he will not comment on the new operations at this time.

In a press release, Fernando Medin, President of Discovery Latin America and U.S. Hispanic, said that the Latin America production team is working with local and global production companies on more than 40 titles to premiere by the end of 2022, and is developing more than 150 shows.

“These titles complement the incredible content offering created for discovery plus in the U.S. and international markets, which includes more than 200 new original titles scheduled to premiere in 2021, and much more ahead,” he said.