Discovery+ offers on-demand access to entertainment and documentary channels, as well as live coverage of sports on both Eurosport and TNT Sports.
There are three subscription plans available, with Discovery+ provided free to both Sky and BT TV customers.
It's also possible to sign up to Discovery+ direct, and the app is supported on a range of smart devices.
At a glance: Get Discovery+ for free
All Sky TV customers get access to Discovery+ Standard for free, while all BT TV customers get Discovery+ Basic for free.
Those who subscribe to TNT Sports via Sky or BT, also gain access to Discovery+ Premium at no extra cost.
Here are some of the cheapest plans that include Discovery+ for free:
| Package | TV | Broadband | Monthly price | Upfront price | Contract term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Sky Entertainment + Netflix | 150 | Mb average | £19 | Free | 18 months |
 Offer: Save £9/mth + Free setup (Ends 23/05/2024) | ||||||
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Sky Entertainment + Netflix + Superfast Broadband | 150 | 61Mb average | £37 | Free | 18 months |
| Offer: Save £9/mth on Sky Entertainment & Netflix + Reduced price broadband + Free setup (Ends 23/05/2024) | ||||||
 |
Sport + Full Fibre 100 | 77 | 150Mb average | £50.99 | £31.99 | 24 months |
| Offer: £50 BT Virtual Reward Card + No setup fees on BT TV save £30 + (Ends 16/05/2024) | ||||||
|
Entertainment + Full Fibre 100 | 96 | 150Mb average | £45.99 | £31.99 | 24 months |
| Offer: £50 BT Virtual Reward Card + Save £5/mth on BT Entertainment TV with no setup fees save £30 (Ends 16/05/2024) | ||||||
While Virgin Media customers can sign up to TNT Sports, they don't offer access to Discovery+ as the app is not yet supported on either the TV 360 or Stream boxes.
TalkTalk TV customers who have full fibre broadband and the newer Android-powered TV Hub should be able to download the Discovery+ app through the Google Play Store and subscribe directly. However, TalkTalk TV customers who have the Netgem TV box, or an older YouView box won't be able to access Discovery+ as the app isn't supported.
Lastly, Vodafone pay monthly mobile customers can get 6 months of Discovery+ Basic for free. This applies to both those with a handset as well as SIM only plans.
What's on Discovery Plus?
Discovery+ is a subscription based on-demand streaming service, which first launched in the UK in 2020.
While there are live channels or events available on Eurosport 1 & 2, as well as the TNT Sports suite of channels, the majority of the programming is purely on-demand.
As such, customers who want to watch live versions of the Discovery channels will need a pay TV subscription with either Sky or Virgin Media.
Discovery+ offers three membership levels:
| Basic | Standard | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | £3.99 | £6.99 | £29.99 |
| Includes | On-demand access to Discovery, TLC, Quest, Animal Planet, Food Network, Discovery Science, Discovery History, + more | Basic + live and on-demand access to Eurosport 1 & Eurosport 2 | Standard + live and on-demand access to TNT Sports, TNT Sports Ultimate, TNT Sports Box Office |
| Available free with | BT TV | Sky TV | BT TV sports plans Sky TV + TNT Sports pack |
Basic
Discovery+ Basic allows viewers to stream shows and movies from the following channels:
- Discovery
- TLC
- Quest
- Really
- Animal Planet
- ID
- Quest Red
- HGTV
- Food Network
- Discovery Science
- Turbo
- DMAX
- Discovery History
These channels mostly cover reality programmes, as well as nature, science and history documentaries, true crime, home improvements and cooking.
Discovery+ Basic costs £3.99 per month, but as we've seen, it's included for free in all Sky TV and BT TV packages.
Standard
Discovery+ Standard includes everything in Basic, plus live and on-demand access to:
- Eurosport 1
- Eurosport 2
Eurosport is home to popular sporting events with a focus on cycling, tennis, and motorsport.
Viewers can watch the Olympic Games, cycling Grand Tours including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a Espana, the tennis Australian and French Open, the World Snooker Championship, Le Mans, Speedway GP, and Bennetts British Superbikes races.
Eurosport on Discovery+ is available in full 1080p HD, as well as some Ultra HD streams for customers with a UHD-ready TV and smart receiver.
Discovery+ Standard costs £6.99 per month but is included for some pay TV customers.
Because Sky TV include both Eurosport 1 & 2 channels in their basic TV package, all Sky TV customers get free access to the Discovery+ Standard plan.
BT TV customers who sign up to either the Sport, Big Sport, or VIP plans, which include Eurosport and TNT Sports, will get access to Discovery+ Premium, which includes everything in the Standard plan.
Virgin Media customers get the Eurosport channels included in the Bigger Bundle and up, as well as the Entertainment Essentials plan on Virgin Stream. However, as we've mentioned there is no support for the Discovery+ app on Virgin boxes yet.
Premium
Discovery+ Premium is the new home for the rebranded BT Sport pack, now called TNT Sports.
The Premium plan includes everything in Basic and Standard, plus:
- TNT Sports 1
- TNT Sports 2
- TNT Sports 3
- TNT Sports 4
- TNT Sports Ultimate
- TNT Sports Box Office
TNT Sports is typically delivered in full 1080p HD, while the TNT Sports Ultimate channel is in UItra HD or 4K.
TNT Sports Box Office is available on the Discovery+ app, as well as BT TV and Sky TV boxes, and offers pay per view access to live sporting events, typically covering Boxing, UFC and WWE.
While Discovery+ Premium costs £29.99 per month, Sky TV customers who subscribe to TNT Sports have it included, as do BT TV customers who take the Sport, Big Sport or VIP plans.
Customers who previously subscribed to BT Sport through the BT Sport app, will also now be able to move their membership to Discovery+ Premium, where they'll also be able to access all the content in the Basic and Standard plans too.
Discovery Plus on Sky
Sky isn't the cheapest way to watch TNT Sports, but it does include some access to Discovery+ free for all customers.
Sky TV includes Eurosport 1 & 2 in all packages, so all customers can also access Discovery+ Standard.
Those who also take the TNT Sports pack from Sky get access to Discovery+ Premium included as well.
Here are the basic Sky TV packages that include Discovery Plus:
| Package | Channels | Monthly price | Upfront price | Contract term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Sky Entertainment + Netflix | 150 | £19 | Free | 18 months |
| Offer: Save £9/mth + Free setup (Ends 23/05/2024) | |||||
|
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Sky Glass 43 + Sky Entertainment + Netflix | 150 | £14 for 3 mths, then £42 |
£10 | 48 months |
| Offer: Sky Entertainment & Netflix free for 3 months and Sky Live included at no extra cost (Ends 01/05/2024) | |||||
Discovery+ is supported on both the Sky Stream box and Sky Glass TV set, and customers can sign up to Sky from as little as £19 per month for 18 months.
Read more about Sky TV packages.
Discovery Plus on BT
All BT TV customers also get some access to Discovery+, however customers are only given Discovery+ Basic membership, unless they take one of BT's sports plans.
Customers who sign up to BT TV Sport, Big Sport, or VIP, also get free access to Discovery+ Premium included, as these packages bundle both Eurosport and TNT Sports.
Here are the sports plans available from BT TV with fibre broadband included:
| Package | TV | Broadband | Monthly price | Upfront price | Contract term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Sport + Full Fibre 100 | 77 | 150Mb average | £50.99 | £31.99 | 24 months |
| Offer: £50 BT Virtual Reward Card + No setup fees on BT TV save £30 + (Ends 16/05/2024) | ||||||
|
|
Big Sport + Full Fibre 100 | 90 | 150Mb average | £75.99 | £31.99 | 24 months |
| Offer: £50 BT Virtual Reward Card + No setup fees on BT TV save £30 (Ends 16/05/2024) | ||||||
|
|
Full Works + Full Fibre 100 | 125 | 150Mb average | £108.99 | £31.99 | 24 months |
| Offer: £50 BT Virtual Reward Card + No setup fees on BT TV save £30 (Ends 16/05/2024) | ||||||
Customers who sign up to BT TV Entertainment or Big Entertainment get access to Discovery+ Basic.
All BT TV plans are offered on rolling monthly terms as well, so customers can easily switch between sports or entertainment subscriptions, and effectively therefore, switch between Discovery+ Basic and Discovery+ Premium perhaps when a sporting event comes up that they want to watch.
Read more about BT TV packages.
Discovery Plus on Virgin
While it's possible for Virgin Media TV customers to add Eurosport and TNT Sports channels to their package, none of the Virgin TV boxes currently support the Discovery+ app.
Because of this lack of app support, Virgin Media don't include any free access to Discovery+, although they do include TNT Sports in full HD as well as the TNT Sports Ultimate channel in the Bigger Bundle and up.
This does make Virgin Media the cheapest place to watch TNT Sports, but those who prioritise access to the app will be disappointed.
Here are the Virgin Media plans available which include Eurosport and TNT Sports:
| Package | TV | Broadband | Monthly price | Upfront price | Contract term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
M125 Fibre Broadband + Stream + TNT Sports | 57 | 132Mb average | £44 | £35 | 18 months |
| Offer: Reduced price: £26 per month + TNT Sports just £18/mth + Get 10% Stream credit back on every subscription you add to Stream (Ends 30/04/2024) | ||||||
|
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Bigger Combo bundle | 190 | 264Mb average | £40 | Free | 18 months |
| Offer: No setup fee (was £35) (Ends 30/04/2024) | ||||||
|
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Bigger Combo bundle + Sports HD | 195 | 264Mb average | £65 | Free | 18 months |
| Offer: £200 Bill Credit or a Nintendo Switch 1.1 Gaming Console (Red/Neon) + No setup fee (was £35) (Ends 28/04/2024) | ||||||
Virgin Media Stream also provides low-cost access to these channels, with the TNT Sports pack available from £10 per month, and Eurosport bundled in the Essentials Entertainment plan, which costs from £8 per month.
While Virgin Media customers could still access Discovery+ through another smart device, they will have to pay again for the subscription, which is likely to put most people off.
Read more about Virgin Media TV packages.
Discovery Plus supported devices
While the Discovery+ app is supported by the BT TV Box Pro, Sky Q box, Sky Stream box, and Sky Glass TV, other customers can also access it directly through a range of smart devices.
Discovery+ app supported devices include:
- Android TV (including TalkTalk TV for full fibre customers)
- Apple TV
- Fire TV
- Amazon Fire Smart TVs
- Samsung Smart TVs
- LG Smart TVs
- Roku
- Chromecast
- Amazon Prime Video
- Xbox One, Series X, and Series S
- Android and iOS smartphones and tablets
It's also possible to watch Discovery+ on desktop and laptop PCs, with support available for both Windows and Mac OS.
Notable devices without Discovery+ support include Playstation, Virgin Media Tivo, Virgin V6, Virgin TV 360, and Virgin Stream boxes. It's also not available on NOW TV smart sticks or boxes.
Verdict: The best way to watch Discovery Plus
While the cheapest way to watch TNT Sports is arguably Virgin Media, as we cover in our main guide to TNT Sports subscriptions, it's not the best way to watch Discovery+ due to a lack of app support.
Sky TV on the other hand not only supports Discovery+ on all its latest devices, but all Sky TV customers get free access to the Discovery+ Standard plan, and those who take the TNT Sports pack also get free access to Discovery+ Premium.
BT TV is another good place to access Discovery+ cheaply, with all customers gaining free access to Discovery+ Basic, and those who sign up to one of their sports plans also gaining access to Discovery+ Premium.
However, for those who don't want the additional TV content, it's also possible to sign up to Discovery+ directly, including via Prime Video where app support isn't available.
Overall, the offers available provide easy access to this app, with the best value for money accessible to customers willing to bundle their services through one provider.
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