According to "Broadband TV News"..here....

"Discovery is to launch a new subscription on demand video service backed by the BBC’s factual programming library.

Discovery will have access to all of the BBC’s landmark natural history programmes in SVOD, including the Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Life collection of titles. A library of other factual shows will also be made available.


BBC Studios acquires the remaining seven channels – Alibi, Dave, Drama, Eden, Gold, Yesterday and W – along with digital player UKTV Play, and the UKTV brand. The channels are seen as being those most closely aligned to the BBC, and represent 95% of BBC content on the UKTV platform."

The BBC will pay Discovery £173m which includes a debt arrangement of £70m currently paid by Discovery.



A report from "The Guardian" is here:-

"The BBC has taken control of Gold and Dave broadcaster UKTV, which it co-owns with US pay-TV giant Discovery, in the largest deal in the corporation’s history.

UKTV, which runs a mix of 10 free-to-air and pay-TV channels, is jointly owned by Discovery and BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC.

Under the terms of the deal the BBC will take control of seven of the UKTV channels – while Discovery will get Good Food, Home and Really – for almost £200m.

The BBC has agreed to pay about £100m in cash, take on about £70m of debt from UKTV, and also give Discovery a £10m share of the dividend that UKTV has amassed in its current financial year.


The deal is the biggest in the corporation’s history".

"Televisual" has a comment and a report here.

TVB Europe has a report here:- "Tony Hall, director general of the BBC, said: “This is our largest ever content sales deal. It will mean BBC Studios and Discovery will work together to take our content right across the globe through a new world-beating streaming service. Global subscribers are in for a real treat: the best content on a great new platform.”