IT HAS not been a good month for sports fans, as two popular streaming apps dial back their offerings.
Not only is Eurosport now gone for good, having officially retired on 28 February, but Discovery+ has made a significant change to its membership plans.
Until now, Eurosport has been a part of Sky TV and Virgin Media TV packages at no extra cost[/caption]
Eurosport left British TV screens after 35 years this week, as the popular channel is merged with TNT Sports.
Until now, Eurosport has been a part of Sky TV and Virgin Media TV packages at no extra cost.
TNT Sports, however, is available as an add-on to certain subscription packages and comes with a separate fee.
Viewers can add it to their Sky, Virgin Media and Discovery+ packages.
It means sports like cycling, snooker, skiing and more will now become more expensive to watch for UK customers.
Though sports fans have just been dealt another blow by Discovery+.
The streaming service has retired its Standard subscription, which included Eurosport.
It has also removed its annual subscription option – and the annual savings that go with it.
As of this week, the platform will only offer two package options to UK viewers: Basic at £3.99 per month or Premium at £30.99 per month.
There will be no middle tier, or annual discounts.
It means sports fans will have to subscribe to TNT Sports to watch the matches they want.
And to watch TNT Sports through Discovery+, they will have to sign up to the £30.99 per month plan.
Discovery+ previously offered a Basic annual subscription at £39.99 per year, giving customers a discount of nearly £8 a year.
But that option has now been axed, forcing viewers to pay more for the same service.
Until late 2023, the Basic tier was known as the Entertainment tier, while Standard was called Entertainment & Sports.
When streaming services remove specific subscription plans, they typically wait until the end of a customer’s billing cycle to switch them onto a new plan.
DISCOVERY+: BREAKDOWN OF SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES
There are 2 different Discovery+ plans you can choose from:
Basic (previously known as Entertainment)
Price: £3.99 per month
- Access to on-demand catalogue.
- Access to following live channels: Animal Planet, Discovery, Discovery History, Discovery Science, DMAX, Food Network, HGTV, ID, Quest, Quest Red, TLC, and Turbo.
Premium – including TNT Sports (previously known as Entertainment & Sports)
Price: £30.99 per month
- Everything included with the Basic plan.
- Includes TNT Sports: cycling, tennis, snooker, UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches, Premier League games, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, boxing, UFC and more.
With TNT Sports on discovery+, you get:
- Interactive Timeline Markers.
- Ability to switch between live games.
