Sky TV subscribers are getting a new “bonus” this week – a subscription to the Discovery+ streaming service, including its sports category – at no extra cost – But not every Sky customer is eligible.
Discovery+ is a streaming subscription service dedicated to lifestyle, factual and sports content, with upcoming highlights such as The 2023 Australian Open and Roland-Garros tennis, the Tour de France – and every moment of the Olympic Games Paris in 2024.
The service has two paid tiers – one which only includes Entertainment programming at £3.99/month, and the one that also includes sports, which costs £6.99/month.
Both paid tiers on Discovery+ also include advert breaks, as we previously reported.
Starting this week, Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers (check Sky deals) can now sign up for Discovery+ Entertainment + Sport as part of their monthly Sky TV subscription, saving them £6.99/month (see full eligibility details below).
What Is Discovery+?
Discovery+, which launched in 2020, replaced Discovery’s Dplay streaming service (which used to be totally free), with a combined offering of both free and “premium” channels.
The free (for all) tier on Discovery+ includes several Freeview channels, such as Quest, Really, HGTV and others, while the paid tier adds several additional live premium channels, along with their on-demand content – Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, and more.
The premium paid tier on Discovery+ has TWO separate plans: Entertainment (£3.99/month) and Entertainment + Sports (£6.99/month) – which also includes the content that used to reside on Eurosport Player (which was phased out as a standalone streaming platform).
Featuring documentaries, reality TV, exclusive originals spanning true crime, paranormal, dating and relationships, home, food, plus some of the most exciting live sports events, Discovery+ includes:
- Real-life courtroom drama in Vardy vs Rooney: The Wagatha Trial which looks at the two sides of the libel trial that made headlines worldwide
- Brand-new TV dating experiment, Written in the Stars, in which 12 intrepid contestants put their fate in the hands of the world’s top astrologers, plus reality favourites including 90 Day Fiancé and Beauty and the Geek.
- A unique look into the passion projects of Richard Hammond and Peter Crouch through the entertaining and heart-warming docu-series Richard Hammond’s Workshop and award-winning Peter Crouch: Save Our Beautiful Game.
- Detailed analysis and a look behind some of the most high-profile crime stories with the Faking It specials
Normally, customers can subscribe to Discovery+ either directly, or via Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, which also come in those two flavours (along with a 7-day free trial) –Discovery+ Entertainment and Discovery+ Entertainment + Sport.
When Discovery+ launched, there were no adverts on the paid tiers. Last March, however, Discovery+ first added ad breaks to the Entertainment tier – and a few months ago, adverts were also added to the Entertainment+ Sports tier.
Last year, Discovery+ merged with BT Sport, and the two platforms will eventually create a joint venture under a single brand. For now, however, the two platforms still operate independently.
BT Sport subscribers can get Discovery+ for free, but the reverse isn’t true – therefore, Sky customer who are now getting Discovery+ at no extra cost, won’t be getting BT Sport for free as part of that offer.
How To Get Discovery+ Free On Sky
Sky TV subscribers who are eligible to get Discovery+ Entertainment + Sports at no extra cost are those with:
Customers with Sky Q Essentials, Sky Q Lite, and Sky+ (and Sky HD+) can’t get discovery+ at no extra cost.
Do note, however, that, under a separate offer, Sky customers with older, SD-only boxes can now upgrade to Sky Q at no extra cost – and THEN get the Discovery+ offer (as long as they’re on the eligible subscription tier).
In the past, Sky already offered 12 months of Discovery+ for Sky Q subscribers (an offer that was later pulled). If you’re still under THAT offer and your 12 months aren’t up yet, Sky says you will be automatically upgraded to the new offer, and will be able to continue watching Discovery+ on an ongoing basis.
Of course, your access to Discovery+ depends on you being an active Sky subscriber. If you cancel your Sky subscription, your Discovery+ subscription will also end (but you can always sign up for Discovery+ directly).
How Do I Activate The Discovery+ Offer?
First, open the Discovery+ app on Sky Q / Sky Glass / Sky Stream (either by using the remote, or saying “Get Discovery Plus”).
You can then choose “Get Discovery+”, and confirm your subscription (make sure it shows up as £0 a month).
At that point you’ll be asked to scan a QR code, or go to sky.com/discoveryplus-activate, where you’ll sign in with your Sky account and get redirected to the Discovery+ website to activate the offer.
You can then either sign in with an existing account or create a new one. If you sign in with a new account – and you’re already subscribed to Discovery+ independently of Sky – you’ll need to remember to cancel your paid subscription.
Once you sign up (or sign in) and connect your Sky account, you’ll be able to access and use your full Discovery+ subscription on every streaming device that supports the Discovery+ app – Amazon Fire TV sticks, Roku, smartphones, Smart TVs and more (and not just on your Sky device).
It says Something went wrong while applying your Partner offer to your existing discovery+ account. when I try and link sky to my discovery+ account
Same here don’t know what they are on about looking for a subscription when I logged on tonight
i am vip customer i have multi room with sky q .i have an email saying discovery plus is free.i have signed in and activated the app.so why does if ask me to upgrade to pay .for example on paranormal nasa it want me to up grade to pay . if this is the case it is not free is it .
should this be happening.