Hulu nabs five Discovery channels for its live TV line-up
Around 4,000 episodes of Discovery shows will also be available on-demand
Hulu is adding five extra Discovery networks to its live TV line-up along with thousands of on-demand shows. Viewers can look forward to watching Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Motor Trend (the rebranded Velocity), and Animal Planet this December -- the fruits of a multi-year pact that's been in the works since before the launch of Hulu's livestreaming option in May, 2017, according to Variety.
Under the deal, Hulu will expand its Discovery non-fiction tally to almost 4,000 on-demand episodes and become the exclusive subscription streaming home of Deadliest Catch, Say Yes to the Dress, MythBusters and Naked and Afraid, among others.
What's more, Hulu has also inked a deal with the Discovery-owned Oprah Winfrey Network to nab four of its top-rated shows: Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots, If Loving You is Wrong, The Paynes, and Love Thy Neighbor. That's on top of the content it has from Scripps, which Discovery swallowed for $14.6 billion last summer.
Outside of the non-fiction broadcaster's roster, Hulu previously snagged exclusive rights to MTV and Nickelodeon shows through Viacom. And it's riding high after winning three gongs at the Creative Emmys (all for The Handmaid's Tale) last week -- though its rivals Netflix and Amazon also took home awards on the night.
With competition rife in the live TV streaming space, Hulu's latest deal should help it keep pace with the competition, including YouTube (which had 300,000 live TV subscribers at last count) and Sling TV (2.2 million subscribers). Though there's no update on Hulu's numbers this time round, we know it had roped in over 800,000 people by June, up from 450,000 at the start of the year.
