While some virtual MVPDs have kept Discovery Communications’ networks off their domestic skinny bundle packages, viewer demand and its recent purchase of Scripps Networks could force distributors to loosen their belts, chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels told an industry audience Friday.
Discovery has been successfully launched on several skinny bundle packages in Europe and has a deal withAmazon Channels in Germany and the U.K., for subscription VOD offerings of its channels. In the U.S., the row has been tougher to hoe – its networks are included in services like Sony PlayStation Vue and DirecTV Now, but have been left out of others like Hulu Live.
At the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment conference in Los Angeles Friday,Wiedenfelssaid that isn’t because Discovery’s content isn’t considered must have – he pointed to research that shows its content is very much in demand with cord-cutters and cord-nevers. And he said that could change as the business matures.
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