DISCOVERY+ REVIEW 2026
As of January 2026, discovery+ remains a standalone UK service. While TNT Sports content now streams exclusively through it following the Eurosport merger in 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to confirm how the upcoming HBO Max UK launch this March will affect current subscribers.
Discovery+ Pros and Cons In Jan 2026
The King of Reality TV (But for how long?)
Unscripted Goldmine
If you love 90 Day Fiancé, Gold Rush, or true crime marathons, this library is hard to beat. It is a simple way to stream full seasons and big back catalogues without paying for a full cable package.
Budget Friendly Price
At just £3.99 in the UK (or $5.99 in the US), the basic entertainment plan remains one of the cheapest streaming subscriptions on the market if you just want casual background watching.
Easy Background Viewing
Discovery+ is ideal for casual viewing. Short episodes, familiar formats, and endless series make it easy to put something on without needing to commit to a big drama.
Uncertainy in the UK
UK Warning: HBO Max is due to launch in the UK and Ireland in March 2026, and that could change how Discovery+ is packaged or promoted. To be safe, avoid buying a long annual plan until Warner Bros. Discovery confirms what happens next.
The "Lite" Version (US)
US Warning: In the States, Discovery+ still exists but it is a narrower service than HBO Max. You get the reality shows, but the premium HBO dramas (like The Last of Us) sit on the more expensive HBO Max app, which also includes Disovery Plus cotnent anyway.
No Downloads in the UK
Discovery+ in the UK and Ireland does not currently offer offline downloads on any tier, so you need an internet connection to watch. US note: In the United States, offline downloads are available on the ad free plan.
DISCOVERY+ FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS
🎬 These highlights refer to the Discovery+ Entertainment plan. TNT Sports tiers via Discovery+ are UK-only.
REALITY AND DOCS LIBRARY
Huge focus on unscripted TV with full seasons across reality, true crime, food, home, travel, and factual series.
MOSTLY HD STREAMING
Most titles play in HD. 4K UHD is available for select on-demand titles on supported devices, but it’s not across the full library.
UP TO FIVE PROFILES
Create separate profiles so watchlists, continue watching, and recommendations stay organised for each viewer.
KIDS AND PIN CONTROLS
Use a family profile to set an age rating for kids and add a PIN to help prevent switching to higher-rated profiles.
NO OFFLINE DOWNLOADS
In the UK and the Republic of Ireland, there’s no offline/download mode — you’ll need an internet connection to watch.
ENTERTAINMENT VS SPORTS
Entertainment is the lower-cost plan for shows and box sets. In the UK, TNT Sports tiers cost more and focus on live sport.
WATCHLIST AND SUGGESTIONS
The app supports watchlists and personalised rails that improve as you watch more shows and episodes.
WIDE DEVICE SUPPORT
Available on common streaming devices, smart TVs, phones, tablets, and web, so switching screens is easy.
TWO STREAM LIMIT
You can watch on up to two devices at the same time per account, which may be limiting for families.
Why Choose Discovery+ in 2026?
Niche Obsessions • Seamless Catch Up • Budget Pricing
The Home of Reality
My personal opinion is that no other app feeds a specific obsession quite like this one. Whether you are tracking down Bigfoot or watching couples argue in 90 Day Fiancé the library of unscripted drama is endless. It fills a specific gap that the scripted shows on Netflix simply cannot touch.
Seamless TV Integration
The integration with existing broadcast channels is excellent, great for watching shows from Quest and Really immediately after they aired on live TV. It feels like a superior version of a standard TV guide that lets you binge entire seasons of Salvage Hunters without waiting.
Unbeatable Price Point
At just £3.99 a month for the entertainment plan it costs less than a single fancy coffee. It is the perfect secondary subscription to run alongside a main service without hurting your monthly bank balance.
Is Discovery+ with TNT Sports Worth It in 2026?
Best for live sport fans, not for better picture quality
VERDICT (UK PRICING)
Bottom line: The £33.99/month TNT Sports & Entertainment plan only makes sense if you actually plan to watch TNT Sports. It is not an upgrade that automatically improves the Entertainment catalogue.
If you mainly watch the Entertainment library (reality TV, true crime, food, home, nature), the best value is usually Entertainment at £3.99/month. You get the same core on demand library without paying the sports premium.
Do not subscribe to the sports bundle expecting a guaranteed jump to 4K or premium audio across the board. In the UK, higher quality formats are limited, vary by title and device, and are not consistent across the whole catalogue.
Plan guide:
• Just Entertainment: £3.99/month
• TNT Sports: £30.99/month
• TNT Sports & Entertainment: £33.99/month
MOST POPULAR GENRES ON DISCOVERY+ (2026)
🔎 Catalogue depth: Very High • High • Medium–High
REALITY & RELATIONSHIPS
The absolute core of the platform featuring the biggest relationship dramas, medical oddities, and social experiments from TLC.
Examples: 90 DAY FIANCÉ (ALL SPIN OFFS), SISTER WIVES, MILF MANOR, MY 600 LB LIFE, DR PIMPLE POPPER
TRUE CRIME
A massive library of investigations from the ID channel focusing on murder mysteries, missing persons, and criminal psychology.
Examples: EVIL LIVES HERE, AMERICAN MONSTER, THE CURIOUS CASE OF NATALIA GRACE, KEN AND BARBIE KILLERS, FAKING IT
ADVENTURE & SURVIVAL
High stakes job sites and survival challenges where real people risk everything for fortune or glory in extreme environments.
Examples: GOLD RUSH, DEADLIEST CATCH, NAKED AND AFRAID, AUSSIE GOLD HUNTERS, ED STAFFORD: FIRST MAN OUT
HOME & FOOD
Comfort viewing at its best with endless renovation projects from HGTV and culinary competitions from the Food Network.
Examples: PROPERTY BROTHERS, HOUSE HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL, DINERS DRIVE-INS AND DIVES, CAKE BOSS, CELEBRITY IOU
PARANORMAL
A surprisingly deep collection of ghost hunting shows and supernatural investigations that are perfect for late night binges.
Examples: GHOST ADVENTURES, HELP! MY HOUSE IS HAUNTED, THE EXORCISM FILES, EXPEDITION X
NATURE & SCIENCE
Premium natural history documentaries including the prestigious BBC Earth collection and heavy engineering marvels.
Examples: PLANET EARTH III, BLUE PLANET II, HOW IT'S MADE, IMPOSSIBLE ENGINEERING, SHARK WEEK
Can I Share My Discovery+ Password in 2026?
My Location Test • The Stream Cap
No "Netflix Style" Blocking
I successfully logged into my account from my parents' house this week without any issues. Unlike Netflix which aggressively blocks you for being in a different postcode Discovery+ currently seems to ignore location data and just lets you watch.
The Two-Stream Limit
Discovery+ in the UK allows two simultaneous streams per account. If a third device tries to play something while two streams are already running, it typically won’t start until one of the other streams stops.
Profile Privacy
You can create up to five separate profiles on a single account. It's also helpful for sharing because it keeps my "True Crime" watch history completely separate from my partner's "Home Renovation" recommendations.
The HBO "Max" Warning
Enjoy the relaxed sharing rules while you can. Warner Bros Discovery has already implemented stricter household monitoring on their HBO Max platform in the US so we expect these loopholes to close when the UK app updates in March. However, Discovery+’s guidance is that your login should not be shared outside your household.
Does discovery+ have ads in the UK in 2026?
Stopwatch test results (UK)
THE STOPWATCH TEST
Ad breaks were manually timed on a recent episode of Gold Rush to show what Discovery+ viewing can look like in the UK. In this test, playback began with a 60-second pre-roll, followed by 90-second breaks at 12:14, 24:05, and 38:20k. Just under six minutes of interruptions across a one-hour episode.
NO “AD-FREE” TIER IN THE UK
Unlike the US, Discovery+ doesn’t offer a separate ad-free subscription tier in the UK. That means there isn’t an upgrade that guarantees ad-free on-demand playback across the service (availability and ad placement can still vary by title and device).
THE £33.99 REALITY
Even on the £33.99 TNT Sports & Entertainment tier, adverts do appear during live matches. Live sport streams follow the broadcast feed, so when coverage goes to a break, the same commercial segments shown on the live channel are typically shown in-app too.
Who Should Buy Discovery+ in 2026?
Reality Fans • Sports Viewers • Crime Lovers
The Reality Binger
For anyone deep into 90 Day Fiancé, Sister Wives, and the wider TLC universe, Discovery+ is one of the easiest ways to binge. It’s built for long-running franchises, with plenty of spin-offs and back-catalogue seasons available in one place.
The Football Diehard
If TNT Sports coverage is the priority, the £33.99 TNT Sports & Entertainment tier is the all-in option inside the Discovery+ ecosystem. It’s a premium price, but it can suit viewers who want TNT Sports and Eurosport in one subscription rather than committing to a longer-term pay-TV bundle.
The Armchair Detective
The Investigation Discovery (ID) library is a strong fit for true crime fans, with a steady supply of series built around interviews, reconstructions, and case deep-dives. It’s the kind of catalogue that’s easy to put on for hours at a time.
The Winter Olympics Fan
With Milano Cortina 2026 starting in February 2026, discovery+ can be a timely pick for viewers who want comprehensive live coverage beyond the headline events. It’s especially useful for following niche sports and early-round sessions that may not make it onto free-to-air schedules.
The Budget Streamer
For low-cost background viewing, the £3.99 Entertainment plan can deliver a lot of hours for the money. It’s a simple way to add documentaries, lifestyle series, and reality box-sets to the rotation without taking on another pricey subscription.
Who Should Avoid Discovery+?
The “Max” Waiters • Drama Fans • Casual Sports Viewers
The Prestige Drama Fan
If the main reason for subscribing is big-budget scripted drama such as The Last of Us or House of the Dragon, discovery+ is not the best fit in the UK right now. The service is built around unscripted entertainment and sport, while many Warner Bros. Discovery drama titles have been available through other UK platforms.
The Long-Term Planner
If you’re looking to lock in a year upfront, note that the UK Entertainment plan is typically monthly billingrather than a simple 12-month pass. That’s a good thing: with HBO Max launching in March 2026 and Warner Bros. Discovery’s UK streaming setup likely to shift, staying month-to-month keeps you flexible.
The Casual Football Fan
The £33.99 TNT Sports and Entertainment tier is hard to justify for occasional viewing. If the goal is just a couple of big matches per month, a day pass elsewhere, a pub trip, or splitting costs within a household can work out cheaper than paying a full monthly sports bundle.
The “Zero Ads” Purist
Anyone who wants a guaranteed ad-free experience should be cautious. On-demand viewing can be cleaner on higher tiers, but live sports typically include ad breaks because streams follow the broadcast feed. In other words, no ads ever is not a realistic promise for live coverage.
The Commuter
Offline viewing is a sticking point. In the UK, Discovery+ does not currently offer an offline download feature, so it isn’t a great choice for flights, commuting, or patchy mobile signal days, regardless of which tier is selected.
Most Controversial Discovery Plus Shows
The Four Titles That Broke the Internet
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV
This was incredibly difficult to watch but it is essential viewing. The interviews with former child stars about the abuse at Nickelodeon sparked a massive industry change and the fallout is still filling my news feed today.
Chris Brown: A History of Violence
This ID special reignited the debate about separating art from the artist. While the documentary sparked a massive £400 million ($500m) defamation lawsuit, a judge officially threw the case out on January 13, 2026, ruling that the filmmakers adhered to journalistic standards.
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace
This docuseries divided my entire household. The way it flips the narrative between victim and villain made us question the ethics of the filmmakers just as much as the parents. It is a twisting saga that feels almost too strange to be true.
Milf Manor
I still cannot believe this dating show got commissioned. The premise of mums dating each other's sons is arguably the most uncomfortable TV experiment I have ever seen and it walks a very fine line between entertainment and pure exploitation.
Our Jan 2026 Score: 7.2/10
Down from 7.5 in September. The looming "Max" merger and price fatigue have dragged it down.
The "Lame Duck" Status (-0.5)
This is the main reason for the score drop. HBO Max is scheduled to launch in the UK and Ireland in March 2026. That creates uncertainty around how Discovery+ will be positioned going forward. Until Warner Bros. Discovery clearly explains what changes (if any) are coming to the Discovery+ app, it feels risky to commit to long plans.
Price vs. Value Gap (-0.5)
The £33.99 monthly fee for the full experience now feels excessive, especially compared to the competition. Paying a premium price for an app that hasn't seen a significant feature update in six months (due to the pending merger) stings.
The Olympic Lifeline (+1.0)
This prevents the score from crashing below 7.0. For complete live coverage of Milano Cortina 2026 (every event), TNT Sports on Discovery+ is the key UK destination; the BBC will have selected coverage, not all.
The Niche Anchor (+0.5)
For reality and documentary fans, the library remains unbeaten. The sheer volume of Gold Rush, 90 Day Fiancé, and True Crime content means that for a specific type of viewer, it is still the most used app on their TV.
Ad Load Fatigue (-0.3)
The frequency of ads on the lower tiers feels heavier in January than it did in September. We are seeing longer unskippable breaks, and the frustration of seeing commercials on the expensive Sports tier continues to annoy premium subscribers.
Feature Stagnation (-0.2)
While other apps introduced new 4K upgrades or UI polishes for CES 2026, Discovery+ has stood still. The lack of 4K on the standard entertainment plan feels increasingly outdated in 2026.
How We Rate Discovery Plus
Affiliate Disclosure We may earn a commission if you sign up through our links, however, commission rates are never a factor in our rankings.
Our final score for Discovery Plus is calculated using the 'Balanced Default' weighting profile. This ensures a fair, comparable score against all other providers. See our full ranking methodology here.
How this ensures transparency:
This approach lets us judge the best service for each customer without bias. Commission, CPA, payout rates, and margins are not used anywhere in the scoring model, so providers cannot buy a higher rank. Every score is computed for what’s best for the customer.