Discovery to launch streaming service in January for $ 4.99 per month

Discovery is the latest media company to embark on the increasingly crowded streaming wars.

It will launch its Discovery + streaming service on January 4, 2021. The service will include a $ 4.99 per month ad-supported tier and a $ 6.99 per month ad-free tier.

The lower tier of $ 4.99 costs the same as the premium tier of Peacock, owned by NBCUniversal, with ads. The $ 6.99 ad-free tier is comparable to what Disney + costs. Both offerings are much cheaper than WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, which costs $ 14.99 per month, and Netflix, which increased its standard plan to $ 13.99 per month in October.

Discovery is also partnering with Verizon, which will offer 55 million customers up to 12 months free Discovery + subscription, depending on their wireless plan with the carrier.

Partnerships will be the key to Discovery’s success.

The company owns networks like Discovery Channel, famous for its annual Shark Week, as well as home improvement channel HGTV and Food Network, among others. Discovery says Discovery + will launch with the most content of any new streaming service: 55,000 episodes of 2,500 shows.

Discovery + is also adding content from A&E, History Channel and Lifetime as part of a new partnership. The service will also feature original content from figures such as Sir David Attenborough and Chef Bobby Flay.

Discovery + has also signed advertising partners such as Boston Beer Company, Kraft Heinz, Lowe’s and Toyota.

But it’s smaller and less well-known than its rivals who just launched their streaming services last year. In just one year, Disney + garnered 73.7 million subscribers, far exceeding the company’s expectations of 60 to 90 million subscribers by 2024. NBCUniversal’s Peacock, launched this summer, has already reached nearly 22 million subscribers. WarnerMedia reported over 38 million domestic subscribers for HBO and HBOMax in October.

In early 2021, ViacomCBS’s Paramount + will also be launched.

Discovery hopes its programming and partnerships can differentiate its service by joining a crowded field of competitors with leaders standing out from the rest of the pack.

Discovery is expected to reveal more details about its streaming service at an event at noon ET on Wednesday.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.