Discovery pulls out of OSN
December 11, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Discovery has pulled all of its channels from Dubai-based pay-platform OSN “with immediate effect”.
A statement from Discovery said: “Discovery regrets to advise that despite negotiating in good faith for several months it has been forced to cease broadcast of our channels on OSN. Channels going dark include Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery Science and Investigation Discovery.”
The broadcaster added that it been a partner with OSN (the former Orbit-Showtime Network) for more than 12 years and had proposed several different carriage options to OSN, but that OSN had declined to finalise negotiations.
Discovery says it is “hopeful that an agreement will be reached to bring back its channels for fans across the region, and will provide updates when available”.
It also means that Discovery also goes dark on OSN’s partner platform, mainly IP-supplied bouquets for the MENA region’s telcos.
OSN, in its response, says it is “surprised and disappointed” at Discovery’s decision. An OSN spokesperson added: “We have been in ongoing negotiations for several months to reach an agreement that was best for our customers, but despite our efforts, we, like many other platforms and broadcasters globally, have found the price expectations for the Discovery portfolio to be unrealistic,”