AMSTERDAM — Discovery Networks is keen on on-demand offerings like TV Everywhere, over-the-top and broadband video, but is much more cautious about services like Netflix that could cannibalize the existing business, says Mark Hollinger, President and CEO of Discovery Networks International, during an interview with Beet.TV at the IBC conference.
“We want to license content in a way that doesn’t hurt pay TV and doesn’t take viewership away from the linear channels because we have a business that is ad-supported and pay TV supported,” Hollinger says in this video interview.
That means stand-alone streaming services would likely be put through a tougher filter when it comes to potential deal making, he suggests. The goal with any type of on-demand partnership is to make it a complement rather than a replacement to linear TV. Hollinger adds that Discovery looks favorably on TV Everywhere offerings from pay TV operators, and is exploring best practices for advertising in an on-demand world.
