It’s official – streaming service Discovery+ is hitting the Canadian market on Oct. 19, with Corus Entertainment on board as a marketing partner.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav first announced the Canadian expansion during a call with investors in August, stating the platform would launch here in the latter part of 2021, as well as in Brazil and the Philippines.

As part of the launch, Discovery has inked an integrated marketing partnership with Corus, which will see the broadcaster promote the service on its linear networks as well as radio, digital and social platforms.

“We are excited to build on over 20 years as joint venture partners with Discovery in Canada,” said Doug Murphy, president and CEO of Corus Entertainment, in a statement. “As the country’s leader in lifestyle content, Corus’ extensive suite of media assets provide broad scale and reach to audiences seeking to experience Discovery’s deep library of world class content wherever they are. With our expertise in driving discoverability and brand recognition, we look forward to supporting the growth of Discovery+ in Canada.”

Discovery+ will launch at two price points – $4.99 per month with ads and $6.99 per month ad free. The streamer will be available on Amazon’s Fire TV, Apple and Google devices, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs and Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S devices via the Microsoft Store.

The Oct. 19 launch date will give Canadian audiences access to more than 200 original Discovery+ series, as well as 60,000 episodes of content across Discovery’s portfolio of networks, including HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, OWN, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Magnolia Network and “the largest streaming collection of natural history content from the BBC.” The launch also includes more than 1,000 episodes available in French.

Both Corus and Bell Media own and operate Discovery-branded channels in Canada. Corus owns HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada and OWN, while Bell Media owns Discovery Canada, Animal Planet, ID, Discovery Velocity and Discovery Science.

A spokesperson from Corus tells Playback Daily that the library content from Corus’ licensing deal with Discovery will not be affected by the launch of the streamer. “Networks like HGTV Canada and Food Network Canada will continue to premiere the vast majority of acquired content first, in addition to maintaining market exclusivity for our Canadian original titles such as Island of Bryan, Scott’s Vacation House Rules, Great Chocolate Showdown and more,” said the spokesperson.

A spokesperson for Bell Media says there are “no changes” to programming offerings for Discovery-branded linear networks in Canada. “In addition, Bell Media’s Discovery remains the exclusive home to smash-hit Canadian original series such as Highway Thru Hell, Heavy Rescue: 401, Mighty Trains and Mud Mountain Haulers. The rollout will vary with each program.”

Among the series announced as part of the launch are Discovery+ originals Unseamly: The Investigation of Peter Nygard, No Responders Left Behind, Bobby and Giada in Italy, Queen of Meth and Love in Paradise as well as popular franchise titles such as Fixer Upper: Welcome Home, 90 Day: The Single Life, and Naked and Afraid of Love. The streamer will also have content from popular personalities such as Drew and Jonathan Scott from Property Brothers, Guy Fieri, Zak Bagans and Dr. Pimple Popper Sandra Lee.

The launch will be “the first time Canadian viewers will have access to the most comprehensive collection of real life programming available anywhere,” according to Discovery. It comes before an expected merger between Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia in 2022 to form Warner Bros. Discovery, with Zaslav tapped to lead it.

Updated on Oct. 12 with a comment from Bell Media