Discovery, Hasbro shows to drop off Netflix

Content from Discovery and Hasbro’s US joint venture channel is set to disappear from Netflix’s US line-up as the parties have failed to strike a renewal deal, according to various US reports.

The failure of Discovery, which owns 60% of the Discovery/Hasbro joint venture that was formerly known as The Hub and now rebranded as Discovery Family, and Netflix to strike a new deal means that shows including My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, Chuck and Friends and Transformers: Rescue Bots will likely disappear from the subscription video-on-demand platform in the US from February 2.

However, movies My Little Pony: Equestria Girls and Transformers Prime, which are not part of the expiring deal, will remain on the platform.

Discovery Family Channel, meanwhile, has moved towards family-skewed programming and away from younger-skewing shows.

Shows from other Discovery channels disappeared from Netflix in October after the pair failed to strike a renewal deal. In December, Discovery announced its first partnership with Hulu.

There has been some speculation that the channel provider could launch its own OTT service to distribute its content in the US, or strike a deal with Amazon.

The loss of the Discovery/Hasbro content is a further blow to Netflix’s efforts to make headway in the kids market. In 2013 Netflix failed to strike a new deal with Viacom, losing Nickelodeon content. The platform still has deals in place with Disney and DreamWorks Animation, and has push heavily into original children’s programming.