German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and US media group Discovery have officially launched their new Joyn OTT platform.
Joyn is a 50:50 joint venture between ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery in Germany and will combine all free-to-air channels from the two broadcasters along with 15 partners that include public-service broadcaster ARD and ZDF, and sports broadcaster Sport1. The platform will initially offer 55 channels.
ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery first announced they would be launching Joyn in May and have been in partnership since October 2017 when they launched their previous OTT platform known as as 7TV.
The pair have been partnering up in media-rights tenders since at least October 2018, when it is thought they bid for rights to the English Premier League.
Since then, the joint venture has been involved in several tenders to try and secure key rights for Joyn, including the ATP Tour tennis rights and the Wimbledon grand slam.
Joyn will be initially be free-of-charge, however it has been announced that new features and content will be incorporated on the platform before the winter season, which is thought to include premium sports content that will require a subscription.