Recently a Discovery streaming service launched, which hosts many popular paranormal shows such as Ghost Adventures, Dead Files, and Kindred Spirits. According to Variety, the newly launched streaming service, Discovery Plus, hopes to reach 70 million subscribers in the U.S.
Zak Bagans has been the host of Ghost Adventures since the series started, along with co-host Aaron Goodwin and Nick Groff. Ghost Adventures got its start from a documentary that Bagans created in 2004, referred to as “The Original Documentary.” Groff left the series for various unverifiable reasons. Still, there are many speculations that Bagans and Groff got into a disagreement and went their separate ways, leaving Ghost Adventures with Bagans. Besides hosting the longest continuing paranormal show, Bagans owns “The Haunted Museum,” located in Las Vegas, Nevada, which houses many occult artifacts and was voted the best-haunted destination in America by readers’ choice in 2020.
Bagans confirms that discovery plus is the new home for Ghost Adventures on Twitter, “Lots of you are asking, and yes, @discoveryplus is officially the new haunted home for Ghost Adventures…Watch EVERY episode now and then stream upcoming NEW episodes when they premiere only on D+. Catch up & stay tuned for more GA on D+.”
Not everyone is happy with the discovery family channel lineup moved to online streaming, followed by its sister company Disney Plus. Some claim they are being robbed because they are already paying for cable, which has channels such as Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, and Food Network, among many others. U/porcelaindoll0013 posted on r/discoveryplus, “Unless I’m misunderstanding something, I’m under the impression that cable shows that I already pay to watch thru my cable provider are being kidnapped, and I have to pay a monthly ransom to continue watching them. Am I right?”
It seems that streaming may be the future of television. According to Forbes, “Streaming removes the middlemen of theaters or cable system operators and connects customers directly with the entertainment companies.” But this limits and frustrates the consumers. Another article posted to Forbes claims that 69 percent of Americans subscribe to streaming services such as Netflix, and 65 percent still have traditional cable services along with streaming services.
Scott Nus posted to Facebook in the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventure Group, “Wasn’t happy about the move, spent a little money on a streaming device and picked up Discovery +, going to dump cable. Actually, going to save me money.”
With consumers subscribing to streaming services, they will be able to personalize how they get their entrainment and information. Paying for a few small subscriptions instead of one oversized general cable packages may be where the future of television and news may be leading, but only time will tell.