Shows such as Salvage Hunters, Arctic Waters are shown first on free to air Quest, why not show them on Discovery first also shows like Ghosts of Shepherdstown, Kindred Spirits and the new Katie Price series My Crazy Life are shown on Quest Red, why not show them on TLC first like other series. Surely you want people to subscribe to the pay channels so you would show new series first on them and then Quest/Quest Red at a later date? It's like Sky showing Modern Family or something like that first on Pick first and then on Sky One? It doesn't really make sense
It only doesn’t make sense if you are purely interested in making money. Believe it or not, there are some companies in the world who actually want to provide a decent service as well as this.
Katie Price: My Crazy Life and Salvage Hunters are channel premieres, i.e. commissioned for Quest and Quest Red (which both are FTA). If it was the other way around, i.e. a new Discovery programme being shown on Quest (FTA) then there are limitations (i.e. can't be shown outside of Pay TV for a few years) because of the deal they have with Sky.
Discovery would prefer to have their shows to have a wider reach and using their Free to Air channels, does the job. But it's a balance of keeping that £££ flowing from Sky.
Why do Discovery UK show programs that are produced by Discovery Channel Canada on Quest first? Most shows including Rocky Mountain Railroad are shown on Quest first. Also Rocky Mountain Railroad started airing on Quest on the 29th of January but doesn't start on Discovery Channel Canada until the 5th of March? (The channel which produces the show). Other acquired international shows like Demolition Man from Australia are also shown on Quest first?