StarHub’s five-year standoff with Discovery is said to be ending in the next few days with the return of two channels – Discovery and HGTV – to the Singapore subscription platform after a high-profile bust up in 2018.

Neither StarHub nor Warner Bros Discovery has confirmed the new carriage deal or announced the launch date, which is widely believed to be the first week of October.

This coincides with the disappearance of the last of the Disney channels – Nat Geo and Nat Geo Wild – from the dial.

StarHub has been promising subscribers “more exciting programmes” for a few months, billing exits such as NBA TV, Chinese variety channel Now Jelli and others as “part of our ongoing efforts to review and improve our TV content”. So far this year, StarHub has cancelled at least eight channels.

Seven Discovery channels went dark on StarHub on 30 June 2018 after long-running and bitter negotiations that were at the time the most public carriage spat in the region ever.

At issue was a rumoured US$11-million price tag. StarHub balked, and Discovery wouldn’t budge. Neither company at the time confirmed details of the end of a decades-long carriage arrangement.

The former Scripps channels – Asian Food Channel (AFC), HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel – were shut off in August 2018.

StarHub replaced the seven channels with CuriosityStream HD, Travelxp HD, Gusto TV HD, Makeful HD, GEM HD, Fight Sports HD and Colors Tamil HD, all of which rolled out in July 2018.

StarHub also carries a bouquet of channels from Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), including HBO-branded channels, CNN and Cartoon Network.

Shows on the October schedules of HGTV and Discovery include the 19th season of “Deadliest Catch” and season one of true crime series, “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace”, which premieres at 10pm on 6 October, and season three of HGTV competition series, “Battle on the Beach”, which also premieres on 6 October.

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▶ 6 September 2023: NBA TV exits StarHub from 1 October; still no word on promised new channels

▶ 5 September 2023: Singapore’s StarHub flags new channels launch in Q4 2023; no details disclosed yet

▶ 25 June 2018: Game over: StarHub replaces Discovery