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Discovery Communications has expanded its over-the-top service, Dplay, in several European countries, including Denmark, Italy and Sweden. Citizens of these countries will now be able to enjoy the mass media and entertainment company's live sports and non-fiction programming on their mobile devices.

Jean-Briac Perrette, president of Discovery Networks International, told Broadband TV News the company is aggressively introducing digital, direct-to-consumer products and wants to have one million subscribers by 2017.

"Discovery expanded its OTT service, Dplay, in several European countries."

Perrette said Discovery has channels in more than 200 markets and puts a lot of money into content, formats and IP to increase its market share, engage viewers and expand into new markets.

"Dplay is Discovery's second OTT product, and we are laser focused on delivering direct to consumer, multi-platform experiences that offer must-see content at a fixed price. We have the pedal to the metal as we look to launch new offerings in strategic markets at lightning speed," Dave Schafer, senior vice president of digital media at Discovery Networks International, said in a statement.

Discovery first launched Dplay in Norway last year and plans to expand the service to additional markets before the end of the year.

During Discovery's fourth quarter earnings call, Zaslav mentioned the company has had a lot of success with its two OTT products, Dplay and Eurosport Player, in Europe.

"Those services have almost 0.25 million subscribers, bringing in an average of US$8 per month," Zaslav said. "Our European OTT offerings is giving us a growing revenue stream, a growing direct-to-consumer offering and valuable learnings that we can apply in the US and other markets."

Zaslav added that if cable doesn't develop the way it needs to, it will force networks to go directly to consumers.