Discovery Channel plans more regional feeds

Following Hindi and Tamil language feeds, Discovery will now also be available in Telugu

Discovery has rolled out a Telugu feed with an aim to reach out to a larger number of viewers in Andhra Pradesh.

The Telugu feed of the channel also marks Discovery Channel's 15 years in India. Currently, the channel is also available in Tamil, in addition to English and Hindi.

Discovery Channel plans more regional feeds

Talking to afaqs!, Rahul Johri, senior vice-president and general manager, India, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, says, "Whenever we have added an additional language, it has worked for the channel. Worldwide Discovery is available in as many as 40 languages. Regional language always helps to reach out to a larger section of the audience. The commentary and content in their language helps people connect better."

Johri shares that the roll out of the Telugu feed for the channel is a part of Discovery's long drawn plan of going regional. As part of this, Discovery first launched a 24 hour parallel Hindi feed in 1998. This was followed by a 24 hour Tamil feed for the channel, launched in January this year.

The additional choice of Telugu feed to the viewers is at present available for six hours (from 6 pm to midnight). In the next three months, it will be transformed into a 24 hour parallel feed.

All Discovery programmes and their timings will be the same for all the language feeds.

Johri adds, "Our strategy to go regional is backed by comprehensive research, supported by an efficient dubbing process and a strong distribution infrastructure."

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Discovery Rahul Johri