History TV18 takes the 'all-inclusive' path

The channel gears up to launch its first local production titled 'The Greatest Indian' along with CNN-IBN. Apart from Urdu feed, it has also designed an innovative UGC initiative to capture 'historic' moments of an ordinary man's everyday life.

History TV18, the factual entertainment channel offering of the TV18 Group and A+E Networks joint venture, is taking the 'all-inclusive' route to tap into and grow the audience of the infotainment genre.

History TV18 takes the 'all-inclusive' path

The channel is gearing up to launch its first local production in collaboration with CNN-IBN. Titled 'The Greatest Indian', the show aims to feature India's best known faces. The initiative will look to trigger a national debate on 'who is the greatest Indian after independence?' The show format is based on the series, 'The Greatest Briton', the rights of which are with BBC. Launched in 2002 in the UK, the initiative has been adopted across 21 countries till date.

As per the format, the show will identify, through popular vote, the greatest Indian till date (2012/02) after Gandhi. "We will thereby shift the editorial powers into the hands of the viewer," explains Ritu Kapur, head, programming, AETN18.

The show will draw a list of 50 names, from which 10 names will be shortlisted and finally, one will be voted as the greatest Indian.

Furthermore, in a bid to expand its 'all-inclusive' map, the channel has launched its feed in Urdu. With this, the channel will now be available in eight languages, including Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi and English.

When quizzed on the reason behind choosing to launch in Urdu, Ajay Chacko, president, A+E Networks | TV18, says, "Currently, there are 27 million people who watch Urdu. Therefore, we chose to tap into this space."

The channel will also use the social platform extensively to create direct touch points with its viewers. Based on its brand positioning 'History Made Everyday', History TV18 has designed an innovative UGC (user generated content) initiative called History Har Din.

Through this initiative, viewers are invited to share images or videos that capture their life's biggest instances, which they believe were points in time when they truly created history. Entries can be submitted on HistoryHarDin.in.com, and the best entries will be telecast on History TV18.

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