Discovery to launch its first Hindi GEC in India

Discovery Communications today announced its plan to roll out Discovery JEET, a new entertainment channel across India, starting in late 2017. The new channel will be the flagship for the network's ambitious investment into local productions in India and plans to include a range of programme genres including crime investigations, small-town heroes and gritty survival.

Karan Bajaj, senior vice-president and general manager, South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, says in a press release, "We are excited to launch Discovery JEET, which will bring a new style of entertainment, in a truly local, bespoke, ground-up offering. It borrows the best of Discovery's ethos, seeded in fact and purpose-driven content, and leveraging global resources to mount it at a scale that delivers larger-than-life stories"

Arthur Bastings, president and managing director, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, adds, "The expansion into general entertainment with JEET redefines how Discovery will connect and interact with new young audiences across the heartlands of India. JEET is fun, relatable, and exciting and brings to life the captivating, real stories of India's own in a manner never seen before!"

According to a press release, Discovery is scaling up investment in over 200 hours of local content originals which will premiere on this new channel. Targeting young male audiences, (not just in the metros, but also in tier II and tier III cities), Discovery JEET will be a highly-charged entertainment channel, immersing viewers in a world where gripping stories, heroic characters and tales of achievement are the status quo.

The channel is set to premiere with a 65-episode scripted biopic series on India's Yoga Guru, Baba Ramdev-- 'Swami Baba Ramdev: The Untold Story'. The biopic series will trace Swami Baba Ramdev's journey from a life of anonymity to national icon, international cult figure and now business mogul.

Another offering would be a scripted action drama series, 'Saragarhi - India's Bravest Day', which will be about one of the greatest, yet largely uncelebrated, last stands in Indian military history.The show line up will also include 'Gabru: The Birth of Hip Hop', a scripted series on the Rap and Hip Hop revolution that has taken India by storm, from the far ends of Punjab to the slums of Mumbai. 'Gangs of Mumbai', a scripted series on the colourful, larger-than-life characters from the underworld of India's Maximum City, will be also be seen on Discovery Jeet.