Discovery Network entered the Indian market in 1995 with Discovery Channel and since then, has launched a series of channels rounding up to eight, including Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Science and Discovery Kids. The last offering from the network was Discovery Kids, which was launched in 2012.
The network has been looking at launching shows that have local appeal. Shows such as Mystery Hunters India (Discovery Kids) and The Great Indian Wedding (TLC) in Indian settings have proved to be successful propositions. The network has also explored the option of catering to different language audiences in regional languages.
Discovery Kids was launched in English, Hindi and Tamil. TLC and Animal Planet are running in English and Hindi. Meanwhile, the flagship channel, Discovery, is running English, Hindi, Telugu and Bangla feeds. In addition, Discovery has a separate channel for the Tamil market.
afaqs! caught up with Rahul Johri, senior vice-president and general manager, South Asia and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, to talk about the localised feel of the shows of network channels like TLC and about industry issues like the 10+2 ad cap and CPT-CPRP. Excerpts...
Edited Excerpts
How does the localised content fare on Discovery Network channels?
The shows on TLC have touched upon different genres and the local content that we have done on the channel has done well for us. The way we have followed the path, we never do the same thing again and being a lifestyle channel, we make sure we come up with new things; we manage to surprise people with new concepts from time to time.
As the channel has progressed it has become bigger and makeover is one big thing on the channel. We have had shows like 'Be Blunt with Adhuna Akhtar', 'Style Inc. with Aalim Hakim', 'What Not to Wear' and now 'Trinny & Susannah's-makeover mission India' which will be launched on August 12.
Also, we brought in established formats made in India by Indian hosts, which have been running on the channel; and shows that have Indian participants as well. We have a whole gamut and the audience will continue to see all this. We are working on Indian production virtually across genres.
Discovery Network's last channel that entered the Indian market was Discovery Kids. How is the channel doing?
Discovery Kids is hitting 40 million homes in terms of distribution of the channel and the channel is available on all DTH platforms today. The critical mass on digital has been achieved. The reach continues to grow and every day, we are adding numbers. The good thing is that it has coincided with the digitisation process hence it continues to get more and more distribution. We launched the channel, waited for some time to get more traction and then introduced Tintin, which came in January. Transformers came in April. These two shows have been the pushers of viewership on the channel. We launched 'Amazing Spiez' which is the biggest hit over here. It's still early days but the channel is going in the right direction.
We also launched shows like 'Mystery Hunters' and 'Billu and Munna' in India. So, localisation is coming in various forms. At Discovery Networks across channels, the biggest localisation tool we use is language. After that, how we mix it, how we do it depends on the decision of programmers.
How do you think the 10+2 ad cap regulation will affect channels like the ones in the Discovery Network?
We run on a global standard duration. Our shows are made well in advance and we do not edit them differently for different countries. So we already follow that. Hence, it really makes no difference to us. It's a self-imposed regulation. All our channels are extremely well distributed. Though some amount of tightening up will be there but the quality of content will go up, and therefore the yield of quality inventory will go up. At the end of the day, one needs to deliver what viewers want. All of this will move into a direction where quality of content will improve and that is what is important.
With the 10 + 2 ad cap implementation, will there be branded content and brand integrations on the Discovery Network channels?
As per the inherent nature of the content, I can very easily put a brand on channels like TLC but our shows have longevity, they don't perish today and that's why we shy away from branded content. Also, our shows run globally so some branded content in India will not work anywhere else.
How do you think the yield will rise if the industry moves from CPRP to CPT?
We have always been using CPT across countries. If you look at our 5-10-year old presentations, in India also we have been using CPT method. We are now happy that others are using the same currency.
How is Discovery Networks leveraging the digital medium?
We use digital across our brands and we have a robust web presence. From a marketing point of view we do whatever is required but still our major activity is on television. While it's fashionable to talk about digital, even today there is a vast difference between TV and digital and TV is a pre-eminent medium. We are in the television business for years now and depending on the property we use the relevant medium. Having said that, it's the breathtaking content for which viewers come to our channels. Exposure to and sampling of the content is the best way of attracting viewers.
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