Discovery Channel’s No. 1 series Man Vs. Wild gets 1 Plus Rating

Media News

New Delhi, January 06, 2009

As per viewership data released by TAM, Discovery Channel’s popular series Man Vs. Wild recorded a 1.14 %TVR in week 50, surpassing all its earlier records in the year. (Source: TAM TG: CS Males, 15-34, SEC AB, 6 metros, Tuesday, 9 pm). The episode was watched by an astonishing 1.7 million viewers across India.

Running successfully through the year, Man Vs. Wild has emerged as the No. 1 series for Discovery Channel and scores ahead of all movies released by English movie channels including HBO and Star Movies. In the year, it recorded higher viewership than Hollywood blockbusters like Casino Royale, Ghost Rider, Terminator and Rambo, cementing the growing trend of Indian viewers preferring an alternate to movies.

Man Vs. Wild airs on Discovery Channel every Tuesday at 9 pm as part of the Ultimate Discovery programmme line-up. A testament to its popularity, in the last 13-weeks, the series was watched by 32 million viewers across the country. During this period, Discovery Channel recorded 32% relative market share on Tuesdays at 9 pm, more than twice the share of English movie channels including Star Movies and HBO. In the same period (Tuesdays 9 pm), Discovery Channel widened the gap with all English news channels: 538% higher than NDTV 24X7; 823% higher than CNBC. (Source: TAM, TG : CS4+ , All India , Wk 40-52 , 9PM).

In the thrilling series Man Vs. Wild, host Bear Grylls shows viewers how to survive the toughest environments on the planet by putting himself in the position of a stranded tourist and strives to survive the harsh unrelenting conditions. He parachutes into rainforests, abseils into deserts and lakes and onto the highest, most inhospitable peaks across the world. Once there he finds his way back to civilization, demonstrating local survival techniques and biting into gut-wrenching eats along the way.

% Relative Channel Share on Tuesdays, 9 PM

Commenting on Man Vs. Wild’s achieving 1 plus rating, Rahul Johri, SVP & General Manager, India, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “Man Vs. Wild is our biggest series of 2008. During the year, it gained popularity across India, especially amongst males. To record higher viewership than all Hollywood blockbusters released by English movie channels reflects the changing preference of the curious Indian viewer. To record 4-5 times the viewership of leading English news channels highlights the compelling advantage it offers to the advertisers. The show has provided the viewers with the ultimate opportunity to experience some of the most extreme conditions in the world with the adventure expert Bear Grylls.”

Bear Grylls is an experienced adventurer who served with the Special Air Service, a Special Forces unit of the British army, where he was trained as a survival expert. His experiences include climbing Mount Everest at the young age of 23, crossing the freezing North Atlantic Ocean in a small, open boat and climbing a Himalayan peak described by Sir Edmund Hillary as 'unclimbable'. Bear returned to the Himalayas to conquer a new dream – attempting to fly a powered paraglider higher than Everest. He has been places and done things that would defeat most normal people. In these series, he shows people the skills of surviving in an unknown land.

For further information, please contact:

Discovery Communications India

Ruchika Tandon

Manager – Corporate Communications

E-mail: Ruchika_tandon@discovery.com

Tel: 011 – 41491127