Category: Factual

New Discovery India chief joins office; verticals created under two VPs

NEW DELHI: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, home to iconic brands like TLC, Animal Planet, ID, Discovery channel and Discovery Life, has effected a restructuring in its Indian operations, after its Indian head Rahul Johri quit earlier this year, by creating two verticals under two vice-presidents which will now report to the newly-appointed South Asia Senior Vice President & General Manager Karan Bajaj.

Bajaj in turn reports to Discovery Networks Asia Pacific president & managing director Arthur Bastings, who has been charged with the responsibility of scaling up the network’s operations in the region and steering it into the digital ecosystem.

The Delhi-based heads of the two verticals under Discovery South Asia — Rajiv Bakshi and Richard Pembroke — female & family entertainment product and real world entertainment product, respectively — report to Bajaj who joined duties a couple of days ago. TLC, ID, Kids, and their HD and other language cousins fall under the female, & family entertainment product, while Discovery, Science, Turbo, Animal Planet, and their HD and language versions come under the Real World vertical.

According to Discovery sources, the changes that came into effect in recent months are aimed at revitalising the Indian operations, which the Asian regional head office located in Singapore felt was necessary after a period of slow growth in Asia’s biggest market, India.

Discovery, which broadcasts in English and several Indian languages aimed at increasing the reach beyond the English speaking areas, has also been increasing generation of local content for broadcast in South Asia and also on its global network.

The sources, however, clarified that the changes are interim in nature and as Bajaj settles down in his new assignment more rejigs may be in the offing.

Discovery, which launched its operations in India in the mid-1990s with former ISRO executive Kiran Karnik at the helm, has been witnessing churn since long-time executive Johri quit the organisation early 2016, which was also part of changes taking place in Discovery after Singapore-based Tom Keaveny, President and MD for Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, was relocated to London in 2013 and Discovery bought over Eurosport subsequently.

Still, Indian broadcast industry observers said that Johri, a protégé of former India head Deepak Shourie (he was at the helm after Karnik departed in 2001), had navigated Discovery’s India operations quite ably during challenging times in the first decade of 2000.

In recent times, the whole Discovery group has been focusing on initiatives to keep pace with the changing technological space, including recently announcing a U$100 million investment in a digital JV as a minority stakeholder in Group Nine Media.

ALSO READ:

Marketing wizkid Karan Bajaj to head Discovery India

Discovery APAC EVP & GM – South Asia Rahul Johri quits

October 19, 2016
Fox Networks announces new leadership structure

MUMBAI: Further strengthening its proposition in India, Fox Networks Group (FNG) has announced a new leadership structure in the product team. Aparna Deshmukh has joined as the vice-president (content and communications) and will be responsible for channel strategy and operations for all FNG brands in India.

This restructure is to help drive a unified vision and renewed focus of the FNG portfolio of channels in India. This new focus will be driven through three main pillars – the channel and brand strategy, on air communication and original productions.

“I am delighted to have such a power-packed product leadership team in Aparna, Sanjay and Shruti. Our channels are witnessing some of the biggest and most exciting changes in decades that will redefine genre and consumer expectations and habits. We have instituted this new structure to help drive disproportionate growth for FNG’s bouquet of global brands by keeping them locally relevant and fresh for the viewer and also making them a strategic choice for the advertiser,” said Fox Networks Group India business head Swati Mohan.

Deshmukh comes with over 17 years of experience in brand strategy and marketing across categories of consumer, services and technology. She has had stints at Hindustan Unilever, HSBC, Microsoft India, Carlsberg and Adidas. She will focus on content programming and acquisition, consumer and trade marketing, localization and key partnerships across all verticals.

Moreover, Sanjay Ramachandran, who joined in November last year from Turner APAC, will continue to serve as head – creative services; broadcast design and on air communication for all channel brands.

Shruti Takulia, on the other hand, will also continue in her role as creative director – original productions. In the past two and a half years at FNG, Takulia and her team have created award winning original content for both Nat Geo and Fox Life that have travelled across the globe and across multiple platforms. Prior to FNG, she has spearheaded content development functions at Reliance BIG Productions and Endemol India, having started her creative journey in television with MTV.

October 17, 2016
Fox Networks announces new leadership structure

MUMBAI: Further strengthening its proposition in India, Fox Networks Group (FNG) has announced a new leadership structure in the product team. Aparna Deshmukh has joined as the vice-president (content and communications) and will be responsible for channel strategy and operations for all FNG brands in India.

This restructure is to help drive a unified vision and renewed focus of the FNG portfolio of channels in India. This new focus will be driven through three main pillars – the channel and brand strategy, on air communication and original productions.

“I am delighted to have such a power-packed product leadership team in Aparna, Sanjay and Shruti. Our channels are witnessing some of the biggest and most exciting changes in decades that will redefine genre and consumer expectations and habits. We have instituted this new structure to help drive disproportionate growth for FNG’s bouquet of global brands by keeping them locally relevant and fresh for the viewer and also making them a strategic choice for the advertiser,” said Fox Networks Group India business head Swati Mohan.

Deshmukh comes with over 17 years of experience in brand strategy and marketing across categories of consumer, services and technology. She has had stints at Hindustan Unilever, HSBC, Microsoft India, Carlsberg and Adidas. She will focus on content programming and acquisition, consumer and trade marketing, localization and key partnerships across all verticals.

Moreover, Sanjay Ramachandran, who joined in November last year from Turner APAC, will continue to serve as head – creative services; broadcast design and on air communication for all channel brands.

Shruti Takulia, on the other hand, will also continue in her role as creative director – original productions. In the past two and a half years at FNG, Takulia and her team have created award winning original content for both Nat Geo and Fox Life that have travelled across the globe and across multiple platforms. Prior to FNG, she has spearheaded content development functions at Reliance BIG Productions and Endemol India, having started her creative journey in television with MTV.

October 17, 2016
Chef Vikas Khanna takes viewers on a personal tour with ‘Twist of Taste’ in America

MUMBAI: Fox Life is back with the new season of Twist of Taste. The new season will give the viewers a peek into the life of Vikas Khanna in his second home — the United States of America; as he meets iconic chefs and other experts in his field.

The show will air from 15 October every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm.

“We are excited to bring in a new season of Twist of Taste- every season so far has been a viewer favourite, and one of the most popular shows on Fox Life. In line with our vision to bring authentic experiences for our viewers, the new season has been designed to showcase Vikas’s personal journey through America, keeping the theme of experimenting with the local cuisine intact,” said Fox Networks Groups business head Swati Mohan.

The channel and the host will travel across the East Coast of the US giving viewers a glimpse into his own early experiences in New York. While further episodes take them to Boston, Philadephia, Washington D.C., etc and those that inspire Khanna as he samples and twists the varied, vibrant and mouth-watering flavours this multi-cultural country has to offer.

Khanna added, “With Twist of Taste, Fox Life gave me such an enriching opportunity to discover new cultures, unique flavours and new people. But, this season, it really is a new twist – I get to show people My America – my second home, and Fox Life has given me a rare chance to share a side of my life that is so personal to me. My passion about cooking and the experiences from my journey of becoming the chef I am today, I relived these memories and got the chance to be inspired once again. I can’t wait for Fox Life to see it!”

October 14, 2016
Chef Vikas Khanna takes viewers on a personal tour with ‘Twist of Taste’ in America

MUMBAI: Fox Life is back with the new season of Twist of Taste. The new season will give the viewers a peek into the life of Vikas Khanna in his second home — the United States of America; as he meets iconic chefs and other experts in his field.

The show will air from 15 October every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm.

“We are excited to bring in a new season of Twist of Taste- every season so far has been a viewer favourite, and one of the most popular shows on Fox Life. In line with our vision to bring authentic experiences for our viewers, the new season has been designed to showcase Vikas’s personal journey through America, keeping the theme of experimenting with the local cuisine intact,” said Fox Networks Groups business head Swati Mohan.

The channel and the host will travel across the East Coast of the US giving viewers a glimpse into his own early experiences in New York. While further episodes take them to Boston, Philadephia, Washington D.C., etc and those that inspire Khanna as he samples and twists the varied, vibrant and mouth-watering flavours this multi-cultural country has to offer.

Khanna added, “With Twist of Taste, Fox Life gave me such an enriching opportunity to discover new cultures, unique flavours and new people. But, this season, it really is a new twist – I get to show people My America – my second home, and Fox Life has given me a rare chance to share a side of my life that is so personal to me. My passion about cooking and the experiences from my journey of becoming the chef I am today, I relived these memories and got the chance to be inspired once again. I can’t wait for Fox Life to see it!”

October 14, 2016
Discovery invests $ 100 mn in digital JV with Group Nine Media

NEW DELHI: Discovery Communications, owners of TLC and Animal Planet, yesterday announced it’s investing $ 100 million in a digital media company as a minority shareholder. The new media company will comprise Group Nine Media’s Thrillist Media Group, NowThis Media, The Dodo and Discovery’s digital network Seeker (along with its production studio SourceFed Studios).

Axel Springer will maintain its investment as the second largest shareholder. Thrillist CEO Ben Lerer will become the CEO of Group Nine Media. The merging of these millennial-focused brands will immediately create in Group Nine Media one of the largest digital-first media companies, a statement issued by Discovery in New York stated yesterday.

“Today marks the start of a strong new company with tremendous brands, reach and scale,” Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav was quoted in the statement as saying. “The merger of these assets will bring together best-in-class management, led by Ben and his team, expertise in data analytics technology and global reach to create one of the world’s largest digital-first content companies attracting young passionate enthusiasts that advertisers want to reach,” he added.

Analysing the deal, a Bloomberg report said the partnership was another example of traditional and digital media joining forces as TV networks look online to reach younger consumers who may not subscribe to cable or satellite TV. At the same time, online publishers want to team up with TV networks, which can provide the needed funding and professional content to help them compete with Google and Facebook Inc., which are taking a large share of internet advertising.

Last year, Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal invested $200 million in both BuzzFeed and Vox Media, publisher of the Verge, Eater and Recode. This year, Time Warner Inc.’s Turner, which runs the TNT and TBS cable channels, led a $45 million investment in online publisher Refinery29 and led a $15 million funding round for the news website Mashable, Bloomberg said.

“This is truly a ‘win-win’ scenario, allowing our brands the opportunity to remain independent and build our own future, while at the same time, having the support of one of the best media and entertainment companies in the world,” Group Nine Media CEO Ben said in a statement, adding, “Each of our brands has found great success independently, but with consolidation of digital content companies around the corner, there is extraordinary value in all existing under one multi-brand roof. We will be stronger brands working together – we will have more influence; we will have better data and insights; we will be better partners to our advertisers; and most importantly, we will be substantial enough to make a real difference and stay ahead of the market.”

The partnership between Discovery and Group Nine Media will include a commercial agreement that will enable advertisers to reach their desired audience via true 360 opportunities across multiple platforms including linear, digital, social and live events.

On the closing of yesterday’s investment and partnership, Group Nine Media will expand Discovery’s push into the digital network space targeting millennials, which began with the 2012 acquisition of digital network Revision3 and the subsequent acquisition in 2013 of Internet video icon Philip DeFranco’s portfolio of online video channels and ventures, DeFranco Creative. Now called Seeker and SourceFed Studios, these entities will become part of Group Nine Media. Discovery also led rounds of funding in The Dodo in 2014 and 2015.

In the future, Discovery will have an option to buy a controlling stake in Group Nine Media, the official Discovery statement highlighted.

Capitalizing on the company’s strong foundation and capabilities across editorial, tech, data and monetization, Discovery’s investment will fund growth across all of these areas of the business – specifically, the expansion of the sales team and branded content studio, new vertical launches and expansive content development for all of its brands.

“We are big believers in digital journalism and its very exciting business perspectives. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with the Lerer family through this transaction and to work with Discovery to support the growth of Group Nine Media,” Axel Springer USA and CEO Axel Springer Digital Ventures president Jens Müffelmann was quoted in the statement. Axel Springer will have a seat on the board of Group Nine Media.

“We’re thrilled to work even more closely with Discovery. They’ve been The Dodo’s lead investor and an incredible partner to us, and this feels like an organic and very exciting next step,” said The Dodo founder Izzie Lerer, who will continue to be responsible for the brand. “I’m looking forward to working with my brother, too. His competence in business makes up for most of his annoying personality traits.”

Under the Group Nine Media roof are properties like The Dodo, NowThis, Seeker and Thrillist, which are each unique, mission-driven brands and stand-outs in their respective categories. The Dodo has more than 700 million monthly social video views; NowThis is the No. 1 video news publisher on Facebook; Seeker has over 23 million YouTube subscribers across its channels; and Thrillist’s audience has doubled to nearly 20 million monthly uniques on O&O properties. With over 60 percent of its audience consisting of users ages 18-34, Group Nine Media’s brands are built for consumption on the social web where this audience spends the majority of its time.

The brands will each remain editorially independent and will maintain their individual voice, mission and culture. At the corporate level there will be shared services.

Thrillist’s sales team and content studio, The CoLab will combine with NowThis Studios, The Dodo and Seeker’s branded content team to create a core advertising solutions group across all Group Nine Media brands. The company will also combine technology capabilities (Thrillist’s Pinnacle and NowThis’ Switchboard) to create a dynamic publishing platform that will power all brands. A centralized long-form video department will be created that will be responsible for creating OTT/on-demand and linear TV programming across all properties. This group will leverage Seeker’s premium production capabilities and SourceFed Studio’s expertise in program development and talent incubation.

October 14, 2016
Discovery invests $ 100 mn in digital JV with Group Nine Media

NEW DELHI: Discovery Communications, owners of TLC and Animal Planet, yesterday announced it’s investing $ 100 million in a digital media company as a minority shareholder. The new media company will comprise Group Nine Media’s Thrillist Media Group, NowThis Media, The Dodo and Discovery’s digital network Seeker (along with its production studio SourceFed Studios).

Axel Springer will maintain its investment as the second largest shareholder. Thrillist CEO Ben Lerer will become the CEO of Group Nine Media. The merging of these millennial-focused brands will immediately create in Group Nine Media one of the largest digital-first media companies, a statement issued by Discovery in New York stated yesterday.

“Today marks the start of a strong new company with tremendous brands, reach and scale,” Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav was quoted in the statement as saying. “The merger of these assets will bring together best-in-class management, led by Ben and his team, expertise in data analytics technology and global reach to create one of the world’s largest digital-first content companies attracting young passionate enthusiasts that advertisers want to reach,” he added.

Analysing the deal, a Bloomberg report said the partnership was another example of traditional and digital media joining forces as TV networks look online to reach younger consumers who may not subscribe to cable or satellite TV. At the same time, online publishers want to team up with TV networks, which can provide the needed funding and professional content to help them compete with Google and Facebook Inc., which are taking a large share of internet advertising.

Last year, Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal invested $200 million in both BuzzFeed and Vox Media, publisher of the Verge, Eater and Recode. This year, Time Warner Inc.’s Turner, which runs the TNT and TBS cable channels, led a $45 million investment in online publisher Refinery29 and led a $15 million funding round for the news website Mashable, Bloomberg said.

“This is truly a ‘win-win’ scenario, allowing our brands the opportunity to remain independent and build our own future, while at the same time, having the support of one of the best media and entertainment companies in the world,” Group Nine Media CEO Ben said in a statement, adding, “Each of our brands has found great success independently, but with consolidation of digital content companies around the corner, there is extraordinary value in all existing under one multi-brand roof. We will be stronger brands working together – we will have more influence; we will have better data and insights; we will be better partners to our advertisers; and most importantly, we will be substantial enough to make a real difference and stay ahead of the market.”

The partnership between Discovery and Group Nine Media will include a commercial agreement that will enable advertisers to reach their desired audience via true 360 opportunities across multiple platforms including linear, digital, social and live events.

On the closing of yesterday’s investment and partnership, Group Nine Media will expand Discovery’s push into the digital network space targeting millennials, which began with the 2012 acquisition of digital network Revision3 and the subsequent acquisition in 2013 of Internet video icon Philip DeFranco’s portfolio of online video channels and ventures, DeFranco Creative. Now called Seeker and SourceFed Studios, these entities will become part of Group Nine Media. Discovery also led rounds of funding in The Dodo in 2014 and 2015.

In the future, Discovery will have an option to buy a controlling stake in Group Nine Media, the official Discovery statement highlighted.

Capitalizing on the company’s strong foundation and capabilities across editorial, tech, data and monetization, Discovery’s investment will fund growth across all of these areas of the business – specifically, the expansion of the sales team and branded content studio, new vertical launches and expansive content development for all of its brands.

“We are big believers in digital journalism and its very exciting business perspectives. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with the Lerer family through this transaction and to work with Discovery to support the growth of Group Nine Media,” Axel Springer USA and CEO Axel Springer Digital Ventures president Jens Müffelmann was quoted in the statement. Axel Springer will have a seat on the board of Group Nine Media.

“We’re thrilled to work even more closely with Discovery. They’ve been The Dodo’s lead investor and an incredible partner to us, and this feels like an organic and very exciting next step,” said The Dodo founder Izzie Lerer, who will continue to be responsible for the brand. “I’m looking forward to working with my brother, too. His competence in business makes up for most of his annoying personality traits.”

Under the Group Nine Media roof are properties like The Dodo, NowThis, Seeker and Thrillist, which are each unique, mission-driven brands and stand-outs in their respective categories. The Dodo has more than 700 million monthly social video views; NowThis is the No. 1 video news publisher on Facebook; Seeker has over 23 million YouTube subscribers across its channels; and Thrillist’s audience has doubled to nearly 20 million monthly uniques on O&O properties. With over 60 percent of its audience consisting of users ages 18-34, Group Nine Media’s brands are built for consumption on the social web where this audience spends the majority of its time.

The brands will each remain editorially independent and will maintain their individual voice, mission and culture. At the corporate level there will be shared services.

Thrillist’s sales team and content studio, The CoLab will combine with NowThis Studios, The Dodo and Seeker’s branded content team to create a core advertising solutions group across all Group Nine Media brands. The company will also combine technology capabilities (Thrillist’s Pinnacle and NowThis’ Switchboard) to create a dynamic publishing platform that will power all brands. A centralized long-form video department will be created that will be responsible for creating OTT/on-demand and linear TV programming across all properties. This group will leverage Seeker’s premium production capabilities and SourceFed Studio’s expertise in program development and talent incubation.

October 14, 2016
Discovery to take viewers on journey across 29 states

MUMBAI: Discovery is all set to premiere a new show which will see two road-trippers taking a journey around India. Titled #IndiaMyWay, it goes in search of young Indians, their passion and their continual quest for the unusual, exotic and adventurous side of life. The 13-part series introduces viewers to a range of characters ranging from celebrities, tribal fashionistas, women wrestlers, young scientists, tattoo artists, path breaking entrepreneurs, etc.

Paloma Monappa, an actor and avid traveler, and Meraj Shah, a travel writer, will share their passion for adventure and exploration of a new India.

The show starts on 16 October every Sunday at 8 pm. Travelling across all the 29 states, the series brings inspirational stories, a testament to young India’s grit and a fresh way of looking at the world.

Monappa said, “#Indiamyway has been a thrilling journey that traces juxtaposition of the new with the old. The series encapsulates incredibly liberating and empowering works of young Indians which paints an inspiring picture of the emerging India.”

The duo will cruise around in a Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, covering over 28,000 kilometers, travelling through the roads of Delhi, trotting lush vineyards of Nashik, taking a safari in the Rann, cruising treacherous terrains of Ladakh, the duo is driven by the irresistible lure of far flung roads on an ultimate expedition.

“I have been travelling for years, however, this road trip was unique and refreshing. #Indiamyway has been one of the most enriching experiences, offering a stimulating view about the contemporary wave in our socio-cultural structure,” added Shah.

The road-trippers talk to everyone from photographers to chefs, comedians, sound-designers and artists to hear the challenges they faced and the conviction that carried them in their quest for meaningful work.

“Maruti Suzuki is thrilled to partner with Discovery on this journey across 29 states to discover the new-age India from the perspective of the millennials. It’s an exploration of the changing culture, lifestyle, landscape and the people of the country. I believe the viewers would enjoy this adventurous journey in the newly launched Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza,” said Maruti Suzuki India executive director, marketing and sales R.S Kalsi.

October 13, 2016
Discovery to take viewers on journey across 29 states

MUMBAI: Discovery is all set to premiere a new show which will see two road-trippers taking a journey around India. Titled #IndiaMyWay, it goes in search of young Indians, their passion and their continual quest for the unusual, exotic and adventurous side of life. The 13-part series introduces viewers to a range of characters ranging from celebrities, tribal fashionistas, women wrestlers, young scientists, tattoo artists, path breaking entrepreneurs, etc.

Paloma Monappa, an actor and avid traveler, and Meraj Shah, a travel writer, will share their passion for adventure and exploration of a new India.

The show starts on 16 October every Sunday at 8 pm. Travelling across all the 29 states, the series brings inspirational stories, a testament to young India’s grit and a fresh way of looking at the world.

Monappa said, “#Indiamyway has been a thrilling journey that traces juxtaposition of the new with the old. The series encapsulates incredibly liberating and empowering works of young Indians which paints an inspiring picture of the emerging India.”

The duo will cruise around in a Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, covering over 28,000 kilometers, travelling through the roads of Delhi, trotting lush vineyards of Nashik, taking a safari in the Rann, cruising treacherous terrains of Ladakh, the duo is driven by the irresistible lure of far flung roads on an ultimate expedition.

“I have been travelling for years, however, this road trip was unique and refreshing. #Indiamyway has been one of the most enriching experiences, offering a stimulating view about the contemporary wave in our socio-cultural structure,” added Shah.

The road-trippers talk to everyone from photographers to chefs, comedians, sound-designers and artists to hear the challenges they faced and the conviction that carried them in their quest for meaningful work.

“Maruti Suzuki is thrilled to partner with Discovery on this journey across 29 states to discover the new-age India from the perspective of the millennials. It’s an exploration of the changing culture, lifestyle, landscape and the people of the country. I believe the viewers would enjoy this adventurous journey in the newly launched Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza,” said Maruti Suzuki India executive director, marketing and sales R.S Kalsi.

October 13, 2016
BBC Worldwide’s factual entertainment successful in India

MUMBAI: Once in a blue moon or so, a television programme comes along that transfixes a nation and changes the daily routines of its viewers. The Great British Bake-Off is one of those. It airs once a week at 8pm on BBC One. And every week UK residents rush home to watch whose puddings have got saggy bottoms. In last season’s final episode, 14.49 million viewers tuned in to watch the 30-year-old Nadiya Jamir Hussain take home the crown of the best baker. That episode, on 7 October last year, was the most popular programming in the UK, apart from the sport of football.

GBBO is a sign of the times. One of the Beeb’s most successful innovations in recent times – though it will be moving to Channel 4 in the next season as its producer Love Productions has struck a deal for it with the former – it indicates how British and European audiences are lapping up what we in India may call rather tedious factual TV shows as they deal with more mundane everyday matters. BBC Worldwide has been at the forefront of driving this change with hits such as GBBO.

Says BBC Worldwide’s Factual Entertainment and Entertainment genre director Tracy Forsyth: “The audience here is more inclined to enjoy factual entertainment shows about perfecting a hobby or skill. The success story of The Great British Bake Off is a good example of this.”

This BAFTA-winning British television baking competition that first aired on BBC Two in 2010 is already on to its season seven this year

Extreme sports have also emerged as a favourite in other European, American and Australian markets. “Shows like Special Forces – Ultimate Hell Week, SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4, are doing exceptionally well,” says Forsyth.

She notes that imbibing digital and social media into storytelling has added new dimensions to factual entertainment content leading to BBC Worldwide taking chances with several experimental formats.

“In Stupid Man, Smart Phone’ we asked the simple question – Can we survive the most remote locations in the world using only our mobile phones? Apart from this we have also roped in YouTube stars in our shows to leverage their fan base in the social media,” Forsyth explains.
Being a pioneer in the sector globally puts BBC Worldwide is in a comfortable position to leverage its rich international format library and devise relatable local content off it for the Indian market.

Forsyth’s Indian counterpart, BBC Worldwide India SVP and General Manager Myleeta Aga has been pushing the UK powerhouse’s fortunes in the Indian market. To date, the production house has produced innovative factual formats like the three seasons of Asian Paints HarGharKuchKehta Hai or ‘The House That Made Me ‘for Sony Entertainment Television and ColorsTV, two seasons of Epic Ke Dus on Epic TV, Inside Out for Discovery Channel, My Big Decision on Channel V and Wife Bina Life (The Week The Women Went) on Star Plus. Most recently BBC’s show Real Two States Couples featuring the best selling author Chetan Bhagat has aired on new factual entertainment channel FYI.

While keeping an eye on global trends helps understand where India stands in terms of content consumption behaviour, Aga reinforces the fact that the key to getting more eyeballs and ad revenues flowing in the genre in India is to catch the pulse of local content.

“Ours is a local content market – audiences want to see content that is relevant to them,” she states, confident of her team’s skill sets to meet the market’s ever growing need for quality content.

“Factual entertainment is just a step away from pure factual content where BBC Worldwide is a global leader,” adds Aga. Barring the genre leaders like Discovery, National Geographic Channel and HistoryTV18, newer channels like Travel XP, FYi, Insight Channel, Living Foodz have popped up in BARC India’s infotainment category. Additionally, channels like Sony BBC Earth are also waiting to launch and further expand the genre, as reported earlier by indiantelevision.com.

BBC Worldwide India SVP and General Manager Myleeta Aga

Going by the FICCI KPMG M&E report 2015, the genre commanded a viewership share of 1.3 per cent of the total market, higher than both English Entertainment and English News, while it’s AdEx share stood at two per cent of Rs 175 billion. Since then the sector has seen an upward trajectory both in terms of volume of content produced, and advertising revenue earned.

“While Infotainment in India represents a mere 1.25 per cent of the viewing share, this is still larger than English Entertainment and English Movies. This share of audience has been pretty much stable since 2012 but with platforms offering packaging by content genre there is scope for growth,” points out Aga. “Factual/infotainment should also index better with advertisers as share of audience grows and we are able to more accurately measure viewership. Well made locally relevant content will be key to growing this category,” Aga said.

Drawing distinction between factual entertainment with the essence of drama and entertainment in it, and purely informative factual content Aga states that India has a demand supply gap in the latter category, which the production house intends to fill with its high quality content.

The Indian market provides a great playing field for the content producer in its regional languages as well. “Regional language dubbing makes factual content more accessible. And because it is often content without ‘dialogue’ it is easy to dub. However you still need to make an effort to give direction to dubbing artists just as you would to actors in a drama. Because they are the storytellers,” Aga points out.

Executives who dabble with content assert that there is a large audience in Tamil, Telugu and other regional languages which respond positively to factual entertainment content being dubbed and provided to them.

This directly translates to a sizeable business opportunity for content creators and BBC Worldwide India backed by its rich experience of is already on it to make the most of it.

September 21, 2016