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Tag: Arthur Bastings

  • Discovery APAC MD & president Arthur Bastings resigns

    Discovery APAC MD & president Arthur Bastings resigns

    MUMBAI: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific (DNAP) managing director and president Arthur Bastings has put down his papers. 

    A Discovery Communications spokesperson confirmed the news  to Indiantelevision.com. 

    Bastings is serving his notice period till 31 December.

    Based out of Discovery’s headquarters in Singapore, Bastings is responsible for the company’s commercial and operational units, including sales, channel distribution, production operations, research, marketing, communications and digital media for 15 entertainment brands in the region.

    Bastings joined Discovery from Millicom International Cellular, where he was a member of the executive committee responsible for Africa and financial services. Prior to this, Bastings was CEO of Bigpoint, Europe’s largest browser-based online games developer, developing new business and leading the organisation’s expansion.

    Bastings has over 20 years’ experience of working in the TV and media business. He was previously with Discovery, as executive vice president and managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) from 2004 to 2010. During his tenure, Bastings delivered EMEA’s transformational change by doubling audiences and generating exceptional organic growth, resulting in EMEA becoming one of the fastest-growing and largest pay-TV businesses in the region.

    Before his first stint with Discovery, Bastings held senior international roles including at Time Warner as MD of Northern and Central Europe for Turner Europe; and at Viacom, where he held senior strategy and planning roles at MTV International, spending a number of years working in Asia.

  • Discovery launching Hindi GEC in Q4, re-brands ID as Discovery Jeet

    MUMBAI: GEC seems to be the new Discovery. It’s just been three months into the launch of DSport, a new sports channel from the network, and Discovery Communication plans to roll out  an entertainment channel in India — Discovery Jeet. The channel, which (already) means triumph in Hindi, is slated for opening in Q4.

    “The core thought behind the channel and the way we are defining the brand purpose is: “I can do anything”, and so it’s a feeling of energy and inspiration. In the end, people will take away that feeling from our programming. Jeet is good name to describe the feeling of victory, inspiration and energy,” Discovery Network Asia Pacific south Asia SVP and GM Karan Bajaj told www.indiantelevision.com

    This is however not the maiden time Discovery Communication India has entered into the Hindi entertainment space. ID (Investigation Discovery) used to offer compelling true stories of investigation, crime and suspense, promising and intriguing twists and turns that culminate into thrilling conclusions of stories. The network has rebranded its existing channel ID as Discovery Jeet.  “We are transforming ID into Discovery Jeet. We are keeping the same channel feed and just creating a new proposition, informed Bajaj. 

    Discovery Networks Asia Pacific president and MD Arthur Bastings elaborated on the importance  of this evolutionary step and leveraging new ways to extend the reach and relevance of Discovery across the subcontinent. “The rebranding of general entertainment with Jeet redefines how Discovery will connect and interact with the new young audience 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 that was never seen before.”

    The rebranded channel will be the flagship for the network’s ambitious investment into original local productions in India, super serving superfans and nurturing communities around a range of programme genres including true crime investigations, small-town heroes and gritty survival. “We are borrowing the best of the Discovery’s meaning and purpose, and making it into a local version which is highly entertaining and formated in a way like the entertaining stories are done in India — larger-than-life, big conflicts, drama and attention,” Bajaj added.

    Discovery is scaling up investment for the sake of over 200 hours of local original content, which will premiere on the rebranded channel. Targeting the young male audience, (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 of gripping  stories, heroic characters and tales of achievement. 

    Bajaj informed, “If we look at the last 10 years, we haven’t done more than 7-8 hours of original programming a year. Now, we are planning to launch this fall with 200 original hours of content. So, it’s like a 20-22 times increase of original content in a quarter. It is a very significant move that required us to set up a local content production infrastructure.”

    “When we were commissioning the content, we were clear that would only allow meaningful and purposeful content. And, we also planned only to have larger-than-life stories. It’s not a documentary-based channel, it’s a storytelling channel,” he asserted.

    Discovery Jeet will hit screens later this year with a vibrant programming lineup that will include, Swami Baba Ramdev: The Untold Story, a scripted biopic series tracing Swami  Baba  Ramdev’s  fascinating  and  inspirational   journey  from  a  life  of  anonymity  to  a national  icon, international cult figure and now business mogul, Saragarhi – India’s Bravest Day, a large-scale, action-packed, scripted drama series about one of the greatest, yet largely uncelebrated, last stands in the Indian military history, Gabru: The Birth of Hip Hop, a scripted series on the Rap & 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 thriving underworld of India’s maximum city.

    “The overall thought is purpose-driven entertainment, blurring the lines between fact and fiction. So, if I look at the launch shows, we have — Baba Ramdev, Gangs of Mumbai and Gabru. It’s mounted as a GEC show. It will be a half-an-hour 65-episode Monday to Friday show. The prime time will be 7-11pm, and it will have two hours of original programming,” Bajaj said.

    Production houses such as Contiloe Production and Ajay Devgn Production will be producing Discovery shows. Film producers such as Rohan Sippy is directing a show named “Khan, Number one crime hunter.”

    Discovery is generally known for its factual entertainment. Speaking about why the rebranded GEC will not impact the mother channel, Bajaj explained, “Discovery will remain the same, and we are launching Discovery Jeet. The brand philosophy of Discovery is ‘Life without limits’, which is different from Jeet. The new one is a consumer product model, an extension of a mega brand. Discovery is targeted for the metros and Tier I consumers and who is globally savvy whereas Discovery Jeet is for the mass market,” Bajaj elucidated.

    He further added, “Our brands penetrate well. Discovery will retain its freshness, we are not taking content away. Jeet will be a fresh and exciting proposition. We plan to retain our dominance as the infotainment leader. The overall quality is getting better from the global pipeline although Jeet will a homegrown proposition.”

    Speaking about the execution of the plan, he said, “We have been unforgiving in terms of the nature of storytelling and the production quality. The success rate of television content is 20 to 25 per cent. There is no proven model that a particular type of content will always work, and we are trying a new and disruptive model. Based on our research, we believe, this country is hungry for dreams and inspiration, and Discovery Jeet is proposing just that. It’s as mainstream a channel as any other. At a content level, we will offer a powerful story experience that touches your heart.” 

    The channel will be launched in SD feed followed by HD feed, going forward.  The network will be available across DTH and cable platforms. With an aggressive market plan, the channel will be distributed widely  across 100-million plus households. 

     

  • Discovery establishes first-of-its-kind India advisory board

    MUMBAI: In line with its stated ambitions for the India market, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific has appointed a special India Advisory Board comprising of pioneers and experts from corporate, digital media and public policy. This first of its kind board for the company outside the US, will provide counsel and insight to the India leadership team on strategic matters pertaining to business innovation and help Discovery navigate and tap into new growth opportunities in a rapidly evolving media landscape.

    Members of the India Advisory Board include:

    • S Narayan (chairman). Former Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister and former Secretary to Government of India; currently senior public policy advisor and visiting faculty at The University of Delhi and the National University of Singapore.

    • Naina Lal Kidwai. Banker, past president of FICCI (India ‘s apex chamber of commerce and industry) and non- executive director on leading global and Indian company boards, deeply committed to the environment and head of the FICCI Sustainability Council and Global Commissioner for the New Climate Economy amongst others, and an active participant in public policy forums including government committees.

    • Ali Hussein. Award winning digital media evangelist and former Head of Entertainment Partnerships, South Asia at Google/YouTube; currently media tech entrepreneur and board advisor.

    “It is a privilege to chair the first of its kind Advisory Board for Discovery,” said Dr. S Narayan. “The network has been a mainstay in homes in India and around the world for decades and has looked to push the boundaries with new ideas, creative thinking and inspirational content. All of us are looking forward to the opportunity to advise a new leadership team that is energetic, entrepreneurial and innovative on strategic developments that will affect their future growth.”

    Discovery Networks Asia Pacific president & MD Arthur Bastings said, “Discovery is thrilled to have such respected industry leaders advising our India leadership team and myself on matters crucial to the design and execution of our ambitious India strategy. The insights from this eminent group will be invaluable as we look to accelerate the transformation of our business and leverage new growth opportunities across South Asia.”

  • Discovery APAC appoints Nikhil Madhok; strengthens corporate team with other hiring

    Discovery APAC appoints Nikhil Madhok; strengthens corporate team with other hiring

    MUMBAI: Discovery has announced key appointments in its APAC central corporate leadership team. Former Life OK GM and business head Nikhil Madhok has joined the channel as the senior vice-president (SVP) head of products.

    Madhok will spearhead the re-development of the company’s product suite and champion a strong maker culture in the organisation. He will formally join in January 2017, and will closely partner with the innovation team on future digital offerings.

    Operating leadership remains with the company’s five market clusters announced earlier in year. The move adds innovative, world-class capabilities and resources to accelerate the company’s stated ambition to evolve from a traditional linear Pay-TV to a true convergent media and entertainment business across market clusters in Asia.

    “We are laser focused on re-inventing our existing space and growing our business beyond linear across Asia. The new leadership team members bring with them strong entrepreneurial drive and a disruptive mindset. I am thrilled to welcome them on board as we step up our efforts to redefine our product and business portfolio in the region,” said Discovery Networks APAC president and MD Arthur Bastings.

    Other executives who have joined are — Rebecca Kent as the vice-president (VP) business transformation. Kent will oversee change management, and lead business process and operational optimisation. She joined in September from Discovery’s global business operations team in London.

    Darrell Chan joined as the vice-president (VP) regional counsel. He will manage the legal dossier, drive strong governance around Discovery’s growing portfolio of equity stakes in new businesses and coordinate external affairs. Chan will joined on 1 February 2017, from Expedia. He will partner with Dinkim Sailo, who manages Discovery’s external and government affairs brief.

    Dinkim recently joined from SOS International.

    Karun Arya will now be the director, head of corporate communications, and will represent the company’s voice as it implements its ambitious transformation and investment plans. He came in from Uber.

    Discovery’s new executives joined the chief financial officer and SVP corporate operations Nilesh Zaveri, the SVP Innovation Winradit Kasidit Kolasastraseni, the VP corporate development Jonathan Mills, the VP strategy Karan Paul and the VP HR Jin Tan in the APAC HQ team.

  • Discovery APAC appoints Nikhil Madhok; strengthens corporate team with other hiring

    Discovery APAC appoints Nikhil Madhok; strengthens corporate team with other hiring

    MUMBAI: Discovery has announced key appointments in its APAC central corporate leadership team. Former Life OK GM and business head Nikhil Madhok has joined the channel as the senior vice-president (SVP) head of products.

    Madhok will spearhead the re-development of the company’s product suite and champion a strong maker culture in the organisation. He will formally join in January 2017, and will closely partner with the innovation team on future digital offerings.

    Operating leadership remains with the company’s five market clusters announced earlier in year. The move adds innovative, world-class capabilities and resources to accelerate the company’s stated ambition to evolve from a traditional linear Pay-TV to a true convergent media and entertainment business across market clusters in Asia.

    “We are laser focused on re-inventing our existing space and growing our business beyond linear across Asia. The new leadership team members bring with them strong entrepreneurial drive and a disruptive mindset. I am thrilled to welcome them on board as we step up our efforts to redefine our product and business portfolio in the region,” said Discovery Networks APAC president and MD Arthur Bastings.

    Other executives who have joined are — Rebecca Kent as the vice-president (VP) business transformation. Kent will oversee change management, and lead business process and operational optimisation. She joined in September from Discovery’s global business operations team in London.

    Darrell Chan joined as the vice-president (VP) regional counsel. He will manage the legal dossier, drive strong governance around Discovery’s growing portfolio of equity stakes in new businesses and coordinate external affairs. Chan will joined on 1 February 2017, from Expedia. He will partner with Dinkim Sailo, who manages Discovery’s external and government affairs brief.

    Dinkim recently joined from SOS International.

    Karun Arya will now be the director, head of corporate communications, and will represent the company’s voice as it implements its ambitious transformation and investment plans. He came in from Uber.

    Discovery’s new executives joined the chief financial officer and SVP corporate operations Nilesh Zaveri, the SVP Innovation Winradit Kasidit Kolasastraseni, the VP corporate development Jonathan Mills, the VP strategy Karan Paul and the VP HR Jin Tan in the APAC HQ team.

  • Discovery Communications invests in VS Media Group

    Discovery Communications invests in VS Media Group

    MUMBAI: Discovery Communications has bought a minority stake in VS Media Group. The media company will tap into content from Discovery Digital Networks (DDN), which produces and distributes digital-native programming appealing to millennial audiences across platforms globally. The DDN content will be locally branded, customised and curated for VS ME.

    Further boosting engagement with the global Chinese-speaking communities, Discovery will lend its expertise in developing strong IPs and content.

    Commenting on the investment Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific president and managing director Arthur Bastings said, “I admire the strong community spirit Ivy has fostered with local creators and their followers. As Discovery looks to build deeper traction in the Chinese-speaking markets, VS Media’s robust following is incredibly valuable to us. Through their advanced analytics, we can get fully plugged in to the Chinese millennial zeitgeist.”

    “This group of digital natives is the most mobile-connected generation in history with a huge thirst for online content. Discovery’s great track record in innovative and immersive storytelling, coupled with VS Media’s cutting-edge community, presents a creative and unique content ecosystem to meet this ever-growing demand,” Bastings added

    Through recent investments, VS Media is setting up a $ 4mn content development fund which will be used to collaborate with creators to produce local formats. The fund allows creators to pitch original content ideas with potential for multi- franchises. This will be produced for its consumer brand, VS ME, which embodies the maverick spirit and tenacity of its creators and followers.

    The venture claims to have more than 55 mn subscribers and 320 mn video views a month focussing on Chinese content creators.

    VS Media founder Ivy Wong said, “This partnership is a significant milestone in our company’s evolution. We believe that everyone can be an influencer as well as a digital entrepreneur. We continue to uncover, nurture and present the next generation of talent, raising the bar and setting industry best practices. Our creators are instilled with a deep sense of professionalism and we help fulfil their dreams by maximising opportunities in and outside of China. VS MEDIA is fortunate to have investors who support our mission. Last month, we received the backing of CMC Holdings and today, Discovery Communications. Leveraging on Discovery’s expertise, we are driven, more than ever, to propel our growth by empowering creators to come up with more high quality and addictive content.”

    To kick off the initiative, the media venture has identified five strong concepts from its creators: an eSports docudrama which will feature Jay Chou, Derek Chung, Forrest Li, MiSTakE and Toyz – movers and shakers of the industry, a VR series with an iconic Chinese fashion figure, to uncover local designers in China, a rockumentary on up-and-coming musician Tien, who will be performing for the President of Cuba, a travelogue shot in VR featuring three prominent viral stars from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, a dramedy by one of VS MEDIA’s most influential creators, Jin Da Wei, who presents a humorous take on the industry, the misconceptions and the journey to online fame.

    Founded in 2013, VS Media is devoted to young Chinese leading mobile-enabled and socially-driven lives. In just three years, the next generation media company has recruited and mentored a multi-talented cohort of more than 500 creators. It empowers creators by providing production facilities and funding, offering direction and support for cross-marketing, social media and search optimisation to enable monetisation opportunities.

  • Discovery Communications invests in VS Media Group

    Discovery Communications invests in VS Media Group

    MUMBAI: Discovery Communications has bought a minority stake in VS Media Group. The media company will tap into content from Discovery Digital Networks (DDN), which produces and distributes digital-native programming appealing to millennial audiences across platforms globally. The DDN content will be locally branded, customised and curated for VS ME.

    Further boosting engagement with the global Chinese-speaking communities, Discovery will lend its expertise in developing strong IPs and content.

    Commenting on the investment Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific president and managing director Arthur Bastings said, “I admire the strong community spirit Ivy has fostered with local creators and their followers. As Discovery looks to build deeper traction in the Chinese-speaking markets, VS Media’s robust following is incredibly valuable to us. Through their advanced analytics, we can get fully plugged in to the Chinese millennial zeitgeist.”

    “This group of digital natives is the most mobile-connected generation in history with a huge thirst for online content. Discovery’s great track record in innovative and immersive storytelling, coupled with VS Media’s cutting-edge community, presents a creative and unique content ecosystem to meet this ever-growing demand,” Bastings added

    Through recent investments, VS Media is setting up a $ 4mn content development fund which will be used to collaborate with creators to produce local formats. The fund allows creators to pitch original content ideas with potential for multi- franchises. This will be produced for its consumer brand, VS ME, which embodies the maverick spirit and tenacity of its creators and followers.

    The venture claims to have more than 55 mn subscribers and 320 mn video views a month focussing on Chinese content creators.

    VS Media founder Ivy Wong said, “This partnership is a significant milestone in our company’s evolution. We believe that everyone can be an influencer as well as a digital entrepreneur. We continue to uncover, nurture and present the next generation of talent, raising the bar and setting industry best practices. Our creators are instilled with a deep sense of professionalism and we help fulfil their dreams by maximising opportunities in and outside of China. VS MEDIA is fortunate to have investors who support our mission. Last month, we received the backing of CMC Holdings and today, Discovery Communications. Leveraging on Discovery’s expertise, we are driven, more than ever, to propel our growth by empowering creators to come up with more high quality and addictive content.”

    To kick off the initiative, the media venture has identified five strong concepts from its creators: an eSports docudrama which will feature Jay Chou, Derek Chung, Forrest Li, MiSTakE and Toyz – movers and shakers of the industry, a VR series with an iconic Chinese fashion figure, to uncover local designers in China, a rockumentary on up-and-coming musician Tien, who will be performing for the President of Cuba, a travelogue shot in VR featuring three prominent viral stars from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, a dramedy by one of VS MEDIA’s most influential creators, Jin Da Wei, who presents a humorous take on the industry, the misconceptions and the journey to online fame.

    Founded in 2013, VS Media is devoted to young Chinese leading mobile-enabled and socially-driven lives. In just three years, the next generation media company has recruited and mentored a multi-talented cohort of more than 500 creators. It empowers creators by providing production facilities and funding, offering direction and support for cross-marketing, social media and search optimisation to enable monetisation opportunities.

  • Discovery Networks appoints Jay Trindad as senior VP & GM for northeast business

    Discovery Networks appoints Jay Trindad as senior VP & GM for northeast business

    MUMBAI: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific has hired Jay Trindad as senior vice president and general manager for its northeast business. He will be based in Tokyo and will report to Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific managing director and president Arthur Bastings.

    “As we inject digital into our DNA, I am thrilled to have someone of Jay’s calibre join our team,” said Bastings. “His expertise in pure-play digital and consumer-centric innovation is invaluable as we evolve and take Discovery to the next stage of growth, particularly in northeast Asia, where we are looking to meaningfully invest and take full advantage of the region’s sophisticated and widespread wireless infrastructure.”

    The hire highlights the company’s wide bet on digital as a driver of business in coming years.

    At Discovery, he will focus on delivering compelling brand experiences to the millennial audience by redefining Discovery’s suite of products, the company said in a statement.

    International president J.B. Perrette in part landed his post thanks to his expertise in digital, having been on the launch team of US VOD platform Hulu. Korean country manager Hee-Man Lee and his team will be folded into the new group, which will also include Japan. Whereas, Discovery’s Japanese chief Louis Boswell, will now lead the cable giant’s southeast Asia operations.

    Hoekstra subsequently joined Vice Media to roll out its linear channel, Viceland, across Europe.

    Trindad has a varied CV, having worked at search giant Google for ten years, recently leading a push to promote the Google Chrome browser in Asia; translation platform Gengo; and mobile payment gateway Square Inc.

    He was most recently VP, digital at McDonald’s Japan, where he led strategy and increased customer engagement through digital initiatives.

  • Discovery Networks appoints Jay Trindad as senior VP & GM for northeast business

    Discovery Networks appoints Jay Trindad as senior VP & GM for northeast business

    MUMBAI: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific has hired Jay Trindad as senior vice president and general manager for its northeast business. He will be based in Tokyo and will report to Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific managing director and president Arthur Bastings.

    “As we inject digital into our DNA, I am thrilled to have someone of Jay’s calibre join our team,” said Bastings. “His expertise in pure-play digital and consumer-centric innovation is invaluable as we evolve and take Discovery to the next stage of growth, particularly in northeast Asia, where we are looking to meaningfully invest and take full advantage of the region’s sophisticated and widespread wireless infrastructure.”

    The hire highlights the company’s wide bet on digital as a driver of business in coming years.

    At Discovery, he will focus on delivering compelling brand experiences to the millennial audience by redefining Discovery’s suite of products, the company said in a statement.

    International president J.B. Perrette in part landed his post thanks to his expertise in digital, having been on the launch team of US VOD platform Hulu. Korean country manager Hee-Man Lee and his team will be folded into the new group, which will also include Japan. Whereas, Discovery’s Japanese chief Louis Boswell, will now lead the cable giant’s southeast Asia operations.

    Hoekstra subsequently joined Vice Media to roll out its linear channel, Viceland, across Europe.

    Trindad has a varied CV, having worked at search giant Google for ten years, recently leading a push to promote the Google Chrome browser in Asia; translation platform Gengo; and mobile payment gateway Square Inc.

    He was most recently VP, digital at McDonald’s Japan, where he led strategy and increased customer engagement through digital initiatives.

  • Discovery APAC EVP & GM – South Asia Rahul Johri quits

    Discovery APAC EVP & GM – South Asia Rahul Johri quits

    MUMBAI: After a stint spanning 15 years, Discovery Networks Asia? Pacific executive vice president (EVP) and general manager (GM) South Asia Rahul Johri has stepped down from his post with effect from 24 February, 2016.

    However, Johri will continue to work with Discovery till the end of the year as senior advisor to Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific president and managing director Arthur Bastings.

    In the meanwhile, Discovery has commenced the search for Johri’s replacement. In the interim period, Bastings will additionally manage the South Asia business and day-to-day affairs from India.

    In his 15-year stint with Discovery, Johri was in charge of the South Asia region for eight years. 

    Bastings said, “We are fortunate and grateful to have had a leader of Rahul’s calibre and vision. At the helm, he created an unmatched portfolio that is immensely valued by viewers and trade partners. As we pick up where Rahul left off, India remains one of our most important growth markets. Coupled with its digital transformation and a massive population of millennials hungry for content, we are excited about the opportunities ahead and have aggressive plans to sharpen and enhance Discovery’s product palette to whet the ever-increasing appetite of this demographic.”

    Johri added, “I have had the good fortune to work in one of the finest media companies in the world. After 15 years with Discovery, I believe it is time for me to explore new opportunities. I am confident that the current management team under Arthur’s strong leadership will continue to fuel Discovery’s growth in the region.”

    Some of his achievements during his tenure include tripling the channel portfolio to 11 distinct brands, strengthening Discovery’s factual entertainment programming while developing new genres like lifestyle and kids content, launching a new Hindi entertainment channel and creating a premium viewing experience through its three high-definition channels.