MUMBAI: Discovery HD will launch in the UK and Ireland this year as part of UK pay TV service provider BSkyB’s high-definition television package.
Discovery’s dedicated HD offering is already available in South Korea, Japan and Canada. It will be launched in Germany and Austria.
Discovery Networks International president Dawn L. McCall says, “Discovery HD revitalises the in-home entertainment experience by bringing audiences even closer to their world with breathtaking quality, panoramic detail and surround sound. The Discovery brand is synonymous with innovation, integrity and quality, and Discovery’s leadership in HD content reinforces these attributes among consumers, platform providers, producers and advertisers alike.”
Tag: Dawn L. McCall
-
Discovery to launch HD offering on BSkyB
-
Discovery enters global FTA market with German channel
MUMBAI: Global media firm Discovery Communications has announced its entry into the global free-to-air television business.
It has acquired a controlling stake in German free-to-air channel XXP from Spiegel TV and Development Company for Television Programmes (DCTP).
The deal is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and the completion of closing conditions. Under terms of the agreement, Discovery will form a joint-venture company with Spiegel TV and DCTP, with Discovery assuming day-to-day management of the channel. Spiegel TV and DCTP will continue to contribute to the programming of the channel.
Discovery will expand the availability of XXP to German viewers starting on February 1, increasing programming from four to 24 hours daily. In addition to the technical investment, Discovery plans to further develop the channel to appeal to a young, upscale male demographic.
Discovery Networks Intl president Dawn L. McCall says, “Our move into the free-to-air universe underscores Discoverys’ commitment to extend its valuable content across multiple media platforms,” . XXP’s viewers and advertisers will benefit from the increased investment and management expertise Discovery brings to the partnership along with the highly acclaimed, locally relevant programming Spiegel TV will contribute to the channel.”
In addition to Germany, XXP is available to television households in Austria, Luxembourg, German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the South Tyrol region of Italy. XXP currently is distributed to more than 20 million households in these countries.
Discovery currently offers its flagship Discovery Channel as well as Animal Planet and Discovery Geschichte in Germany for a combined six million cumulative subscription units. The company is also seeking regulatory approval for Discovery HD in Germany and Austria. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Discovery offers 12 network brands in 104 countries, reaching 173 million cumulative subscription units. -
Tom Keaveny is Discovery Asia MD
MUMBAI: Discovery Asia has appointed Tom Keaveny as its new executive VP and MD.
He takes on the job from next month.
He succeeds Neville Meijers, who becomes Discovery US executive VP for strategy.
Keaveny will oversee seven networks that reach 23 countries and 280 million cumulative subscribers. He was most recently the senior VP of sales and revenue for Discovery Networks Latin America, based in Miami. Prior to that he was at Discovery Networks Asia as senior VP of sales and revenue. Keaveny was also VP of affiliate sales and marketing for Discovery Networks Europe from January 2000 to June 2001, a position he assumed after several years at Eurosport.
Discovery Networks International president Dawn L. McCall said, Toms knowledge of the advertising community and multi-channel pay television market in Asia and the Pacific Rim enables him to readily step to the helm while his personal contacts in the region provide continuity to our clients and employees.
The Asia Pacific Rim business is an important component of Discovery Networks growth strategy and Toms experience working in our other regions and senior stature in the division make him uniquely suited to assume this important leadership position.
-
Discovery travel-lifestyle channel to launch in October
NEW DELHI: Discovery Networks India today announced that it would launch Discovery Travel and Living — as reported by Indiantelevision.com earlier — a new channel aimed at upper and upper-middle class audience in October.
India would be the first country where the idea of Discovery’s lifestyle portfolio would be incubated for replication in other global markets in 2005.
Today’s announcement is part of a series of other similar channel launches as outlined by Dawn L. McCall, president of Discovery Networks International, in June when he had told international media, “We saw a real opportunity in the market. A lot of people have been dabbling in (lifestyle); no one has been really willing to commit the dollars necessary to really build this segment of the business.”According to McCall, “India, with its growing and dynamic TV market and emerging middle-class, is the right place to begin Discovery Networks’ new lifestyle endeavour.”
On cue, Discovery India’s executive vice-president and MD Deepak Shourie today told journalists, “I think the time in India has come for this type of a channel.” He also added that the company hopes to “create a set of channels to take documentary (making) and non-fiction to new heights.”
The other two channels, to be formed from existing networks Discovery Travel & Adventure, Discovery H & L and Discovery Health, may be launched in India later, but Shourie did not offer any other detail. As a natural progression, some programmes that are now seen on Discovery Channel in India would migrate to the new channel.
Discovery Travel and Living will be distributed in India by One Alliance. Shourie, however, did not divulge the price of this proposed pay channel.
The company expects the channel to provide a new and unique platform for advertisers by targeting a discerning audience comprising upscale and young adults with active interests in the age group of 18-45. It is also likely to expands Discovery’s ability to attract new audiences and advertisers who have traditionally not advertised on Discovery (high-end watch companies like Tag Heur) as traditionally lifestyle advertising has been in print due
to lack of focused TV platforms, Discovery India executives claimed.How has the Indian consumer changed? Making a presentation today, Discovery India said consumption no longer is just a function of income as there are 10 million credit card holders; disposable income has risen by over 270 per cent since 1990; dual income families are now a widespread urban phenomenon and there is a fundamental shift in consumption patterns of the Indian consumer.
“Despite the rapid growth of television industry in India, advertising spends on lifestyle brands have traditionally been restricted to the print medium,” Shourie said, adding, “Discovery Travel and Living will provide advertisers with a dynamic media vehicle to reach a well targeted and defined viewership profile.”
Some more figures to validate why Discovery Travel and Living is making its international debut in India:
In the 1990s, organised retail added 1 mn sq feet space per year.
In 2003, 10 mn sq ft was added, while in 2004-05, about 40 mn sq ft is expected to be added. According to Shourie, when his colleagues from the parent company came to India, they were taken to Gurgaon, on the outskirts of Delhi, where a mall mania is sweeping the region. “Seeing the place and the growth, they were convinced that Discovery Travel and Living should debut in India first,” Shourie said as an aside.
The new channel is targeted at upscale urban households across the country (18-20 million households by October, said Shourie) with a cosmopolitan outlook. The treatment of the channel and its programming would be aspirational, glamorous and smart.
The programming genres will include travel, health & well-being, food & cuisine, automotive & motoring, home design & décor, hobbies and outdoor leisure. “Local (Indian) programming would be introduced in 2005, which would be acquired,” Shourie added.
Some of the programmes that are likely to be seen on the new channel include Celebrity Travelogues, Globetrekker, Floyd’s India, Cooking for Love (a blind date show blended with cookery), Date Patrol, Biker Build-Off, He’s Gotta Have It, Great Vacation Homes, Superhomes, Other Peoples’ Homes, While You Were Out, The Chris Lowell Show, Tim Brooke-Taylor’s Golf Clubs and World Poker Tour.
-
Discovery set to launch 3 lifestyle channels in India: report
MUMBAI: Discovery Networks International is set to launch a portfolio of lifestyle channels outside the US and has chosen India as the country to start with.
The India launch of the channels is scheduled within the next “90 days and counting!” worldscreen.com has reported.
Discovery Networks International president Dawn L. McCall is quoted in an interview to worldscreen.com as saying, “India attains prominence among the potential contenders because of the socio-economic developments taking place in the country.” McCall pointed to the encouraging DTH scenario also as one of the reasons why the Indian management had been advocating the case for a lifestyle network in India.
Efforts made by Indiantelevision.com to get in touch with Discovery India MD Deepak Shourie for his comments on the reported development proved unsuccessful till the time of writing this report.
Discovery Networks International has identified the audience segments for its three core channels with each targeting a distinct demographic — general adult audience, male demographic and female viewers, McCall said. The channels will be formed from existing networks Discovery Travel & Adventure, Discovery Home & Living and Discovery Health, according to the report.
A key element of the programming strategy for these channels would be localisation, McCall was quoted as saying.
McCall didn’t rule out chances of the company going for more than three lifestyle networks per market.