ITV

Tag: Discover

  • Non-metro cities drive 60% of consumption on Discovery+ : Megha Tata

    Non-metro cities drive 60% of consumption on Discovery+ : Megha Tata

    KOLKATA: The leading infotainment network Discovery entered the cluttered streaming space in India last year with the launch of Discovery+. Taking note of the consumer needs, the platform has expanded its portfolio after operating in the market for more than a year, aiming to position itself as a platform that caters to every member of the family, Discovery Inc South Asia managing director Megha Tata said on Wednesday.

    “We had an amazing response from our customers, consumers, and partners since launch. It was a pre-crowded market when we launched, with most players fighting the fiction game. We brought about that differentiation in Discovery+ that worked well for us,” Tata said.

    However, they soon realised that the platform’s offering was more in the world of infotainment. So, they decided to add more genres to offer a wholesome family viewing experience. The platform has also diversified its content library focusing on fun, facts, and family. A large portion of its content will address those aspects going forward. “We tend to make it more entertaining, interactive and we believe that these two are symbiotic. We are prioritising the kind of content the audience loves watching,” Tata said.

    The platform is expanding its library with the acquisition of titles from the A+E Networks’. It is enriching kids’ content portfolio with shows like Mr. Bean, Little Singham, Kids Baking Championship, My Little Pony, Hanuman, Mister Maker. Discovery+ also plans to attract eyeballs of sports buffs by introducing the likes of FIM MotoGP World Championship. These are the three key buckets of enhancing Discovery Plus’ content offering. Apart from acquiring titles, it has also decided not to shift focus from original titles as well.

    In the course of realigning the content library, the platform has considered audience feedback through available data addressing the content needs. One of the things the platform observed was that it had certain gaps in content offerings when it comes to kids and family specifically. For instance, it had limited content in store for women but the female viewership jumped immediately after adding Star VS Food.

    “One of the surprises was that our content was getting an encouraging response in tier II, tier III markets, because of our language strategy. We got seven languages on the platform, which has brought in engagement from tier-II, tier III cities as well. In fact, nearly 60 per cent of the consumption on our platform is outside of the eight cities and it is increasing quarter by quarter. There is an audience need for content like ours which is being seen in our number as well. Our viewership is a combination of metro cities, tier II, tier III cities,” Tata shared.

    Discovery Plus’ audience cuts across age groups, from six to sixty. The platform has rich content created over the years, a library of 3000 hours of content. A lot of this content has not seen the light of the day in India due to the limitation of slots on linear TV. But, Discovery+ has come up with a solution for this.

    By adding up new content, the platform hopes to acquire new subscribers more rapidly. On the other hand, it also has an ad-based segment. “Our approach with that line is we are a content creating company and that’s our expertise. We want to bring in our expertise, experience to brands who can create their brand communication through the content we create for them,” she explained.

    To reach more viewers, Discovery+ is also striking many partnerships like other platforms and the one with Jio has benefited the platform significantly. Many more b2b2c partnerships will be unfolded in the coming months ranging from smart TV brands, telcos, hardware companies.

    In what could be a big boon for the platform in India, if HBO Max content is integrated with the platform in the coming days, the way Disney-21st Century Fox merger panned out for Hotstar. Nonetheless, it is still not clear how the merger will pan out for the platform in India.

    “It’s a great partnership. We are excited. It’s a great opportunity to bring these two media companies together and create huge possibilities. Now the business is usual for us and we will continue to focus on our priorities. The merger will bring the two companies that have shared value, complementary assets, iconic brands, franchises. This will be a great marriage which is in the works. And we are looking forward to how this unfolds in the coming months,” Tata signed off.

  • Discover your deepest fears as &PrivéHD premieres the coming-of-age story of Kayla in ‘Eighth Grade’

    Discover your deepest fears as &PrivéHD premieres the coming-of-age story of Kayla in ‘Eighth Grade’

    MUMBAI: Is virtual truly the new reality? Does your social following define who you really are? In the age of digital dominance, witness a coming-of-age story about an eighth grader who struggles with anxiety to make her presence felt. &PrivéHD is set to premiere the heart-warming tale of a teenager, stuck between her charming identity in the virtual world and self-doubting persona in the real world. The premium destination for nuanced cinema will air the comedy-drama movie ‘Eighth Grade’ on Saturday, September 21, 2019, at 1PM and 9PM.

    Directed by the comedian-turned-filmmaker Bo Burnham in his feature debut, the film stars young Elsie Fisher in the lead role as it opens your eyes to the other side of life through a teenager’s lens. The film received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe nomination for Fisher and Writers Guild and Directors Guild of America Awards for Burnham.

    The film revolves around the life of a thirteen-year-old girl Kayla (Elsie Fisher) who is nearing the end of middle school, with only a week left to complete eighth grade before she moves to high school. A shy and introverted Kayla, grapples with being labelled as the ‘most quiet’ in her school. She soon takes to YouTube to express herself with motivational vlogs. Coming from the Gen Z that thrives on digital – Kayla is one of the many who constantly suffer from anxiety and depression. The film portrays the teenager’s encounters with her ignorant peers, her single father and her school crush as she finds her true identity and reignites her hopes and dreams together with love and laughter.

    Will Kayla survive the storm of the Eighth Grade and eventually break out of her shell?

  • Discover the unpredictable and witness the breeze of romance as &PrivéHD premieres Juliet, Naked

    Discover the unpredictable and witness the breeze of romance as &PrivéHD premieres Juliet, Naked

    MUMBAI: Life is full of surprises. Sometimes, one man’s obsession could be another’s expression. Sometimes, a bitter truth could spark a sweet romance. A story rife with love and laughter, Juliet, Naked is a movie that truly testifies the fact that when one door closes, another opens. Feel the other side of life’s blessings in disguise as &PrivéHD, the premium destination for nuanced cinema, premieres the refreshing romantic comedy, ‘Juliet, Naked’ on Saturday, September 7, 2019, at 1PM and 9PM.

    Directed by Jesse Peretz, the film stars the talented actor Rose Byrne, actor and comedian Chris O’Dowd and the four-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke in lead roles. Having premiered at Sundance Film Festival and garnering multiple nominations across awards like New Mexico Film Critics and Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards; Juliet, Naked received immense acclaim from critics and fans alike.

    The film revolves around the life of Annie (Rose Byrne) who finds herself in a claustrophobic long-term relationship with beau Duncan (Chris O'Dowd). Turns out, the estranged couple have polarising priorities. While Annie is a charming yet a lone, young woman, Duncan, on the other hand, harbours a deep obsession with a cult rocker of the early ’90s named Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). Flashback to the 90s, an indie rock sensation, Crowe who garnered a devoted following, vanished into thin air mid-way during his one of his performances, leaving fans perplexed. Cut to present, when the news of his hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, Duncan's obsession reaches newer heights of insanity damaging his relationship with Annie. As fate would have it, Annie and the Rockstar himself, Crowe, cross paths in the most life-changing encounter. What follows is a beautiful tale of romance and reunion in a comic turn of events.

    Will Annie embrace the second chance that life has to offer or will she give in to her past?

  • Discover The World ‘On The Go’ With SOTC’s Newly Launched Portal

    Discover The World ‘On The Go’ With SOTC’s Newly Launched Portal

    MUMBAI: For the new-age Indian traveller, planning a holiday abroad, is like going on a personal adventure – a journey that opens the horizons of their mind and provides exposure to the world. They are looking for novel, experiences that translate into enriching memories. Catering to the excursionists who like to tread the path less taken, leading travel and tourism company SOTC has launched On The Go, India's one-of-a-kind travel service for personalised tours. 

    If you are on your planned holiday but find something that's piqued your interest, then you can now get more of the same trip with On The Go. Find the best value for your time, energy and money, by witnessing the most popular tourist destinations in a completely different light. The portal captures the best a region has to offer and curates an unforgettable trip that’s a perfect coming alive of the travellers’ fantasies. So whether you have opted for a pre-planned SOTC tour and want to add more to your itinerary or simply explore the place in never-done-before manner, On The Go will set it up for you.

    Empowered with a thorough understanding of the new-age traveller's mindset and expectations, On The Go offers customised experiences and activities for every wanderlust. Be it trekking through snow-capped Alps, sailing down The Nile, or learning to cook a traditional Bhutanese meal, Gen-Z now has the chance to tick off the next thing on their bucket list.

    Mr. Daniel Dsouza, Head – Sales, India and NRI Markets, SOTC Travel said, “The new-age traveller is well-read, discerning and wants excitement, convenience and the best deals, all at once, when planning a journey. At SOTC Travel, the motto is providing a service that is flexible and personalised to match the customer’s needs. Being diverse in terms of the choices is what adds more value to the customer experience. On The Go offers the most exclusive customisation in the holiday category, today. Through On The Go, customers can book their excursions, activities and experiences at their own convenience. They also have access to authentic reviews by other travel connoisseurs that help them make a smart decision." 

    Explore specially planned culinary tours, art workshops, sports sojourns, and more with India's one-of-a-kind experiential travel partner. Whether you desire to take a free-spirited helicopter ride, float into the clouds on a hot-air balloon with your beloved or head out on a honeymoon with a difference, On The Go is your perfect itinerary planner. Encounter the exhilaration of flexible travel and the ease of expert planning, with SOTC's most dynamic travel service, yet.

  • Discover a friend in your mom, on Romedy Now

    MUMBAI: Romedy Now is celebrating this Mother’s Day with a fun-filled line-up of special movies that salutes super moms around the world. The channel will be airing dedicated property titled ‘Mum’s The World’ featuring movies such as Life As We Know It, Mamma Mia, Parent Trap, Raising Helen, Ice Princess and My Mom’s New Boyfriend on 14 May from 9 am to 9 pm.

    To make this Mother’s Day even more special, Romedy Now conducted a unique social experiment to help teenagers and young adults develop a deeper bond of friendship with their mothers. The experiment ‘#ConfessionsOFAMom’ had mothers confessing their secrets such as like ‘I had my first drink when I was 14’, ‘I was once suspended from college for excessive ragging’, ‘I broke your sister’s watch and let you take the blame’ etc. on camera. We then took their confessions and created a Gallery of Confessions. We invited their children inside the gallery and asked them to guess which confession belongs to their mother, while the mothers watched their children’s reaction on camera. The idea behind this experiment was that when we discover secrets about our mother, we start seeing her in a new light, and that leads to the beginning of a truly honest and beautiful friendship.

    Celebrate this Mother’s Day with Romedy Now with some light-hearted romcoms and a heart-tugging, fun experiment, and make it a day to remember always!

  • Facebook Groups crosses 80 mn monthly users in India

    Facebook Groups crosses 80 mn monthly users in India

    MUMBAI: Groups are spaces where you can share things with people who care about them the most. With Groups, we make it easy for you to build a space for important groups of people in your life—your family, your soccer team, your book club and bring like-minded people together to learn, support or rally around a common bond or interest. All you have to do to get started is to create a group, add friends and start sharing. Members can comment and like posts, so it’s easy to discuss anything with just the people you want. Whether it’s a road trip, a bachelor party, or your concert bucket list, groups make it easy to coordinate with friends near and far and lets you communicate in one searchable space.

    Today, more than 1 billion people use Facebook Groups every month and we’ve seen it grow because people use Groups in many different ways. Last year, people in tens of millions of Facebook Groups left more than 100 billion comments in Groups and there were more than 250 billion likes on Group posts. In India, over 80M people use Groups each month to stay in touch with family, collaborate on projects, plan trips and offer support to friends. We work to keep Groups the best way for people to communicate, collaborate, and plan.

    Over the past year we’ve invested a lot on this product. We recently introduced Groups Discover, a new feature where you can browse groups by category and get recommendations based on your friends, location and interests. Discover offers 25 different categories such as parenting, sports, food, buy & sell, networking, animals & pets, hobby & leisure, support & comfort and travel. Each topic page highlights the top suggested Groups based on popularity and who you may already know that’s a member. Additionally, we have been working to tweak the Groups experience to make it easier for people to do the things in Groups that they want. For example:

    • You now have the ability to reply directly to specific comments on a post in Groups so people can navigate comments more easily and have deeper conversations.

    • You can more easily drag and drop-in files if you’d like to share more information within your group.

    • When you create a new group, we suggest different types of groups you might be building in order to help streamline the process for you.

    Groups is continuing to grow, and continues to be a huge priority for us. We’ve seen it become so big because it’s a flexible tool that helps people share and communicate in a very diverse range of ways. Groups is being used in really interesting and meaningful ways – from a group of women in India coming together to crochet the world’s largest blanket to women of Indian heritage in the US connecting to share their children’s lunchbox recipes! Give it a try and create a few groups of your own at http://www.facebook.com/groups.

  • Facebook Groups crosses 80 mn monthly users in India

    Facebook Groups crosses 80 mn monthly users in India

    MUMBAI: Groups are spaces where you can share things with people who care about them the most. With Groups, we make it easy for you to build a space for important groups of people in your life—your family, your soccer team, your book club and bring like-minded people together to learn, support or rally around a common bond or interest. All you have to do to get started is to create a group, add friends and start sharing. Members can comment and like posts, so it’s easy to discuss anything with just the people you want. Whether it’s a road trip, a bachelor party, or your concert bucket list, groups make it easy to coordinate with friends near and far and lets you communicate in one searchable space.

    Today, more than 1 billion people use Facebook Groups every month and we’ve seen it grow because people use Groups in many different ways. Last year, people in tens of millions of Facebook Groups left more than 100 billion comments in Groups and there were more than 250 billion likes on Group posts. In India, over 80M people use Groups each month to stay in touch with family, collaborate on projects, plan trips and offer support to friends. We work to keep Groups the best way for people to communicate, collaborate, and plan.

    Over the past year we’ve invested a lot on this product. We recently introduced Groups Discover, a new feature where you can browse groups by category and get recommendations based on your friends, location and interests. Discover offers 25 different categories such as parenting, sports, food, buy & sell, networking, animals & pets, hobby & leisure, support & comfort and travel. Each topic page highlights the top suggested Groups based on popularity and who you may already know that’s a member. Additionally, we have been working to tweak the Groups experience to make it easier for people to do the things in Groups that they want. For example:

    • You now have the ability to reply directly to specific comments on a post in Groups so people can navigate comments more easily and have deeper conversations.

    • You can more easily drag and drop-in files if you’d like to share more information within your group.

    • When you create a new group, we suggest different types of groups you might be building in order to help streamline the process for you.

    Groups is continuing to grow, and continues to be a huge priority for us. We’ve seen it become so big because it’s a flexible tool that helps people share and communicate in a very diverse range of ways. Groups is being used in really interesting and meaningful ways – from a group of women in India coming together to crochet the world’s largest blanket to women of Indian heritage in the US connecting to share their children’s lunchbox recipes! Give it a try and create a few groups of your own at http://www.facebook.com/groups.

  • Land Rover invites customers to discover adventure with the new Discovery Sport

    Land Rover invites customers to discover adventure with the new Discovery Sport

    MUMBAI: Land Rover announced a unique opportunity for its fans and enthusiasts to feature in an adventure film alongside their favourite sports personalities, Yuvraj Singh and Narain Karthikeyan. For this Land Rover has launched the READY TO DISCOVER Contest, in which fans and enthusiasts simply have to express what adventure means to them.

     

    Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd (JLRIL) President Rohit Suri said, “The new Discovery Sport is the perfect premium versatile SUV for people who have the adventure gene in them. Through this contest, we are looking for such Land Rover fans and enthusiasts and create an interactive and exciting platform to engage with them. After-all one does not get a chance to star in a film alongside Yuvraj and Narain everyday”.

     

    The Ready to Discover contest has been rolled out on Land Rover’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/LandRoverIndia) and its Twitter handle (@JLRIndia). Land Rover fans and enthusiasts need to use the hashtag ReadyToDiscover and simply state their expression and understanding of adventure. Contest winners will be chosen from amongst all entries received by Land Rover and they will get the most unique opportunity of featuring in Land Rover’s Adventure film.   

     

    The new Discovery Sport was launched in India on 2nd September 2015 and more information on the product is available on www.landrover.in.

  • Animal Planet to have Hindi programming blocks from April 2

    Animal Planet to have Hindi programming blocks from April 2

    Animal Planet, a 24-hour channel which comes under Discovery Communications India, will also be providing Hindi programming from April 2, 2001.

     

    The Hindi programmes will air as a half-hour block from Monday to Thursday, 2 pm to 2.30 p m, and a one-hour block on Saturday and Sunday, from 12 noon to 1 PM

     

    Commenting on the new initiative, Discovery MD Kiran Karnik says: “We are delighted to add a Hindi audio to selected programmes. This will provide an opportunity to our present audience to enjoy the best of Animal Planet’s spectacular and high-quality programmes in a language that many of them may prefer.”

     

    Launched in 1999, the channel already reaches 7.5 million homes, according to a company press release.