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Tag: Discovery Inc.

  • WarnerMedia pauses business operations in Russia amid Ukraine conflict

    WarnerMedia pauses business operations in Russia amid Ukraine conflict

    Mumbai: As the Russia-Ukraine ongoing war has escalated over the days, the entertainment conglomerate WarnerMedia decided to pause “all new business” in Russia, CEO Jason Kilar said. This announcement comes a few hours after Discovery Inc, which is set to soon close its acquisition of WarnerMedia, suspended all operations in Russia amid the country’s war on Ukraine.

    According to Variety, Kilar, in a memo to WarnerMedia staff said, “Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing all new business operations in Russia. This includes ceasing broadcast of our channels, halting all new content licensing with Russian entities and pausing our planned theatrical and games releases.”

    Previously, along with suspending CNN broadcasts in Russia, WarnerMedia’s production house Warner Bros had halted its plans to release “The Batman” in the country ahead of its planned premiere. Kilar further stated, “We are following this situation closely and future business decisions will be made with that context in mind. Our thoughts in this moment are with  the people of Ukraine.”

    As per the Deadline report, Universal Music has also just announced it ceased operations there, along with McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and others. 

    Amazon will be shutting off Amazon Prime in Russia and stopping deliveries to the country, according to news agency ANI.

  • Chris Licht to be head of CNN post WarnerMedia-Discovery merger

    Chris Licht to be head of CNN post WarnerMedia-Discovery merger

    Mumbai: Discovery Inc has announced its plans to appoint Chris Licht as the new chairman and chief executive officer of CNN Global. The appointment will be effective following the completion of Discovery Inc’s acquisition of WarnerMedia, expected in early Q2.

    Discovery expects that Licht will start at CNN in early May, after Discovery’s acquisition of CNN is complete. He will report directly to Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

    Licht has spent more than 20 years in broadcast news and currently serves as executive vice president of special programming at CBS. He has created, led and strengthened award-winning news and entertainment shows and programming, including “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “CBS This Morning,” and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

    “I have known and admired Chris for more than 15 years and strongly believe he is the best person to lead CNN Global as part of Warner Bros. Discovery,” said Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav. “Chris is a dynamic and creative producer, an engaging and thoughtful journalist, and a true news person. He has more than two decades of broadcast experience across local, cable and national news. He has been in the field, in the control room and on the set. He is a highly principled individual who is trusted, hard-working and makes every organization stronger, more innovative, and more cohesive.”

    “I’m honored to have this opportunity, especially at such an important time for our country and the world,’’ said Licht. “CNN has a rich and storied legacy and I both promise to uphold it and build upon it. I am eternally grateful to Stephen Colbert and the peerless Late Show team for an unforgettable run. I am looking forward to returning to my journalism roots.”

  • Discovery to amp up linear programming with 5X hours of original content in 2022

    Discovery to amp up linear programming with 5X hours of original content in 2022

    Mumbai: Discovery Inc has virtually showcased its annual upfront presentation to advertisers and marketers in India, outlining its content strategy and programming lineup for 2022.

    In the presence of Megha Tata (MD- South Asia), Ruchir Jain (head of Eurosport India and distribution – South Asia), and Shaun Nanjappa (head of advertising sales- South Asia), the event saw Discovery reinstate its brand promise of bringing diverse content covering lifestyle, kids and sports genres, spanning across its linear brands like Discovery Channel, Discovery Kids, TLC and Eurosport.

    To amp up linear programming in India, Discovery will introduce five times hours of original content across factual entertainment, lifestyle and sports categories. Discovery Kids will introduce two times hours of content in the first half of 2022. This will include the launch of two new properties “Little Singham 3D” and “Baby Little Singham.”

    The year’s content slate comprises titles like “Into the Wild with Bear Grylls” featuring Vicky Kaushal, “Star vs Food: Season 2” starring Anil Kapoor, Janhavi Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Nora Fatehi, Badshah and Zakir Khan, “Mission Frontline” featuring Sara Ali khan, Farhan Akhtar and Rohit Shetty, “Money Mafia: Season 1&2,” and “India’s Space Odyssey” – the documentary that looks at the 60-year journey of the space sector in India. The Indian version of the hit international franchise “Say Yes” to “The Dress! India” will also premiere on TLC.

    The event highlighted how Discovery Kids has diversified their offerings and built a roster of engaging content. One of its flagship properties, “Little Singham v/s Black Shadow” was pronounced as top show of 2021 demonstrating the popularity of the franchise. To further build on it, Discovery Kids will be expanding the franchise with two new properties “Little Singham” in 3D and “Baby Little Singham” as a treat for its young fans in 2022. With a renewed focus on experimentation, and diversification of business, the channel aims to add two times hours of content in the first half of 2022.

    Eurosport India also promises an extravaganza for all sports enthusiasts with sporting events that will further build on the cult appeal for MotoGP, along with AFC Women’s Asian Cup, PGA Tour, UCI Track Champions League, AEW, Tour de France, amongst others. With a renewed vision to embrace homegrown leagues and sports, Eurosport India will continue to focus on being the go-to-destination for passionate sports fans across the country.

    “over the previous year, Discovery India network has cemented its position as a leader, commanding close to 50 per cent category share in the infotainment category with nine out of top 10 shows of 2021 belonging to Discovery Channel. Pushing the envelope further in creating inspiring content, the network successfully emerged amongst the top four in terms of growth,” said the statement.

    “2021 proved to be a year of new milestones for Discovery Network, with the brand garnering 182 per cent higher reach than the English News Genre and 112 per cent higher than that of leading English GEC and English movie channels combined in terms of the weekly data. Adding further value and credibility, Eurosport also witnessed growth in viewership from Q1 within two years of its launch. The response thus encourages Discovery to take a leap ahead in its vision for 2022 by bringing five times hours of original content – the highest number of originals ever produced in the infotainment category across genres and formats,” it added.

    Reinstating Discovery Inc’s consistent efforts to be a partner of confidence to eminent stakeholders, the event offered a look-back at the key branded properties across categories like edtech, auto, finance, telecom, and more. From Discovery School Super League Powered by BYJU’s, to the association with Hershey’s Jolly Rancher Lollipops for Little Singham, to projects with the government, the network plans to create stronger synergies across short and long format content in the year ahead.

    Speaking at India Sales Upfront 2022, Discovery Inc MD South Asia Megha Tata said, “As a network, we are driven by creative solutions and committed to offer a holistic and integrated brand experience to the diverse stakeholders. With innovation at core, we aim to leverage the power of Discovery’s legacy to create ground-breaking stories and emerge as a brand of confidence to our partners. We’ve had a heady kickstart to 2022 and are set for a riveting content repertoire ahead. We hope to further amplify the momentum not only with offerings that are genre-binding and authentic but also create seamless synergies across touchpoints adding value to the ever-evolving appetite of our target demographic.”

    “Overwhelmed with the success of Discovery’s Virtual Upfront 2022, I would like to thank our partners and advertisers for their unwavering support in making Eurosport India a household name in no time,” remarked Discovery head of Eurosport India and distribution – South Asia Ruchir Jain. “Delving beyond the realms of mainstream sports has spiked our viewership by a whopping 158 per cent since Q1. Our upcoming line-up of sports has been liked by all the stakeholders and we are excited to bring it all on Eurosport in the coming months, making 2022 certainly look bright for us!”

    Discovery head of advertising sales – South Asia Shaun Nanjappa added, “As a network, Discovery in the past year has not only completed over 40 projects successfully but carved a niche for itself with constant support received from our stakeholders throughout. Our varied offerings across diverse genres and tailor-made 360-degree business solutions helped us strengthen our footprint in the infotainment category and we will continue to focus on making content the hero. We will continue to experiment as the trends change and come up with differentiated offerings through our partnerships that emerge as successful milestones for the brand as well as our stakeholders.”

  • Volleyball Federation of India partners with Eurosport India for IVL

    Volleyball Federation of India partners with Eurosport India for IVL

    Mumbai: Volleyball Federation of India on Monday announced its partnership with Eurosport India for the inaugural season of the Indian Volleyball League (IVL). Tentatively scheduled to kickstart around June-July, the IVL will be the premier volleyball league in the country, sanctioned both by the Asian Volleyball Confederation and International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).

    The IVL also proposes to have six to eight new franchisees representing various cities across India. The teams will have a mix of top players from the Indian national team along with talented players from various states as well as a host of top international players in its roster for the inaugural season.

    “We are delighted to be playing a role in popularising the fast-paced exciting sport of Volleyball across India and helping Indian volleyball reach to sports fans across the globe,” said Discovery Inc head of Eurosport India and distribution- South Asia Ruchir Jain. “The Indian Volleyball League is definitely the future that the sport deserves, and we are not only excited to play our part in this but also would commend the Volleyball Federation of India for their vision in making Indian volleyball truly global in nature.”

    The proposed Indian Volleyball League will be an annual feature in the global volleyball calendar. The process of applying for ownership of new franchises through the official website of the Indian Volleyball League & Volleyball Federation of India will be announced soon.

    “It is a momentous occasion for Indian Volleyball, and we are thrilled to have a globally respected brand like Discovery on board with us. Together we aim to uplift the sport’s standard in the near future as one of top international volleyball leagues globally,” commented Volleyball Federation of India MP and president prof (Dr) Achyuta Samanta.

    Apart from the Eurosport India channel, viewers will also be able to live-stream the league on discovery+ app.

  • discovery+ launches investigative docuseries ‘Dangals of Crime’

    discovery+ launches investigative docuseries ‘Dangals of Crime’

    Mumbai: Streaming app discovery+ has launched an investigative docuseries “Dangals of Crime – The Untold Truth About Indian Wrestling,” which traces the meteoric rise of the Olympic sport of Wrestling in India while exploring in-depth the dark underbelly of crime often associated with it.

    Former wrestlers and coaches, eminent sports journalists, and law enforcement officials weigh in with their experiences, insights and memories, in the two-part series produced by Vice Studios Production and directed by award-winning director Niyantha Shekar.

    Notable former coaches and wrestlers whose views are reflected in the documentary include names such as Satbir Singh, Virender Kumar, Anil Mann and Ramphal Mann.

    Wrestling is by far India’s most successful individual sport (seven medals) in terms of medals won at the Summer Olympics. Its popularity reached a crescendo after iconic wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt won three medals collectively across two successive Games (Beijing 2008 and London 2012). “Dangals of Crime” showcases this journey towards success and highlights the deep-rooted akhada culture, strict discipline and the unparalleled devotion that makes a champion wrestler.

    The series explores how the sport, which has been instrumental in bringing sporting laurels for India, has also been witness to some dark moments which overshadow its glorious journey and malign wrestling and its athletes.

    “Dangals of Crime delves deep into the realms of wrestling, a sport that has churned out some of India’s greatest homegrown champions. Reflecting on the sport in the most informative way, the discovery+ Original dissects every aspect of the making of a Pehelwan, coupled with its current realities and the crime related to it. It will surely leave our viewers thinking,” said Discovery Inc MD – South Asia Megha Tata.

  • Discovery Inc invests in advanced TV ad company OpenAP

    Discovery Inc invests in advanced TV ad company OpenAP

    Mumbai: Discovery Inc has joined FOX, NBCUniversal, and ViacomCBS to buy a minority stake in OpenAP, the advanced advertising company which is working on a goal to “bring simplicity and scale to audience-based campaigns in television. The decision comes as media companies worldwide look for improved ways of audience measurement.

    The joint venture created by several media industry giants, centralises data activation on behalf of premium national TV publishers, bringing efficiency and scale to audience-based campaigns.

    The recent announcement furthers Discovery’s strategy of building a technical framework that enables cross-platform audience-based buying and creating collaborative support for alternative currency standards, it said in a statement. The factual-life entertainment giant will join OpenAP’s board of directors with chief US Advertising sales officer Jon Steinlauf, and executive VP digital ad sales and advanced advertising Jim Keller, both representing the company.

    “Discovery is excited to take an active role shaping the future of advanced audience buying,” said Discovery’s executive VP digital ad sales and advanced advertising Jim Keller. “Given our current momentum, influence, and growth of audience-based sales, we believe Discovery can help further the work OpenAP has been doing to initiate meaningful change in the market.”

    The investment signals an expansion of Discovery’s existing relationship with OpenAP, having integrated with the central TV identity spine, OpenID in April last year, and more recently partnering with OpenAP on the launch of XPm, the publisher-backed cross-platform measurement framework. For OpenAP, it will help further its ability to grow the overall market for audience-based advertising and expand the breadth and scale of its services across cross-platform identity, measurement, and planning.

    “Discovery has long been a pioneer of TV entertainment with its iconic portfolio of content and direct-to-consumer experiences people love. The last two years have demonstrated the force of change that can happen when we take an audience-first approach to reimagining TV advertising for media owners, advertisers, and consumers alike,” said OpenAP CEO David Levy.

    In a joint statement, FOX senior VP, data strategy and sales innovation Dan Callahan, NBCUniversal president, and chief business officer Krishan Bhatia, and ViacomCBS COO – advertising revenue John Halley at ViacomCBS, stated that Discovery’s commitment further validates OpenAP’s mission and builds on the success and scale of our collective organisations work to build a more advanced model for TV advertising that focuses on audiences.  “OpenAP has been a catalyst for bringing programmers and marketers together to change the model, and we’re proud to now have Discovery join us to accelerate these efforts,” they added.

  • Media veteran Vijay Rajput retires, Ruchir Jain to succeed him at Discovery

    Media veteran Vijay Rajput retires, Ruchir Jain to succeed him at Discovery

    Mumbai: Eurosport’s SVP – affiliate sales and business head and media industry veteran Vijay Rajput on Friday announced his decision to move on from Discovery and retire on 31 December. 

    Ruchir Jain, who has been heading finance at Discovery- South Asia for over three years, will take over from Rajput to lead the distribution and Eurosport business.  

    “We at Discovery Inc would like to thank our supremely talented leader Vijay Rajput as he has decided to retire from the organisation. Vijay’s stellar contribution over the years has helped us in being at the pinnacle of factual broadcasting in India,” stated Discovery Inc managing director – South Asia Megha Tata. “Although it is hard to say goodbye, we once again thank him for inspiring us and wish him the absolute best for the next phase of his life.”

    “Elated about Ruchir taking up the role where he designs the next chapter of growth ahead,” Tata further said.

    Rajput’s career that spread over 39 years, kicked off at Discovery over seven years back where he was instrumental in the setup and driving year-on-year growth of the network in India. His endeavors included that of the network establishing itself in sports broadcast while laying extraordinary spotlight towards speeding up Discovery’s main goal of staying the best real-life entertainment network in the country.

  • Discovery acquires assets of ad-tech company Zedo

    Discovery acquires assets of ad-tech company Zedo

    Mumbai: Discovery Inc on Wednesday announced that it has acquired the assets, technology and intellectual property of Zedo, an advertising technology company based in both the United States and India.

    The acquisition will bring Zedo’s technology in-house and enable faster innovation across Discovery’s ad solutions. This acquisition brings key ad technology platform capabilities, including a supply-side platform (SSP) and real-time bidding (RTB) capabilities, which enhances Discovery’s global direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms, improves the consumer experience and drives monetisation, said the media company in a statement. 

    As part of the acquisition, Discovery will also onboard employees of Zedo based in India and the United States, it added.

    “This deal will bring the Discovery and Zedo teams together to enhance the overall consumer ad experience, as well as help push new innovation by integrating Zedo’s capabilities with our global direct-to-consumer platform,” said Discovery Inc executive vice president DTC – global technology Sudheer Sirivara. “We are excited to welcome the Zedo team to the rapidly growing technology presence in our India development center, which is a strategic priority for us to build talent and expertise across the country to help scale globally.”

    “Discovery entered the streaming space with the launch of discovery+ and quickly became an industry leader,” said Zedo co-founder and chief executive officer Roy de Souza. “With the acquisition of Zedo’s assets, Discovery will have its own proprietary real-time bidding (RTB) platform and SSP to sell advertising programmatically. Discovery’s advertisers will soon have one place to buy advertising on a high-quality set of streaming platforms and reach Discovery’s vast global audiences.”

    The Zedo asset acquisition builds on Discovery’s acquisition of AdSparx’s assets in 2020, which brought server-side-ad-insertion (SSAI) capability to Discovery’s global tech platform. The combination of Zedo’s technology with Discovery’s SSAI and global video platform will deliver unparalleled video and ad experiences to our consumers worldwide.

  • Discovery ends Q3 with $20 mn DTC subs, $425 mn next generation revenues

    Discovery ends Q3 with $20 mn DTC subs, $425 mn next generation revenues

    Mumbai: Discovery Inc ended Q3 with 20 million DTC (direct-to-consumer) subscribers, an increase of three million subscribers since the end of Q2. The company generated $425 million of next generation revenues (growth of approximately 100 per cent versus the prior year quarter) with global D2C ARPU of approximately $ five and $ seven blended discovery+ ARPU in the US, supported by our over $10 ARPU for the discovery+ Ad Lite product.

    Discovery Inc recently launched discovery+ in Canada and the Philippines in addition to finalising a multi-year US distribution agreements with DirecTV and Verizon. The company also successfully broadcast the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, which reached over 372 million people in Europe across TV and digital platforms, and delivered 1.3 billion minutes of Olympics content on its streaming services, it said in a statement.

    Total US networks revenues increased 12 per cent to $1,858 million compared to the prior year quarter. Total revenue reported was $3,150 million; increased 23 per cent compared to the prior year quarter.

    Among the reporting segments, starting with the US, Q3 advertising revenues increased five per cent year-over-year. There was strong demand for discovery+ Ad Lite product, which contributed to the growth in the quarter. Distribution revenues increased 21 per cent year-over-year, largely due to the continued growth of discovery+ as well as linear affiliate rate increases, in part helped by successful renewals with DirectTV, Verizon, Hulu, and Altice.

    International advertising increased 26 per cent versus last year as the global advertising marketplace continued to recover from the pandemic. International distribution revenues grew six per cent during the quarter, primarily due to the growth in direct-to-consumer subscribers, which have nearly tripled over the past year across our footprint outside the US, in part aided by Olympics sign-ups.

    Investment losses for the quarter were in the low $200 million range, slightly better than last quarter.

  • Eurosport India acquires Hero Futsal Club Championship broadcasting rights

    Eurosport India acquires Hero Futsal Club Championship broadcasting rights

    Mumbai: Eurosport India has bagged the broadcasting rights for the inaugural season of the Hero Futsal Club Championship 2021-22. The tournament will take place in Delhi between 5 and 13 November at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

    The Hero Futsal Club Championship is a national level Futsal tournament in India. The 2021-22 Tournament to be played in a round-robin format will feature a total of 16 teams, divided into four groups. The highest-placed team from each group will make it to the semi-final to be played in a knockout format amongst the four teams on 12 November. Winners will be decided on 13 November during the grand finale.

    This will be Eurosport India’s third association with AIFF this year, after the FIFA friendly matches of India against Oman and UAE and the SAFF Championship 2021. 

    “It’s great to have Eurosport as our broadcast partners for the inaugural edition of the Hero Futsal Club Championship 2021-22. We have already been part of a fruitful partnership with EuroSport previously, and hope that this collaboration will continue going forward as well,” said AIFF Leagues CEO Sunando Dhar.

    Discovery Inc senior vice president – affiliate sales and product distribution Asia – India sales and distribution and Eurosport India head Vijay Rajput added, “We continued our partnership with AIFF by acquiring broadcast rights for the inaugural edition of the Hero Futsal Club Championship 2021-22. It is one of the fastest growing sports around the world and we are glad to play a pivotal role in this initiative by AIFF to bring Futsal to the Indian fans.”