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Tag: Discovery Inc.

  • discovery+ fortifies its India play with star-studded originals

    discovery+ fortifies its India play with star-studded originals

    Mumbai: discovery+ has announced a slate of brand-new originals along with the return of its successful franchises ‘Star VS Food’ and ‘Mission Frontline’. The originals line-up includes ‘Say Yes to the Dress’, and ‘Money Mafia’.

    Produced by ABP Studios, ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ is an Indian adaptation of one of the biggest American reality television series, giving Indian brides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as they search for their perfect wedding dress. Launching on 4 August, ‘Money Mafia’ takes an in-depth look at some of the biggest financial scams the country has ever seen from the perspective of the victims and the perpetrators. The show is produced by Chandra Talkies.

    ‘Star vs Food S2’ is produced in collaboration with Korea Tourism. It will feature popular celebs Ananya Panday, Anil Kapoor, Nora Fatehi, and Badshah trying to impress their family and friends with their cooking skills. Sara Ali Khan will be seen in the second season of ‘Mission Frontline’ returning in August.

    “Our upcoming content slate demonstrates our constant determination of bringing original, full of life, bold and unexpected stories to our audience. By on-boarding personalities from different walks of life like Sports, Bollywood, music, and comedy among others, we have made a conscious effort at expanding our reach and engaging with a new set of audience,” said Discovery Inc, managing director – South Asia, Megha Tata. “We aim at using our platform as a medium to connect people through the art of storytelling and the line-up ranging from documentary to reality TV has something for every generation to enjoy, further strengthening our Family, Facts and Fun premise.”

    Talking about his experience of being on the show, actor Anil Kapoor shared, “Despite my undeniable love for food, it is no secret that my expertise lies at eating and not cooking. Being blessed with excellent culinary artists in my home and family, I have never had to enter the kitchen to prepare a meal for myself. Star vs Food S2 set me up against the challenge of cooking a scrumptious meal for my loved ones and I must say, this was a much more daunting task than acting. Undoubtedly, it has been an exhilarating experience and I can’t wait to make my family proud with this new notch in my belt.”

    “The announcement of a season 2 within a six-month span of the first season is a testament to the success of season one. We look forward to yet another delectable season full of fun, flavour and food,” Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege added.

    BanijayAsia Founder & CEO, Deepak Dhar said, “Content consumption patterns have changed drastically in the last 2 years. People are consuming content faster and need more if they like a certain genre. With a plethora of content available to view on OTT platforms, it is immensely challenging, yet potentially lucrative for us to create stories that resonate with the audience. Our partnership with discovery+ gives us the freedom to work on different concepts as the brand is not limited to one genre. With our next special Mission Frontline with Sara Ali Khan, we have taken our relationship with Discovery to the next level after Into The Wild with Bear Grylls. We are confident that this show will deliver a special message we want to convey to our target audience and inspire them.”

    discovery+ has also put together a specially curated watchlist including ‘Special Operations: India’, ‘Little Singham Desh ka Sipahi Blockbuster’, ‘India: 70 Wonders’, ‘India Marvels and Mysteries’, and more to commemorate the Independence month.  Viewers will also have access to titles such as ‘Surviving R. Kelly’, ‘Could I Live There’, ‘MasterChef Canada’, and ‘Matilda & The Ramsay Bunch’.

  • Discovery Q1: d2c arm leads growth, income tumbles

    Discovery Q1: d2c arm leads growth, income tumbles

    NEW DELHI: Discovery Inc has 15 million total paying direct-to-consumer subscribers across its global portfolio, it said on Wednesday, as it reported financial results for the quarter ended 31 March 2021.

    The growth was primarily led by discovery+, having crossed 13 million total paying direct-to-consumer subscribers, since its launch on 4 January early this year.

    “The global rollout of discovery+ is off to a fantastic start by any measure. Key metrics, including subscriber additions, customer engagement, and retention, are exceeding our expectations and demonstrating sustained momentum into the second quarter,” said Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav. “Our strong direct-to-consumer performance underscores the outstanding value and appeal of our content, brands and personalities to both consumers and distribution partners alike. We continue to expand the reach of discovery+ with recent launches on Comcast Xfinity and Amazon Prime Video Channels. At the same time, we continue to extend our overall engagement with viewers across screens, anchored by another quarter as the most-watched pay-TV portfolio in the US and our seventh consecutive quarter of international share growth.”

    The media company’s net income dipped 62.9 per cent to $140 million, or 21 cents per share, during the quarter.

    However, revenue rose four per cent to $2.79 billion, edging past Wall Street estimates of $2.78 billion.

    The international advertising revenues increased 16 per cent and distribution revenues were flat, or decreased two per cent ex-FX. Advertising revenue in the US declined two per cent, partly due to lower overall ratings, and to a lesser extent secular declines in the pay-TV ecosystem and lower inventory.

    For the first quarter, Discovery was among the most-watched pay-TV portfolio in the US among key demographics, driven in part by TLC, which was popular among its key female demographics, the company said.

    Internationally, the company said it enjoyed an impressive seventh consecutive quarter of linear share growth, anchored by growth in female genres and best ever quarterly performances in several markets, including the UK, France and Germany. International networks revenues increased 6.9 per cent year-on-year to $987 million. Advertising revenues were up 15.7 per cent, while distribution revenues were down 0.2 per cent.

    The broadcaster said it will invest more than ever in the content across the board to support these platforms in 2021.

    “We expect international distribution revenue to accelerate to mid-single-digit growth during the second quarter,” said Discovery chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, adding that though the company is investing against a rigorous financial framework, it is also gearing up for two sets of Olympic games this summer and in Q1 next year, both of which will be tentpole events for the marketing of its d2c and linear brand.