ITV

Tag: discovery+

  • Discovery partners with Ellen DeGeneres to produce natural history content

    Discovery partners with Ellen DeGeneres to produce natural history content

    MUMBAI: Multiple Emmy Award winner and renowned talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has joined the Discovery family, where she will collaborate on a slate of content. Exclusive to Discovery in the natural history space, DeGeneres will develop and produce a variety of specials, series, and documentaries that will bring her unique charm, passion and wit both in front of and behind the camera.

     

    The exciting line-up will highlight the many wonders of the natural world and the incredible wildlife who inhabit it for both Discovery Channel and its subscription streaming service discovery+, launched earlier this year.

    “Ellen’s dedication to the environment and her love for all animals, including the most endangered creatures who call our planet home, is unmatched… We welcome Ellen and her team to the Discovery family as she brings her humour, her voice, and her ability to inspire to these important passion projects,” says Discovery and Factual chief brand officer Nancy Daniels.

     “I’m so excited to partner with Discovery. I’ll get to discover all kinds of things about incredible animals. For instance, did you know the Ring-Tailed Lemur’s tail is longer than its body? I think that’s his tail. I hope that’s his tail. I have so much to discover with Discovery,” quips Ellen DeGeneres.

     From Discovery and the BBC Natural History Unit, Endangered follows the effort of dedicated wildlife conservationists across the globe as they work to compile the latest version of The Red List – the most comprehensive record of the state of the world’s wildlife that has ever been created. In addition to serving as an executive producer, DeGeneres also narrates the documentary, the first time she has done so on a project. Endangered is the BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s first non-BBC commission and launches on discovery+ on Earth Day, 22 April 2021.

     The slate will be executive produced by Jeff Kleeman, president of Ellen’s AVGP company, and Howard Swartz, SVP Documentaries and Specials, Discovery.

  • D Tamil undergoes rebranding, launches two new shows

    D Tamil undergoes rebranding, launches two new shows

    MUMBAI: Celebrating the auspicious occasion of the Tamil New Year and underscoring the focus on culturally relevant content that is family oriented, Dதமிழ் (D Tamil) unveils the brand-new avatar of the channel with a redesigned logo and a slew of wholesome entertainment. The channel has today announced the launch of two new local series – Acham Yenbathu Madamaiyada, an adventure reality show which is co-powered by KIA and Asian Paints, and Suvai, a light-hearted cooking competition show co-powered by Asian Paints and BYJU’s, both presented by Tamil artists which will go on air from 17 April only on Dதமிழ்.

    Highlighting the golden hues of the revamped logo, the new look will be unveiled on social media with the stunning Tamannaah Bhatia adding her ‘golden touch’. Being a cultural icon in the state of Tamil Nadu, the ‘Annapakshi’ motif in the logo serves as a connective point to the Tamil audience with their own culture and heritage. The new logo aims to evoke the feeling of family friendly content that’s progressive, aspirational, and rooted in Tamil culture.

    Discovery Communications India South Asia MD Megha Tata said, “Over the past one year or so, Dதமிழ் has grown successfully as we continue to strengthen our regional focus. This rebranding exercise now better reflects Dதமிழ்’s differentiated positioning of a leading regional player in the real-life entertainment space. As we continue to expand our offering, the new logo exemplifies Discovery’s long-standing credibility, our modern and progressive outlook while the ‘Annapakshi’ motif lends an authentic cultural dimension to it. With this initiative, we are excited to have carved out a niche for the brand with the content that’s unique to us”. 

    Adding to this, she further said, “Our rapidly growing family of Tamil viewers clearly indicated their affinity towards fun, light-hearted, mission-oriented shows. The launch of the two new local series is an extension of our promise to offer what our viewers are looking for. We will continue to boost our local content, add new genres and offer inspiring international shows that our viewers love”. 

    Actress Tamannaah Bhatia said, “Iniya Tamizh Puthandu Vaazhthukal! With the new year, comes new beginnings and in that spirit, I am so happy to be a part of Dதமிழ்’s new identity. Adding its own golden touch to the New Year celebrations, I’m excited to see all the wonderful, fresh content the channel has in store for us along with its two upcoming Tamil shows. She further added, "Given the uncertain times we live in, knowing we have good entertainment to keep us company, makes staying in-doors and adhering to safety precautions a little more manageable.”

    With shows that appeal to every member of the family, Dதமிழ்’s range of content spans across multiple genres including reality, adventure and family cooking shows. With its dynamic and diverse content, channel intends to reach out to audiences who wish for novelty and a break from the mundane, aspire to accomplish something in life, enjoy the thrill and excitement of finishing missions, love impressive stunts and live vicariously through shows.

    The new local series to launch on Dதமிழ் include:

    Acham Yenbathu Madamaiyada: An adventure reality show co-powered by KIA and Asian Paints

    Description: 12 contestants will live in an island for 15 days while competing in physically and mentally challenging tasks against each other to win the title and grand prize money! A brand-new reality show, Acham Yenbathu Madamaiyada is packed with excitement, anticipation, and definitely raw emotions! Join our anchor Gunalan Morgan on this thrilling journey.

    Suvai: A lighthearted family cooking competition show co-powered by Asian Paints and BYJU’s

    Description: Suvai is here to tantalize the taste buds and leave our audience eager to cook up a storm in their kitchens. With 12 couples vying to be the season's grand champion, this season is going to be an epic battle of tastes as the contestants continuously outdo each other to impress our resident Judge, Chef Bala, and the guest Judges. The show is hosted by Anandha Kannan.

    Don't forget to catch the new look of your favorite channel Dதமிழ் on Tamil New Year i.e. on 14 April, and watch the premiere of two new series -Acham Yenbathu Madamaiyada on 17 April, Sat-Sun at 12 PM & 4 PM; and Suvai on 17 April, Sat-Sun @ 2 PM & 8 PM.

  • Discovery+ now available on Jio set-top box for JioFiber users

    Discovery+ now available on Jio set-top box for JioFiber users

    KOLKATA: Starting today, SVoD streaming service Discovery+ will be available on the Jio set-top box. Through this partnership, Discovery+ will bring to JioFiber users its world-class content across 40+ genres such as science, adventure, food, lifestyle animation among others.

    The streaming app has launched on JioFiber with an impressive line-up of hundreds of marquee shows across 60 different sub-genres and in multiple languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali.

    The partnership will give JioFiber customers an opportunity to access Discovery Network’s premium shows and specials including the incredibly successful Into The Wild series featuring superstars Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar; some of the greatest hits like Man vs Wild, Gold Rush, Expedition Unknown, 90 Day Fiancé, How The Universe Works, among others as well as popular Indian titles like Breaking Point, Revealed: Rashtrapati Bhavan, Himalayan Tsunami, and India 2050, to name a few. Consumers will also be able to access all the latest discovery+ originals such as, Vande Bharat Flight IX1344: Hope to survival, Secrets of Sinauli, Mission Frontline, Super Soul and Ladakh Warrior that debuted over the past couple of months.

    Discovery direct-to-consumer APAC head Issac John said, “We believe that discovery+ is a product for every Indian household. Our partnership with Jio presents a distinct opportunity to take discovery+ and its repository of incredible storytelling to deeper pockets of the country facilitated by Jio’s unparalleled reach and remarkable service.”

    All new and existing JioFiber users on Rs 999 and above plans can enjoy world-class, real-life content by downloading the discovery+ app on the Jio app store.

    The news comes a day after discovery+ announced a high-volume, multi-territory deal with leading independent distributor All3Media International. More than 250 hours of premium non-scripted content features in the acquisition, including Race Across the World, Naked Attraction, The Undateables and titles from All3Media International’s Gordon Ramsay portfolio.

  • Eurosport India to broadcast India’s FIFA friendly matches

    Eurosport India to broadcast India’s FIFA friendly matches

    KOLKATA: Eurosport and Eurosport HD India have bagged the broadcasting rights for the upcoming FIFA friendly matches of team India.

    The Indian national team is currently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will be playing two matches in the upcoming FIFA international friendlies on 25 and 29 March, where they take on Oman and the host country, UAE. The Indian side will be back in action after almost 16 months.

    Eurosport India head & Discovery Inc affiliate sales and product distribution, Asia – India sales & distribution SVP Vijay Rajput said, “We are extremely delighted to have an opportunity to bring the fans close to the Indian national football team as they take on national duty after a long time. The Indian National Football team has been making giant progress and we can surely look forward to two thrilling, action filled matches coming our way.”

    All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das said, “I am happy to announce that we have associated with Eurosport India as the official broadcaster for the upcoming FIFA international friendly matches of Team India. They are one of the most promising broadcasters and we look forward to performing well and giving the audience spectacular matches in the coming days.”

    Schedule:

    India vs Oman – 25 March 2021, Maktoom Bin Rashid Stadium – 19:15 Hrs (7:15 pm) IST on Eurosport HD

    India vs UAE – 29 March 2021, Zabeel Stadium – 21:45 Hrs (9:45 pm) IST on Eurosport and Eurosport HD

  • Discovery launches enhanced marketing solutions offer across international markets

    Discovery launches enhanced marketing solutions offer across international markets

    KOLKATA: Discovery is unveiling an enhanced marketing solutions offer for brand partners across its international markets that truly unites the company’s sports offering with its real life entertainment portfolio into a single proposition. The move builds on the global launch of Discovery’s definitive real-life subscription streaming service, discovery+, in January.

    For the first time, this gives brand partners the opportunity to access all of Discovery’s rich content, on all of its platforms, across every global market, through one central buying point. Clients can now connect with Discovery’s entire audience through any of its offerings, including its leading multi-sport brand Eurosport and passion verticals such as the Global Cycling Network (GCN).

    As part of the redefined and integrated offer, Discovery has also reimagined its creative brand solutions capability, within its marketing offer, to enhance content opportunities available to international client partners. Discovery’s creative studio is already delivering new creative content together with some of the world’s biggest brands, helping them to connect with their audiences at scale in a deeper and more meaningful way.

    A suite of marketing solutions will be presented for brands to allow them to achieve engagement at scale across the widest portfolio of platforms including via digital content, social media, long and short-form content, product placement, sponsorship, and technology partnerships.

    Eurosport head – sports marketing solutions Mike Rich said, “Today is a monumental step for our sports offer as we fully unify our international marketing solutions and advertising-sales within the broader offering of the Discovery family. We believe this will further strengthen our market-leading proposition and help brands tell their stories at scale, supporting them to deliver against communications goals which positively impacts their business objectives.

    “As we head towards back-to-back Olympic Games and deliver the international rollout of discovery+, our partners can now fully take advantage of an enhanced marketing solutions offer which connects sport to the most comprehensive range of real life categories, including home, adventure, travel, food, nature, environment and science. This not only offers more ways to inform, fascinate and inspire, but allows brands to call on us to engage both the most passionate and broadest audiences they want to target.”

    Discovery’s marketing solutions and advertising-sales business already features global clients on its roster, including across its unrivalled sports offering:

    ·        Bridgestone, which became the headline sponsor of Eurosport’s Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 coverage.

    ·        Brand USA – extending Discovery’s partnership with the public-private organisation that promotes the United States as a premier travel destination, delivering marketing and advertising solutions across Discovery’s platforms, including to sports fans through Eurosport.

    ·        Goodyear, which agreed a multi-year partnership with Eurosport around its world-class motorsport coverage and promotion.

    ·        Zwift, which is Eurosport and GCN’s largest partner for its comprehensive cycling coverage across the widest range of events.

  • Eurosport India to bring New Japan Pro-Wrestling

    Eurosport India to bring New Japan Pro-Wrestling

    KOLKATA: Discovery’s Eurosport and Eurosport HD India are all set to captivate Indian pro-wrestling fans with high octane action from New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) with the dawn of the new year. The addition of NJPW expands Eurosport’s portfolio of pro-wrestling offerings with the exclusive India broadcast slated to begin 9 January 2021 from 6 pm, with weekly episodes to be telecast every Saturday and Sunday from 6 pm onward.

    Eurosport’s partnership with the 48-year-old pro-wrestling franchise for 2020-21 will include broadcast of all the marquee fixtures of the NJPW calendar for the year – Wrestle Kingdom, New Japan Cup, Best of Super Juniors and G1 Climax.

    Discovery South Asia sports business affiliate sales senior vice president and sports business head Vijay Rajput said, “India has a potent fan base for pro-wrestling and with the addition of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Eurosport is taking a major step towards providing quality sports content to the Indian audiences.”

    He also added, “This partnership only adds to our commitment of building vertical ownership and gives our viewers the much-needed ingredient to get their adrenaline pumping while experiencing some of the world’s best pro-wrestlers in action.”

    New Japan Pro-Wrestling president and representative director Takami Ohbari said, “New Japan Pro-Wrestling is very excited to partner with the best sporting network in the world to reach out to the Indian audience. India’s passion for professional wrestling is a known fact and with Eurosport we surely make the perfect tag-team to provide some of the best action from the world of pro-wrestling and fuel the desire of the Indian fans.”

    New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s iconic Rainmaker Kazuchika Okada heads a roster of world-leading athletes, including the double IWGP heavyweight and intercontinental champion Kota Ibushi, Jay White, Will Ospreay, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito and many more.

  • Eurosport India brings UAE’s first bilateral ODI series against Ireland

    Eurosport India brings UAE’s first bilateral ODI series against Ireland

    KOLKATA: Eurosport and Eurosport HD India are all set to bring to Indian fans the best of cricketing action this new year, starting with the bilateral ODI series which will be ICC associate member UAE’s first with a full member team – Ireland after the pandemic. The addition of this series expands Eurosport’s portfolio of live cricket offerings with the exclusive India broadcast slated to begin from 8 January, 2021, from 11 am IST.

    The exclusive partnership in association with leading sports marketing company, ITW Consulting, is Eurosport India’s next big cricket tournament after the PSL in 2020. The matches will be played on 8, 10, 12 and 14 January at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

    Discovery South Asia SVP – affiliate sales and head of sports business Vijay Rajput said: “Cricket is the most loved sport in the country and with the broadcast of this historic series Eurosport India takes a major step towards bringing India’s favourite sport to our viewers.”

    This partnership is Eurosport's second major association in cricket, added Rajput.

    “India is a nation that loves its cricket and we are thrilled that Eurosport India will bring this series to the cricket fans in the country. This is our first bilateral series with a Test playing nation after the pandemic that hit the world globally and an important one as we are playing an ICC full member team,” Emirates Cricket Board general secretary Mubashshir Usmani said.

    ITW Consulting CEO Bhairav Shanth said it’s committed to working with Emirates Cricket Board in taking UAE Cricket to an international audience. “Indian market being key to the cricket broadcast globally, we are happy to have Eurosport as Indian broadcast partner,” he added.

  • Discovery marketing head Vednarayan Sirdeshpande quits

    Discovery marketing head Vednarayan Sirdeshpande quits

    KOLKATA: Discovery marketing head Vednarayan Sirdeshpande has called it quits at the network. He will exit the company at the end of this month.

    Back in 2016, Sirdeshpande started his journey with the broadcaster as marketing and audience development director. He was elevated as original content and marketing director in 2017. Finally, he was promoted to marketing head in 2019.

    At Discovery, he led brand marketing, IP creation and digital marketing across all network brands. Along with developing 50+ hours of long form, short form original production for premium network brands, he also executed several marketing campaigns, like the widely popular Man vs Wild with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Into the Wild with superstar Rajinikanth.

    During his career, Sirdeshpande has worked with reputed brands and advertising agencies including Amazon, Mondelez International, and Ogilvy.

    He has a successful track record in developing brand strategies, heading content development, media management and creation, and delivery of best in class 360 degree campaigns.

  • Virat Kohli’s Wrogn joins hands with Animal Planet for the cause of endangered species

    Virat Kohli’s Wrogn joins hands with Animal Planet for the cause of endangered species

    MUMBAI:  USPL’s apparel line Wrogn, in association with India’s leading wildlife channel Animal Planet, is launching a new collection – Animal Planet X WROGN. The apparel range aims to shine a light on the cause of endangered species in a never-before-seen-or-done manner. Conceptualised by Black White Orange, Animal Planet’s licensing arm, each style in the range portrays an endangered animal including the Tiger, Sea Turtle, Gorilla, Sumatran Elephant and Panda, amongst others.

    “I’ve been associated with Wrogn since inception and we take some exciting initiatives season after season. I couldn’t be happier that Wrogn is taking a step in the direction of creating awareness around animal endangerment,” said Virat Kohli, the face of WROGN.

    Discovery managing director – south Asia Megha Tata said, “Animal Planet has been striving hard to drive attention towards the importance of saving the endangered species in impactful ways. We are confident that this innovative collaboration with WROGN for this inspirational apparel line will help in spreading the message of conservation of endangered species as well as the wildlife.”

    Universal Sportsbiz Pvt Ltd CEO Anjana Reddy said, “Animal endangerment is real. It’s a pressing issue and I’m aware that it really bothers the youth all over the world. We like the essence of this collaboration with Animal Planet as it enables people to wear their cause that they feel so strongly about and spread the word at the same time. The rorschach art design is very interesting and hard to miss.”

    Black White Orange Brands Pvt Ltd founder & CEO Bhavik Vora added, “In the tough times the world is going through, it is important to build something relevant. What better way to spread awareness on endangered species among the youth of today, than collaborate with leading players in the segment – WROGN and Animal Planet. We worked closely with the Animal Planet team for almost a year, to conceptualize the art that you see on the range and it's fantastic to see it come to life."  

    The Animal Planet X WROGN apparel will be available in over 250 counters across retail channels like Shoppers Stop, Central, Pantaloons, WROGN’s exclusive stores, Myntra.com and on www.Wrogn.in.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Discovery Plus to add 5 exclusive titles in the month of July

    Discovery Plus to add 5 exclusive titles in the month of July

    KOLKATA: Discovery Plus, India’s first aggregated real-life entertainment streaming app, which offers of thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres including Science, Adventure, Military, Survival, Food and Lifestyle, is further augmenting its content portfolio with five new titles this July.

    New additions in the month of July include:

    Tales of Valour:

    Military is one of the strongest content verticals of Discovery Plus. The addition of Tales of Valour gives more options to military enthusiasts to explore on this diffrentiated app. Curated and narrated by Maroof Raza, one of India’s foremost military experts, Tales of Valour brings forward factual documentaries, which showcase 12 stories of valour, many of which are unknown to most Indians.  3 episodes of Tales of Valour drop on Discovery Plus on July 20.

    Covid-19: India’s War Against The Virus:

    This Discovery Plus special follows both, the global and the Indian timeline, of how the virus spread and shines light on key developments that have taken place ever since India’s first Coronavirus victim was detected in Kerala.  The documentary premieres on July 16 in 7 languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali, Notably, the Hindi voiceover for this documentary has been provided by Bollywood star Manoj Bajpayee and the Tamil voiceover by celebrated writer, director, actor Gautham Vasudev Menon. This will be the 4th Covid-19 documentary to be dropped on Discovery Plus.

    Project Runway S18:

    Emmy-winning competition series “Project Runway” returns for another season of high stakes and fierce fashions. Fashion aficionados can binge-watch the entire season in one go as sixteen new hopefuls fight it out to take the runway by storm and make fashion history. Host Karlie Kloss is back, along with Christian Siriano as the mentor and returning judges Nina Garcia, Brandon Maxwell, and Elaine Welteroth, to decide who has what it takes to make it in the world of cut-throat fashion.

    Expedition Unknown – Season 6:

    Intrigued by legendary mysteries and driven by curiosity, Josh Gates is on a mission for answers. `Exhibition Unknown' chronicles his global adventures as he investigates iconic unsolved events, lost cities, buried treasures and other puzzling stories in this brand-new season.  Starting July 27, 3 episodes from Expedition Unknown – Season 6, will be available on Discovery Plus.

    Richard Hammond’s BIG:

    Richard Hammond is going behind-the-scenes of the largest structures and machines in the world to understand the science of ‘big’ – how engineers go about building, maintaining and using these superstructures. Starting July 06, each episode of Richard Hammond’s BIG! takes him to a new location and mega structure, where he meets the unsung heroes at the front line making them work and explores the science behind them with a series of experiments.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment