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  • Discovery Plus promises curated content for India

    Discovery Plus promises curated content for India

    MUMBAI: Whenever a new streaming service enters the market, the primary challenge is distinguishing itself from others. In a market saturated with nearly 40 OTT platforms offering scripted fiction content, Discovery Plus is trying to position itself with an enticing bouquet of premium real-life entertainment content. After having proven its mettle in the market for over 25 years, Discovery is now looking at making its content available for consumers on convenient devices at a convenient time.

    Talking about the ideation of Discover Plus, Discovery South Asia managing director Megha Tata said they figured out that there was a void in OTT offering in the genre, throwing up a great opportunity in the space.  Tata also noted that one of the biggest challenges most of the OTT players are facing is the extremely high content cost, an unlikely challenge for them.

    “We saw the opportunity was that we had a huge library of content, which is almost like 300,000 hours of content, which gets replenished every year, to nearly about 8000 hours a year, and all this content is owned by us. And a lot of that content has not been seen in India. So clearly, there is an opportunity for us to bring in more content into India, on our platform, which is talking to them in their own convenience, time and device. So that was the birth of Discovery Plus,” she stated.

    And Discovery is not just bringing any content, but specially curated for the Indian audiences. She termed it as a product for India, by India which has been created with an understanding of the Indian audiences. “Languaging” will play a key role on Discovery Plus.

    While differentiated content already is giving an edge to the new entrant over others, the product proposition has also been looked at uniquely. Discovery Digital (South Asia) business head Issac John talks about a vertical scrolling experience for people to first get a taste of the kind of content that is there on the app. He speaks about the ‘Shorts’ section which also offer three or four choices for each video to the user. It can be shared on Whatsapp, can be saved for future consumption, and the full-length episode can be watched. Moreover, there is a ‘MindBlown’ section to give users the best of the best content within the app by putting it as a collection.

    John also mentioned that the app is dropping the episode of ''Into the Wild With Bear Grylls'' featuring Rajinikanth before TV.  The platform is also coming up with a unique special on coronavirus. “So I think our way forward is essentially built on these pillars of how we can give consumers not just a great content, but also great product experience to access that content. So that's something that we are really going after in a big way,” he added.

    “So what is local content to us is as long as it appeals to me in my language. And that is the beauty of this genre. Attacker running in the wild doesn't really matter whether he's running in English or Tamil. So for us original content for localization is languaging, which is something we have very successfully done on linear and we will continue to do on OTT as well,” Tata said.

    Talking about marketing strategy, John said that Discovery content has already a very fanatic user base: the 25 million consumers (he calls them core consumers), who consume more than three hours of content on television. They are essentially activating them through the wide network. The second pool that the new platform is going after is essentially the consumers who have an interest in topics like adventure travel, food, lifestyle, etc. It has also launched a very scaled up performance marketing campaign. The overall marketing strategy will combine both TV and digital.

    “The distribution strategy is primarily linked to, obviously, our main platforms like iOS, Android, and web. But going forward, we will also be present on connected devices. And the reason why we are going mobile-first is because we actually want to listen to user feedback across some of these platforms. And then, obviously, adapt the product a bit, get in some nuances of what we're hearing from consumers in the meantime, and then launch the connected DVP approach as well,” John commented on distribution strategy.

    Although Tata did not reveal any definite time frame for breaking even, she said that as content cost is very negligible and hence the opportunity to be able to break even and become profitable will come hopefully soon.

  • Neil Chugani joins Discovery as CFO and head of strategy & ops, DTC

    Neil Chugani joins Discovery as CFO and head of strategy & ops, DTC

    MUMBAI: Discovery today appointed Neil Chugani as the chief financial officer and head of strategy and operations, direct-to-consumer. The announcement was made by Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, to whom Chugani reports.

    In the newly created role, Chugani will work closely with Peter Faricy, CEO, global direct-to-consumer at Discovery, and his senior leadership team to drive the financial strategy of Discovery’s rapidly expanding DTC team. He will be based at Discovery’s London offices.

    “We are delighted to welcome Neil to the Discovery team,” said Wiedenfels. “Neil is a highly respected digital finance leader, whose experience and skills will help us further accelerate our strategic pivot as we make our great content and brands available to our passionate fans across all platforms around the world.”

    “We are thrilled to add another world-class executive to Discovery’s growing direct-to-consumer organisation,” said Faricy. “Neil has a strong track record of successful business growth in the tech and media sectors, and we look forward to working with him as Discovery continues to invest in expanding our global direct-to-consumer offerings.”

    Chugani will be responsible for formulating and implementing the financial strategy that will allow the team to meet Discovery’s ambitious growth objectives in the DTC space. He will work with all of Discovery’s DTC business units, both in the US and international markets to create consistent strategic, financial, and operational practices.

    Prior to joining Discovery, Chugani was at Google since 2015, where he was a senior director and held a number of leadership positions. Most recently, he served as CFO for the business and operations of Google and YouTube in Europe, Middle East and Africa. As a member of the Google EMEA Management Group, he played a key role in driving the doubling of revenue in the region over the last five years. He was previously Group CFO at BBC Worldwide, the commercial and international arm of the BBC, held senior executive positions at Sky, and was a Technology and Media Banker at Goldman Sachs. He is a former Board Member of UK Sport, the UK Government’s lead strategic body for Olympic sport, and was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009.

  • Discovery to feature Rajinikanth in first episode of ‘Into The Wild with Bear Grylls’

    Discovery to feature Rajinikanth in first episode of ‘Into The Wild with Bear Grylls’

    MUMBAI: Discovery, after featuring PM Modi in the first episode of Man Vs Wild, which was shot in India, has now signed Superstar Rajinikanth, to feature in the first episode of a new format series called ‘Into The Wild with Bear Grylls’ produced by The Natural Studios and Banijay Asia. The show marks the television debut for Rajinikanth, admiringly addressed as Thailavia, who has gained a cult status for being a Humane Superstar – simple, humble, generously loved – and adored by millions for more than four decades.  Rajinikanth will join the world's most recognizable face of survival and outdoor adventure, Bear Grylls.

    Into The Wild with Bear Grylls is an innovative new format inspired by Man Vs Wild, which is one of the most watched wilderness survival television series in the world. Last year, ‘Man Vs Wild with Bear Grylls & PM Modi’ episode disrupted the Indian media landscape, establishing itself as the TV event of the year. Beyond Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bear Grylls has also hosted prominent celebrities in the past such as then sitting American President Barack Obama, Kate Winslet, Roger Federer, Julia Roberts and many more.

    “Into The Wild is a truly unique show – at one level it offers adrenaline pumping action, while at another, the show lends itself beautifully to driving a specific purpose for the larger good of society. So, when, officials from Discovery, a brand globally respected for offering inspiring real-life entertainment, approached me, I agreed to finally make my debut on TV after more than four decades of Cinema. Kavithalayaa, the iconic Production house founded by my guru, K. Balachander also played a significant role,” said, Rajinikanth. “Bear Grylls has tested the survival skills of multiple celebrity guests, pushing them to their limits; I look forward to the survival challenge in the mesmerizing wilderness of India.”

    Talking about raising awareness about water conservation, Rajinikanth, said, “Every Indian will need to come forward and contribute in conserving water; this war has to be led at all levels including government, community as well as on the individual front. I believe this show on Discovery is a perfect platform to take the message of conserving water to every home across the country.”

    “Our team is all very excited to work closely with Thalaiva! Much more than a cine star, Rajinikanth is a phenomenon who has captivated audiences across the world with his on-screen and off-screen work,” said, Bear Grylls. “He has always shown such energy and flair in all he does and he will need that courage and determination again on our journey into the beautiful wilds of India.”

    “The combination of Rajinikanth in a never seen before avatar and Bear Grylls’ edge of the seat challenges, will make the show a must watch for every Indian,” said, Discovery South Asia managing director Megha Tata. “We have decided to give a layer of purpose to each episode of the newly commissioned series, Into The Wild with Bear Grylls, as we aim to contribute to humanity in our unique way. Last year, the show featuring PM Modi, generated much desired attention on conservation of Wildlife; we are confident that the forthcoming episode featuring Rajinikanth will sensitize each one of us about conservation of water.”

    Into The Wild with Bear Grylls is produced for Discovery Communications India by The Natural Studios and Banijay Asia, where Bear Grylls, Delbert Shoopman and Deepak Dhar are Executive Producers.

  • Vijay Rajput to head DSPORT channel

    Vijay Rajput to head DSPORT channel

    MUMBAI: Discovery has expanded the role of Vijay Rajput, currently serving as SVP – affiliate sales & product distribution, with an additional responsibility of heading its sports business in South Asia. Rajput is a media industry veteran having more than three decades of experience, majority of which has been in leadership roles. Prior to Discovery, he was the chief operating officer at India’s leading sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports.

    Speaking on the occasion, Discovery – South Asia  managing director Megha Tata said, “We are yet to actualise the full potential of our sports business in India. This year, Vijay will lead efforts to ensure that DSPORT channel gets its rightful due in the sports broadcast arena.”

    Rajput said, “We are reviewing DSPORT’s content strategy at the moment, as we aim to make it a more holistic multi-sport offering which will connect with passionate fan communities in a more engaging manner.”

    Keeping in view the aggressive outlook of the sports vertical, Discovery is currently expanding its in- house sports-focused team. The company has also ended its relationship with third-party service provider Lex Sportel, bringing all services in-house, effective 14 February 2020.

  • JOP Network’s journey from curating content to running 3 pay channels

    JOP Network’s journey from curating content to running 3 pay channels

    MUMBAI: It is often assumed that the TV broadcast market in India has reached a saturation point and is dominated by big media networks with deep pockets like Sony, Zee, Times Network, Disney-owned Star India (earlier owned by Rupert Murdoch) or Mukesh Ambani-owned Network18, leaving no room for start-ups to grow and establish themselves in this cluttered media space.
     
    However, JOP Network, a Delhi-based five-year-old content startup, has proved both these notions wrong. Not only has the startup that began its journey in 2014 as a content curator in the niche-segment of health and wellness grown by leaps and bounds in last five years, JOP Network currently runs three pay channels in India and Australia and plans to launch three more (1 GEC, 1 sports and 1 lifestyle) in the coming year.

    Owned by banker-turned-media entrepreneur Urvi Agarwal, JOP now produces and curates content for Indian and international markets and distributes via its own channels (Fitness Studio, Hollywood Masala, Life Mantra) as well as via global television networks such as Discovery, FOX Traveller, Airtel DTH, Tata Sky, Astro Malaysia and in-flight channels of Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and Qatar Airways to name a few.

    JOP’s success demonstrates that even in a crowded and cluttered Indian broadcast TV market, it is possible to carve out a distinct space by curating and producing high-quality content and finding right market for your content.

    The beginning: 2014

    Talking about launching JOP Network in 2014, Agarwal says she realised at a very early stage that there was a dearth of speciality and niche channels in the Indian media landscape.

    “Globally, there were specific channels for one’s everyday lifestyle needs, from fitness to even fishing, but there was nothing that focussed on Indian masses.”
     JOP provided content to other channels for the first two years before getting its big break in 2016 when it signed a deal with SWIFT Network in Australia for spiritual lifestyle channel LifeMantra.

    The channel telecast content related to the philosophies of Ayurveda, yoga and balance and has been viewed by approximately one million viewers so far.

    Indian TV broadcast entry: 2018

    In 2018, JOP finally broke into Indian broadcast market by signing a Value Added Service (VAS) channel deal with Airtel DTH. Its first channel in India, Fitness Studio, was launched in January 2018 and featured celebs like Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Mandira Bedi, Vinod Channa, Namrata Purohit, and James Crossley amongst others.

    “On average, we produce approximately 60 to 70 hours of fitness and wellness content in-house in a year. We also have a strong network of partners globally from whom we acquire the remaining,” she says.

    Agarwal firmly believes that Fitness Studio (one of India’s industry-first pay channel in fitness genre) can contribute hugely in making India a sporting nation and in making fitness a social movement.

    “Television, even today, is the best medium to reach the Indian consumer in every part of the country and of all ages. Fitness of body and mind are essential if one wants to develop a sporting body and spirit. Even beyond sporting, a fit nation is a healthy nation and TV can play an important role in it,” she explains.

    Hollywood Masala

    Then in November 2018, JOP launched another channel, Hollywood Masala, which broadcast international blockbuster movies in Hindi.

    Agarwal says: “Hollywood Masala came into being after we observed a need gap in this segment. Most Indian audiences are comfortable in consuming content in Hindi or in regional Indian languages. The huge success of international movies such as Avengers, Bohemian Rhapsody can be attributed to them being released in theatres in Indian languages.”

    While JOP has hitherto focused on procuring already dubbed international movies, the startup is also investing in creating its own dubbing facility.

    “Mostly we try and procure movies which are already dubbed and censored. Currently, however, we are dubbing approximately 100 titles in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu and the average cost of dubbing and censoring a single title is Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.2 lakh.”

    For 2020, Hollywood Masala has already acquired a huge catalogue distributed via PVR and some big titles from Paramount Pictures.

    NTO and Pay TV model

    JOP has launched both these channels (Fitness Studio, Hollywood Masala) as pay channels in 2018. Thus, they were well prepared for the February 2019 New Tariff Order (NTO) disruption that forced DTH, LCO and MSOs to move to a new tariff regime.

    Consequently, unlike other media networks, JOP has seen steady viewership growth in 2019 in the post-NTO era.

    “On average, we have seen a month on month increment of 5000 subscribers on both these channels,” she says, adding “celebrity content and big movies surge up the subscription even further.”

    Agarwal is also quick to underline that both these channels are also completely advertisement free. “That is the main USP of these two channels. We generate revenue via subscription.”

    However, have not JOP’s expansion plans suffered on account of not having distribution deals with local cable operators (LCOs) and multiple system operators (MSOs)?

    “We run these channels in collaboration with DTH operators as they are pioneers in the VAS field and have teams which focus on growing the business. MSOs and LCOs do not focus or specialise on VAS. Hathway runs a few VAS but prices them very low,” she says, adding that LCOs should think about adding robust VAS especially in the post-NTO environment when consumers are more receptive to the idea of paying for premium content.

    Content sales

    Apart from linear channel distribution, JOP’s other prominent stream of business is content sales.

    JOP has signed content sales deals with over 30 in-flight entertainment services across the world, including top airlines such as Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Alitalia, United Airlines, and Qantas.

    “We work with a French distributor for all our in-flight entertainment deals,” Agarwal says. The rates, however, vary from deal to deal, she adds.

    While JOP has sold content to OTT players from the very beginning, Agarwal is in no hurry to launch her own OTT platform. “We do not plan to launch our own OTT as of now. However, we have already started collaborating with various Indian and international OTT platforms for launching our content on them,” she says.

    The company is also in talks to raise funds to grow the company further and aims to invest this money in ramping up its own in-house production.
    2020 will be an interesting and challenging year for the five-year-old content startup. Not only does it plan to launch three new channels but also hopes to build its own dubbing and production capabilities.

    The success of three new planned channels in the cluttered Indian broadcast market and how soon JOP turns profitable remains to be seen. However, undoubtedly, JOP’s journey will serve as a testament on how to build a media network in crowded Indian broadcast media space. 
     

  • From oscar® winners alex gibney and steven spielberg, discovery’s timely new series why we hate debuts sunday october 20 in india

    From oscar® winners alex gibney and steven spielberg, discovery’s timely new series why we hate debuts sunday october 20 in india

    MUMBAI: Throughout history, hate and conflict have been part of the human experience. From horrific extremes such as the Holocaust or the Rwandan genocide, when hate has fueled mass destruction, to everyday incidents like playground bullying or malicious trolling on social media, hate shapes our lives in myriad ways. And while all humans have the capacity to hate, few understand what sparks it and transforms it into a destructive force.

    Executive produced by filmmaking heavyweights Alex Gibney and Steven Spielberg and directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard (Emmy® winners for “When The Levees Broke:  A Requiem in Four Acts”), WHY WE HATE explores one of humanity’s most primal and destructive emotions – hate.  At the heart of this timely series is the notion that if people begin to understand their own minds, they can find ways to work against hate and keep it from spreading.

    The six-part series will begin airing on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 at 8:00pm on Discovery Channel and Discovery HD world, with additional episodes airing each subsequent Sunday. In addition, many of Discovery’s networks around the world will begin airing the series in October.

    “The issues explored in WHY WE HATE are more relevant than ever,” says Nancy Daniels, Chief Brand Officer, Discovery and Factual. “Discovery is tremendously proud to delve into this critical subject with legendary filmmakers Alex Gibney and Steven Spielberg and the teams they have assembled. The hard science gives us the knowledge we need, the storytelling provides the hope.”

    State Gibney and Spielberg, "Getting to the root of the human condition is something not only fascinating, but necessary in understanding who we are. This is not a series that just documents something that's happening; it's an inquiry – an attempt to understand why we hate, through the science, and through an understanding of our common humanity. Hate is in our DNA. If we understand why we act the way we do, we can change the way we act. That is what we are uniquely capable of as human beings.”

    Drawing on cutting-edge journalism, deep historical investigations and ground-breaking research in psychology, biology, and neuroscience, WHY WE HATE traces the evolutionary basis of hatred and its powerful impact on individuals and societies throughout human history.  The science behind the behavior is a powerful tool to help us understand what drives conflict, enabling people to have real, tough conversations about these issues and behaviors.

    Helping to unpack these complex issues in each episode are experts including cognitive scientist Laurie Santos, evolutionary anthropologist Brian Hare, journalist and author Jelani Cobb, extremism expert Sasha Havlicek, international criminal lawyer Patricia Viseur Sellers, and neuroscientist Emile Bruneau.

    WHY WE HATE works to contextualize the many instances of hate in everyday life: the violent rivalries that erupt at sports matches, the hateful rhetoric that runs rampant on social media, and the heated disagreements that flare up over political partisanship, race, religion, and social beliefs. The series follows brave individuals seeking to quell violent conflict and correct misperceptions, hears from former terrorists and architects of genocide, and allows viewers to consider lessons from some of the most brutal and enduring examples of hate throughout the world.

    Among ideas explored include how group-based thinking shapes people’s perceptions and their behaviors. The area that illustrates this the most is sports, where deep loyalties are based on a few different factors such as regional identity. A deep love for one team often leads to a hatred for its rival, which can spill into detesting opposing fans. As Santos explains, “…soccer fans tend to be the most tribal…not just about the soccer players that they care about, but also about the other fans. And that’s interesting because it suggests that it’s not just about the competition.”  Santos goes on to draw parallels to today’s political environment: “Political partisanship is getting more and more tribal every day. The distance between the us and them in this country is getting bigger, and it’s developing more of the uglier sides of tribalism.”

    WHY WE HATE also highlights the personal stories of those who have lived a life of hatred, including a lifelong member of a hate group whose childhood memories “are of standing on a picket line telling people they were going to hell.” The series encounters people whose beliefs led them to commit acts of hate so severe they ended up in jail, but who managed, finally, to disengage from those ideologies.

    Along the way, WHY WE HATE reveals contemporary links to ancient and evolutionary behaviors and uses science as a basis for unlocking the truth about hatred and human nature. 

    WHY WE HATE is an Amblin Television and Jigsaw Productions in association with Escape Artists for Discovery Channel. Directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard. The series is executive produced by Alex Gibney, Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, David McKillop, Jon Bardin, Yael Melamede, and Erica Sashin. For Escape Artists: executive producer, Steve Tisch; For Discovery Channel: executive producers, Nancy Daniels and Howard Swartz.

  • Broadcasters want mandatory DD channels to be part of NCF base pack

    Broadcasters want mandatory DD channels to be part of NCF base pack

    MUMBAI: Prasar Bharati and other private broadcasters want the 25 DD mandatory channels to be part of 100 FTA channels permitted in the Network Capacity Fee of Rs 130. The public broadcaster is of the view that the channels notified by the central government should be made available to subscribers without any additional monetary burden on the subscribers.

    The public broadcaster has shared its comments only related to the question of whether 25 DD mandatory channels be over and above the One hundred channels permitted in the NCF of Rs 130 in Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s consultation paper on tariff-related issue for broadcasting and cable services.

    Private broadcasters like Zee TV, Sony Entertainment Television, Discovery Communications, Times Network and IBF have shared similar views on the question raised by TRAI.

    TRAI had received several consumer complaints wherein consumers have shown concerns about the mandatory DD channels within one hundred channels. Consumers are of view that since NCF is prescribed to cater for 100 SD channels capacity, subscribers must be allowed the freedom to select 100 SD channels. Mandatory 25 channels of DD are an additional burden on the consumers. They are of the opinion that either customers should be given freedom not to choose any/all DD mandatory channels or these channels should be over and above the 100 channels selected by the subscriber.

    Therefore, the authority had asked the industry in its consultation, Whether 25 DD mandatory channels be over and above the One hundred channels permitted in the NCF of Rs. 130/-? To which Prasar Bharati commented that 25 channels notified by the central government should be available to all even if the subscribers is not able to renew its subscription still they should be able to avail public broadcasting services.

    It further said, “Since the STBs are not yet technically interoperable Prasar Bharati is of the view that in case a subscriber does not renew its subscription, the notified channel should continue to be available to such subscribers in order to benefit the subscribers to avail public broadcasting services. This will ensure dissemination of any information of national importance to the subscribers, whether his connection is active or not at that time. However, for such subscribers, any repair or maintenance charges towards customer premises equipment shall be payable by the subscriber as per rates prescribed by the operator. This will also help containing e-waste.”

    “These channels are primarily public service broadcasting channels intended to inform, educate and entertain the masses of India. In fact, the intent of the government, and rightly so, is to provide these channels of the public service broadcaster and channels of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to the citizens of India, free of cost, through any possible means of licensed/authorised delivery mechanism. Therefore, it is necessary that, in provisioning of these channels by various DPOs to their subscribers, no condition should be prescribed by them which affects reachability of such channels to the masses,” it opined. 

    IBF said, “It should be a part of the 100 channels. In view of the aforesaid regulatory regime already existing, it is in the best of interest of the subscribers, the authority allows the system to grow at the current existing practices and then review after a period of two years.

    Discovery Communications said, “In our opinion, the system currently introduced and in place should be continued and tested for a longer period of time. There should not be any changes made in the NCF pack even before the new regime is fully implemented. In our view, TRAI should allow the current NCF pack to continue with 25 DD channels for at least 2 years before it starts reviewing the regime again. Therefore, in our opinion, the 25 mandatory DD channels should continue to be included in the 100 FTA channels permitted in the NCF of Rs 130.”

    Times network said, “The Doordarshan channels are important channels and they should be included in the basic tier. A consumer would not mind watching these channels/ having access to these channels or paying small amount of NCF charges for the same keeping the national interest in mind.”

    Zee TV also said that the 25 DD mandatory channels should be provided to each and every subscriber by the DPO within the initial 100 channels only.  

  • Discovery Kids’ eyes top 3, improved time spent with ‘Fukrey Boyzzz’

    Discovery Kids’ eyes top 3, improved time spent with ‘Fukrey Boyzzz’

    MUMBAI: Discovery Kids is all set to achieve its goal to be in the top three positions of the kids' genre and probably address the issue of time spent on the channel with the strategic launch of Fukrey Boyzzz. In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Discovery Kids business head Uttam Pal Singh informed that the channel has gained its viewership back post NTO regime but it needs to address the challenge of time spent and hopes the new show will help there.

    When Discovery managing director South Asia Megha Tata joined the company in April 2019, she made the kids genre as a crucial focus area with an aim to raise its level to the top three channels.

    Tata admitted that the kids' genre hasn't grown dramatically in the last few years. It is stuck in a particular space and has become more competitive. As a result, there are more players entering the space but the share is not growing.

    Singh said that the aim is to invest, invent and innovate the content to engage with as well as expand audiences. “In the kids’ genre, there is a plethora of content targeted at 4-8 years, however, there is a prominent white space for content targeted at pre-teens broadly bracketed between 8-14 years old. With Fukrey Boyzzz and its hilarious ensemble of Choocha, Hunny, Lalli and Bholi, we are launching a new contemporary series which will have a much wider appeal. In fact, we are confident that this innocent fun feast will attract co-viewing – parents watching along with their children.”

    “Fukrey Boyzzz is an apt representation of our ambition in the kids’ genre.  We will continue to innovate and invest heavily in the genre with an aim to be a consistent top 3 player,” said, Tata at the launch of the series. “We are also working towards skinning the Fukrey Boyzzz IP in multiple ways including launching branded merchandise.”
     
    “The launch of Fukrey Boyzzz opens new horizons for us. We are making our foray into animation and are enamoured with how this series has shaped-up. I am extremely excited to have characters from our film Fukrey spread joy to everyone with their crazy antics at school,” said Excel Entertainment co-founder Ritesh Sidhwani as the show preview was unveiled.

    Last year, the channel also premiered a similar animated series called Little Singham which was adopted from the Bollywood movie Singham.

    "Little Singham has done really well for us; it was a Bollywood movie which became a fabulous kids franchise making Little Singham the most-loved animated character in the country today. One of the things that we learned from Little Singham is that it’s not just about creating an animated series out of a successful Bollywood movie, it’s important to make it relatable to our target audience i.e., kids and package it with the right storytelling. We have got all those things in place with Fukrey Boyzzz. The series will bring another disruption like Little Singham in the kids genre and it will also take us to towards our goal to be in the top three positions," she said.

    Fukrey Boyzzz is the animated series of Bollywood franchise Fukrey and Fukrey Returns which is set to premiere on 12 October on Discovery Kids. Discovery Kids will air 156 episodes in season 1 at 1.30 pm and 7.30 pm every day in six languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and English.  The channel will launch an aggressive marketing campaign based on the core ethos of the show ‘Friends + Masti = Fukrapanti’.  Fukrey Boyzzz is produced by award-winning production house Paper Boat for Discovery Kids. 

  • Discovery files petition against TRAI’s tariff-related consultation paper in Delhi High Court

    Discovery files petition against TRAI’s tariff-related consultation paper in Delhi High Court

    MUMBAI: Major broadcaster Discovery Communications India has filed a petition against Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recent consultation paper floated on 16 August. The broadcaster has prayed for quashing the consultation paper terming it “illegal and arbitrary”.

    TRAI issued a consultation paper on tariff-related issues for broadcasting and cable services, seeking stakeholders’ responses to 27 questions which covered different aspects related to the new tariff order (NTO), which came into force from 1 February 2019.

    The petition by Discovery also asks to prohibit TRAI from proceeding or taking any further steps pursuant to the paper without following the due process of law. According to sources, the petitioner has served a copy to TRAI on Wednesday and hopes to get a listing on Thursday, 29 August 2019, before the Delhi High Court.

    Amid several ongoing speculations on the change in NTO, TRAI chairman RS Sharma recently clarified that the regulatory body does not have any plan to revise the pricing framework. He also added that it is only trying to fine-tune it due to certain issues consumers are facing.

  • Man v/s Wild with Bear Grylls and PM Modi brings 88% viewership growth for Discovery

    Man v/s Wild with Bear Grylls and PM Modi brings 88% viewership growth for Discovery

    MUMBAI: Man v/s Wild with Bear Grylls and PM Modi brings 88 per cent growth in the viewership of Discovery channel. The show was broadcasted across 12 channels of Discovery network.

    The original airing of Man V/s Wild with Bear Grylls and PM Modi recorded 6.9 million impressions and ~400 million viewing minutes. 18.4 million unique viewers tuned in for the episode across the country.

    The premiere day Monday August 12 and week 33 2019 have recorded the all-time high viewership for Discovery Channel.

    The channel was at the 4th position across all channels/genres on Monday during the time-slot 9-10 hours. As per week 33 of BARC India ratings the channel garnered 65.2 million impressions in TG all India 2+ segment and 8.3 million impressions were recorded in Megacities NCSS AB 2+ segment.

    The show is also streaming on Netflix across world. The show features the India Prime Minister walking through the wilderness of the Jim Corbett national Park in the foothills of the Himalayas along with Grylls, while extolling the need for tiger and environment conservation. The show witnesses PM Modi in a hitherto-unseen avatar, learning the tricks of survival in the wild from Grylls.

    Apart from sharing space in a make-shift raft with Grylls, making a spear and partaking in a hot drink made from curry leaves, PM Modi also speaks about his time spent in the Himalayas and highlights the rich envirnmental heritage of India, which needs to be preserved. PM Modi is only the second world leader to feature in the iconic show, the first being former US President Barack Obama.

    The show is produced for Discovery India by Bear Grylls Ventures & Electus a Propagate company, where Bear Grylls, Delbert Shoopman, Rob Buchta and Elizabeth Schulze are executive producers and Ben Simms is co-executive producer.