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Tag: History Channel

  • ‘Our aim is to give history a more broad based appeal, which is why we are focussing on entertainment’ : Nikhil Mirchandani – The History Channel India MD

    ‘Our aim is to give history a more broad based appeal, which is why we are focussing on entertainment’ : Nikhil Mirchandani – The History Channel India MD

    Live the Story! With the aim of competing better in the English entertainment space The History Channel is pursuing a new strategic direction in India. The aim is to spread the appeal of the channel to more viewers and increase the stickiness level through a variety of shows. These include television movies, documentaries, mini series and long running series.

     

    Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with The History Channel India MD Nikhil Mirchandani to find out about the plans and what lies in store.

     

    Excerpts:

    Could you talk about The History Channel’s new direction?

    I would like to point out that we have not changed our positioning. We own the theme of history and will continue to do so. Our aim is to give history a more broad based appeal, which is why we are focussing on entertainment. Over the last three years we did a few things that set the stage for what we are trying to do today.

     

    We established our positioning of history that no other channel has. History is our middle name so to speak.

     

    In a scenario of over 300 channels distribution is very important. We are the 16th best distributed channel in the country. We managed to do that since we are a part of the Star family.

     

    We established a loyal viewer and advertiser base. We have also marketed ourselves well like getting Diana Hayden to host Biography. Moving towards entertainment is the next logical stage of evolution in our product lifecycle. Our aim is to attract more viewers and advertisers.

    In what way has the programming strategy been embellished?

    We begin our primetime with factual content at 8 pm. Then there are drama series at 9 pm There will be classic product from our library at 10 pm. At 11 pm there will be a thriller band. On the weekends you have a television movie on Friday at 9 pm For example Hitler The Rise of Evil.

     

    There will also be a combination of fact and fiction. For instance you could see a biography of Marilyn Monroe followed by a drama or a television movie. We are also targeting women in the afternoon with programming that we are confident will appeal to them.

     

    The primetime moves from a youngish factual content to drama to thriller. That evolution of our programming blocks is logical.

    According to research how do viewers perceive the channel?

    Viewers perceive us as a well respected credible authority on the subject of history. They have constantly expected that of us and we will not dilute that offering. They find us interesting as we deal with personalities like Hitler, Helen of Troy.

     

    The great thing about the History Channel is that it is not restricted by formats. That is not the case with a movie channel that focuses on blockbusters. If they deviate one immediately notices that. Our only concern is whether the story is historically relevant. I would say that English movie channels are undifferentiated from each other.

     

    We have a wide basket from the lifestyle genre, to thrillers to even perhaps stories on 9/11. It will be in terms of formats. By this I mean documentaries, movies, series, one off biopics, long series. The topics have also grown. We will also showcase concerts like Woodstock. History is never going to be the same again and we take advantage of that.
    ‘The new stories we are telling are universal. Also with our dubbing initiative in Hindi we see the appeal spreading beyond the current TG that we have‘

    Is it fair to say that the audience has become more sophisticated and demanding in the last three years as their exposure has grown?

    They have more options today. A time will come not far from today when they will have options to choose how they watch content whether it is through cable or IPTV or DTH. He will also have the choice of when he wants to watch it. The environment is also getting more sophisticated in terms of addressability.

    What is the viewer mix like on the channel?

    It is pretty equally distributed between male and female. While our core audience is male-female SEC A, B 25-44 Metros and mini Metros we do realise that there are viewers coming in from other demographics.

     

    The new stories we are telling are universal. Also with our dubbing initiative in Hindi we see the appeal spreading beyond the current TG that we have. Having said that our acquisition and scheduling strategy is governed by the SEC A,B TG in the Metro cities.

    To what extent have acquisition costs gone up?

    Significantly! The drama content are all epic big budget productions. We will leave no stone unturned.

     

    Over a million dollars has been invested in the acquisitions and also on dubbing and marketing activities.

    Could you talk about the strategy The History Channel has followed to debunk the theory that history is boring and staid?

    We have done focus groups to find out what our viewers think. We tested the entertainment initiative out. Previously they might think that history is boring and what they remember from school as in being a textbook, black and white.

     

    However when we shown them our content where history is brought to life then they want to immerse themselves in the story, the cultural setting. Production values also help a lot. One viewer even told us that our television movie Spartacus reminded him of Gladiator. Their minds open up and their imagination works overtime. It becomes a great story that they want to know more about which they may have only read about previously.

    Apart from Biography which of your other shows have proven to be popular?

    Conspiracy, Crusades, Secret Agents, Breaking Vegas were appreciated. The last one was about MIT graduates who cracked the codes in Vegas and made history. They were able to fool the casinos. That is what I mean by becoming more broad based. This is about the glamour of Las Vegas and not dull black and white.
    ‘We think that we should be close to the English movies and English entertainment space. This is between 0.4 – 0.6% of the total C&S viewership‘

    What are the major property acquisitions that have been made in the past couple of months?

    There are many. There is Marilyn and Me. There is Nero, Augustus, Saint Peter. We have formed alliances with BBC, Disney, Granada, Universal, Warner Bros.

    There are two major media events coming up. One is the release of the film The Da Vinci Code. The other is the Fifa World Cup. Will you be showcasing any specials around these two events?

    In June you will see interstitial on the World Cup. June will a Rome month. We will debut the show Rome: Engineering an Empire. This is to coincide with the film release with Tom Hanks. For Fifa there will be short form programming like biographies.

    What targets have been set in terms of viewership?

    We think that we should be close to the English movies and English entertainment space. This is between 0.4 – 0.6 per cent of the total C&S viewership. Our dubbing will help here.

    Who does the dubbing for you?

    UTV does the work for us. Drama dubbing is more difficult than documentary. There is a lot more dialogue, emotion involved with fiction shows. The drama has to be put forth succinctly.

     

    When you dub emotions the talent involved needs to be far better We already offer a parallel feed. In the North and West regions we find that a lot of people prefer the Hindi feed. But down South they would rather have English.

    One challenge for the English entertainment genre is to create a 360-degree environment. This means interacting with the consumer through other mediums besides on air. What plans does The History Channel have in this regard?

    As I pointed out earlier when we exposed out content in our focus groups their minds opened up. This showed us that we need to constantly expose our content to viewers at different outlets. They need to sample us more. So we will use the Star network.

     

    Cinema halls will be important as an audio visual medium best brings out our offerings. We will also use Internet auditoriums. Here you can download links and watch clips, promos. This lets people touch and feel us. This will help us break the myth that history cannot be entertaining.

     

    We are looking to have a presence in malls as they have high footfalls. We also realise that History Channel aficionados also watch movies and read books. So we are trying to tap into them at bookstores and DVD rental libraries. We are looking to expose our content through them through posters.

    Is The History Channel taking a cue from the success NGC has had with its mission property in terms of on ground initiatives?

    We are exploring available opportunities. It wouldn’t be fair though to compare the History Channel to NGC as the content is different.

    Is The History Channel looking to localise? Kindly elaborate.

    We will shortly be airing a show on the Mughals. Next year is the 150th anniversary of the 1857 uprising. We will be doing something around that. We have in the past aired biographies on Gandhi. We constantly talk to production houses to do work. This will unfold over the next couple of years.

    Are you planning initiatives like maybe school and college contact programmes to create awareness about your product?

    This will depend on the show. Most of our audience as I mentioned earlier is in the 25-44 age bracket. If however there is a property that demands that we go to a school then we will.

     

    For example if ninth class students are reading about Mein Kamph or are studying about Hitler then it makes sense for us to show themHitler the Rise Of Evil. That will give them a perspective. As Mein Kamph was written by Hitler a complete perspective is not present. This I am sure will make the subject more exciting for them.

    On the advertising front how is The History Channel being sold to clients? What targets have been set?

    We are looking to double our revenues in the next fiscal. We have a transparent rate card. We are looking to allow the advertiser to pick and choose the content he wants to be associated with. This marks a change in how television channels are sold.

     

    It is not clubbed with NGC. The History Channel has a separate dedicated team and they have their own set of targets. Nokia, L’Oreal, Samsung are some of our major clients. We have received positive feedback from them on our new initiatives.
  • Luxury cars, warriors on The History Channel’s plate

    Luxury cars, warriors on The History Channel’s plate

    MUMBAI: It was a few months ago that The History Channel (THC) underwent a brand repositioning from an infotainment channel to an entertainment one.

    With its strenght in historical programming, this allowed the channel to offer a better repertoire of shows. And, in the coming months it will boost the variety on offer.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com The History Channel VP marketing Rajesh Sheshadri says, “The History Channel (THC) has planned an interesting mix of content for the next couple of months. Our endeavour has always been to feature movies, mini-series and serials that have never been shown in India before.

    “September will see THC air programmes such as Luxury Cars, Kane Abel, Warriors and many more.”

    Luxury Cars is a 13 episode show about famous cars. They include Ferraris, Aston Martins, Lamborghinis etc. Warriors on the other hand, is a four part series featuring the most famous warriors in the history of the world. This series will highlight their weapons, architecture, famous battles and their eventual downfall.

    In terms of of movies and mini series, the channel plans to air titles like Attila the Hun, Helen of Troy, Rocky Marciano, Archangel (featuring Daniel Craig, the new James bond), First Olympics and Kennedy. Gerard Butler who played the title role in Phantom of The Opera stars as Attila The Hun. During the waning days of Roman Empire, the barbarian Huns are making their way toward Europe. A warrior named Attila violently assumes Hun leadership and unites the warring clans under his banner.

    But this is not enough for him, Attila seeks to form an empire, and he sees Rome, bristling under the leadership of the incompetent Caesar Valentian, ripe for the picking. In an attempt to quell a Hun invasion, ambitious Roman general Flavius Aetius attempts to form an alliance against Attila against their mutual enemy, Visigoth King Theodoric. But this plan backfires, and it soon becomes clear that a violent showdown between all three armies awaits.

    Jon Favreau stars as Rocky Marciano about the only undefeated world heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. Some of the biographies being featured are Henry VIII, Pope John Paul II, Ariel Sharon and Mother Teresa. “We are also in the process of procuring relevant and exciting new titles like The Bronte Sisters, Al Qaeda, Mary Magdalene, Oskar Schindler, Hercules, Charles Dickens, Casanova and Rudyard Kipling.

    “Our films and mini-series are bound together by the fact that they are fun, compelling and entertaining while being set in a historically relevant setting or deal with personalities who have become historical icons such as Helen of Troy or Cleopatra or Spartacus” adds Sheshadri.

    A shift in approach towards clients: Asked about the relationship the channel has with the advertising fraternity, Sheshdari says that the approach has been changed keeping in mind a long term plan. “The revamped History Channel brings with it, its own unique set of challenges. The whole philosophy behind the new content like Jumbo Movies and Double F had to be communicated to our clients. We accomplished this by focussing heavily on content, conveying that this is not a short term shift but a long term strategic investment for the channel.”

    When asked whether advertisers now see THC as an entertainment channel or as an infotainment channel, Sheshadri points out that mass and niche are in the minds of marketers and not consumers. Consumers, he points out, don’t consume brands based on whether they are mass or niche.

    They consume brands based on the connect they form with the brand. “The History Channel is a theme-based channel and no one delivers the theme of History better than us”. The strategy is to bring historically significant events irrespective of the format and that is the core message that THC executives try to convey in all their presentations to clients.

    Sheshadri goes on to clarify that the core idea of the brand repositioning was to consolidate the positioning of the brand and not to increase numbers for numbers sake. The overall approach therefore, has taken into consideration the connect that THC has with its consumers and what THC can do to strengthen it.

    “Hence, we think that going forward THC will continue to cement and own a distinct position in the minds of the consumer and this distinct positioning is what will also give it additional numbers. We are already seeing signs of that and are sure that it will get better going forward. Advertisers follow consumers.”

    As far as the viewer perception of the channel is concerned, Sheshadri notes that viewers have taken note of the change. “New formats like Jumbo Movies and Double F have widely appreciated and followed. They still see us as being an authority on the subject of history. The difference is that now they know that we have a broader spectrum both in terms of the type of shows and type of formats.”

  • The History Channel celebrates ‘Pirates’ fever with special

    The History Channel celebrates ‘Pirates’ fever with special

    MUMBAI: With one of the biggest films of the year Pirates Of the Caribbean having opened in India, The History Channel takes a look at how real life pirates like Blackbeard, Calico Jack plundered ships and seaport towns offering retribution to those who offered resistance and seizing fortunes at will.

    The special True Caribbean Pirates airs on 22 and 23 July at 10 pm.

    The special features dramatic stories which separate real history from the notions that have been made popular in books and films. The special will have CGI animation, interviews with experts, archival imagery and artifacts. The special even looks at female pirates like Anne Bonny and Mary Read who were more sensational than their male counterparts and just as dangerous.

    The special allows viewers to understand the pirates’ true motives and dispel myths of treasure maps and buried booty. The History Channel senior VP programming Joy Bhattacharya says, “The History Channel’s endeavour has always been to put history in perspective in a manner that is engaging and entertaining. True Caribbean Pirates has the same appeal as that of a thriller movie probably even more so because it is based on real life events.

    “We believe that our audiences will be highly interested in finding out the pirates’ unique reality which was motivated by a true desire to be free and live their way.”

  • Blinkx to provide access to The History Channel library

    Blinkx to provide access to The History Channel library

    MUMBAI: The video search engine Blinkx has forged a deal with The History Channel UK to carry historical audio and video clips from the channels’ library including speeches from icons such as Franklin Roosevelt, JFK, Albert Einstein and Neil Armstrong Under the terms of the agreement, the users will have access to hours of the best historical audio and video content on the web.

    “Blinkx is thrilled to be partnering with The History Channel UK,” says Blinkx founder and CTO Suranga Chandratillake. “The History Channel UK offers some of the best historical content on the Web and we are happy to make it easily accessible through blinkx.tv.”

    According to an official release, Blinkx is the only search engine optimized for rich media content and uses advanced speech recognition technology to automatically index and understand video and audio on the web making it easier for users to find exactly what they are looking for to the exact word in a clip.

    “With increasing numbers of people watching video online, we are keen to make as many of our programme clips available as possible on the website,” said History Channel UK Emily Lloyd. “Searchability is obviously extremely important and we’re happy to be partnering with Blinkx to ensure that more and more people find and view content from The History Channel.

  • The History Channel to air special series on Rome

    The History Channel to air special series on Rome

    MUMBAI/BANGALORE: This month, The History Channel brings its viewers up close and personal with Rome. The civilisation has been ruled by visionaries and tyrants whose accomplishments ranged from awe-inspiring to deplorable.

    The broadcaster is featuring a two-hour special series Rome: Engineering an empire and four films Augustus, St. Peter, Nero and Spartacus every Saturday and Sunday at 8 pm. The aim is to to highlight the power, grandeur and conflict of Rome. 

    Rome: Engineering an empire’s airs on 3 and 4 June at 10 pm. This special two-hour series chronicles the rich history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Caesar in 44 B.C. to its eventual fall around 537 AD, detailing the remarkable works of architecture and technology in between that helped Rome leave an indelible mark on the world.

    St. Peter with Omar Sharif in the title role airs on 10 June at 8 pm. The saint changed Roman History. On 17 June at 8 pm viewers can watch Emperor Nero , which reveals the true picture of the lonely, tormented man behind the monstrous mask . This film depicts Nero’s transformation from a pragmatic ruler into a tyrannical monster, who while watching Rome burn on one hand, on the other presented the severed head of an ex-wife to a future wife as a gift, murdered his mother and allegedly burned much of Rome to the ground to make room for a new palace.
    Goran Visnjic and Rhona Mitra star in Spartacus, which airs on 24 June at 8 pm. It depicts a legendary slave’s rise from a gladiator to a hero in Spartacus.

  • History Channel to hype entertainment quotient

    History Channel to hype entertainment quotient

    NEW DELHI: Come live the entertainment story with Martin Sheen, Omar Sharif, Daniel Craig and Peter O’Toole. This is The History Channel’s (THC) new mantra for India.
    The only international television network devoted exclusively to historical programming, today announced its plans for pursuing a new strategic direction in India by making a well-defined shift to entertainment.

    The channel also outlined its extensive plans to take forward this move to aggressively drive viewership and advertising revenues. Starting 6 May, viewers in India will get to experience an enhanced and extended offering of the same.

    “This year we are looking at making the channel stronger and more relevant to our viewers and advertisers by enhancing our offering,” The History Channel managing director India Nikhil Mirchandani said at a press conference today.

    The new strategic direction of the channel stems from its need to continuously stay relevant to its viewers. The History Channel with its new tagline ‘Live The Story’ is going to be all about bringing alive a viewing experience that will be unique, inspirational and above all entertaining.

    According to the company, the shift to entertainment ensures that THC remains true to its unique theme of History while becoming more entertaining and engaging through riveting programmes that will be showcased in hitherto unseen formats.

    Commenting on the new programming that will be visible on the channel from May, company’s senior vice-president programming Joy Bhattacharjya said, “We have a spectacular line-up of programmes from May onwards. We are moving onward and adding to our well-researched and entertaining documentaries and serials a whole new line up of the most interesting stories.”

    The new fare from history will include mini-series, re-enactments and also films. Martin Sheen, Omar Sharif and Daniel Craig will enact some of the most popular and interesting characters and stories through history.

    “It is what I call the Devdas effect – where we will inform in an entertaining format and allow viewers to live the stories that are historically relevant,” Bhattacharjya added.

    The film Devdas made a couple of years back by Sanjay Leela Bhansali in true Bollywood style of lavish sets, grandeur and oodles of melodrama re-told to Gen-X successfully a wasted love story set amidst the 1920s-1940s of West Bengal, torn by class conflict, through the lead protagonists, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit.

    The programming on The History Channel will deal with events and personalities that are historically significant in an entertaining manner. From Rome to Hitler to Helen of Troy to Spartacus, the channel will explore the wide gamut of history without being restricted by formats.

    The new strategy will also be evident in the vibrant on-air graphic elements, which will reinforce the power and passion of history presented in an entertaining format. To promote the new look and feel, the channel will also roll out an on-air brand campaign that will communicate the spirit of channel.

    Facts and fiction will mesh together. For example, film Marilyn and Me will be accompanied by the biography of the sex goddess. Every month will have a distinctive theme.

    The month of May will be identified through the theme of war and will showcase never-seen before films and series such as Hitler and Haven. June will be dedicated to the theme of Rome and the key films, mini-series and factual series will revolve around this theme.

    Some of the best series from the AETN international library, Crusades, Gold and Barbarians will be presented to Indian audiences by The History Channel in the special format of a Limited Edition Series.

    Speaking on the new strategic positioning of the channel, Rajesh Sheshadri, vice-president marketing said, “We are looking at an exponential increase in viewership by 2008. This increase in viewership is a function of first, our distinct positioning whereby we are the only channel on History.”

    He added, “Second, the fact that we will debut familiar titles in entertaining formats; and third, versioning wherein the channel is also investing in providing its Hindi-speaking viewers with high quality versioned programming that will enhance their viewing experience and allow them to enjoy internationally acclaimed programmes.”

    The channel is also planning innovative and integrated marketing initiatives to ensure the channel’s success in India.

    Reaching more than 200 million viewers in 70 countries, versioned in 20 languages, The History Channel is the only international television network devoted exclusively to historical programming. A division of A&E Television Networks, it is marketed internationally by AETN International.

    In India, the channel began broadcasting in November 2003 and claims to be available to 45 million C&S households. The History Channel comes to India through an affiliation between AETN international and NGC Network (India) Pvt. Ltd.

  • History Channel to air film on Hitler in May

    History Channel to air film on Hitler in May

    MUMBAI: It is reinvention time for the History Channel. In order to live up to its new position of being an entertainment channel, the broadcaster will among other initiatives, air television movies. One of these is Hitler The Rise of Evil. This will air on 6 and 7 May at 9 pm.

    The movie describes the life of Adolf Hitler (Robert Carlyle) from childhood to manhood, and how he became so powerful. It describes his poor childhood in Austria, the first world war from his point of view, and how he became the strongest man in Germany.

    The movie show us how Hitler went from being a poor soldier into the leader of the Nazis, and how he survived the attempts to kill him. It describes his relationship with his mistress Eva Braun (Zoe Telford), and his decisions and enemies inside Germany and inside the Nazi party

    Another film that will air is Haven on 13 May. It stars Natasha Richardson, Ruth Gruber and Colm Feore. This is the true story of a woman named Ruth Gruber who travels to Europe to help escort 1000 Jewish War victims to the United States. She comes to love and feel sorry for them all, and fights for their rights to live in America.