Tag: Rahul Johri

  • Discovery Science presents ‘Tech Toys 360’

    Discovery Science presents ‘Tech Toys 360’

    NEW DELHI: Discovery Science, India’s only 24 hours channel dedicated to science presents the most progressive and inspiring innovations from across the globe in its all new season of Tech Toys 360. Comprehensive and far-ranging, this pioneering series will provide viewers with a unique insight into the world’s coolest and unmatched products.

     

    Premiering on 2 June, Tech Toys 360 will air daily at 9 pm on Discovery Science. Tech Toys 360 will offer viewers VIP access to the most innovative technologies of the 21st century. The cutting edge series will explore the most up-to-date high-tech gadgets, distinct designs and revolutionary vehicles – from ground breaking supercars, glass pool tables, and high-speed motorcycles to a remote robot that doubles for you.

     

    Rahul Johri, EVP and general manager – South Asia and Head of Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “Discovery Science is the viewers preferred destination to explore latest innovations and gadgets. Tech Toys 360 is a unique series that presents the coolest technologies in the most unimaginable form that will inspire and entertain the viewers.”

     

    Experience the latest ultra-fashionable must-haves such as the automobile that drives underwater; the first all-electric, emission free, affordable car; the music player that enables swimmers to hear tunes while underwater; the technological marvel that uses its infrared laser system to clean homes at the touch of a button; and even a water-propelled jetpack. Explore the creations and meet the innovators as they amaze you with the marvelous technologies in Tech Toys 360.

  • TLC launches new series ‘Madhur Jaffery’s Curry Nation’

    TLC launches new series ‘Madhur Jaffery’s Curry Nation’

    MUMBAI: TLC celebrates Indian curries with the culinary maestro Madhur Jaffery in Madhur Jaffery’s Curry Nation. The 10-part series follows Madhur as she travels across Britain, visiting local Indian and South Asian communities and reveals how it’s possible to sample the whole of Indian cuisine without leaving the British Isles.

    Madhur Jaffery’s Curry Nation will premiere on 2 June and will air every Monday to Friday at 8PM only on TLC.

    From London to Birmingham and Glasgow to Leicester, Madhur Jaffery’s Curry Nation sees Madhur creating her very own food map, witnessing first-hand how Indian food has been integrated into the national way of life and discovering why it’s constantly voted as one of the nation’s favourite foods.

    In Madhur Jaffery’s Curry Nation, Madhur showcases her favourite recipes with influences from all over the subcontinent: Punjabi, Goan, Parsi and Bengali amongst others. Madhur’s recipes reflect the vitality of the vibrant Indian culture, but stays true to her mantra that Indian food doesn’t need to be complicated.

    Rahul Johri, Executive Vice President and General Manager-South Asia and Head of Revenue, Pan- Regional Ad Sales & Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “TLC continues to present the best and premium range of cuisine programmes from across the globe. This June, we have culinary legend Madhur Jaffrey in her new series Madhur Jaffery’s Curry Nation celebrating the British love affair with Indian cuisine.”

    In each episode, Madhur demonstrates how to cook incredible curry step-by-step and takes viewers through an array of amazing recipes. Madhur’s style of cooking is always innovative and contemporary – she gives some traditional recipes a twist like pairing Aloo Gobi with a British roast lamb.

    She also visits restaurants that create exciting new dishes, places of worship where traditional curries are served daily, and the homes of British South Asians, where she uncovers their different and varied culinary cultures.   Madhur discovers that although traditional recipes are to be found everywhere, new British versions of classic dishes are emerging too. Whether it’s the spicy, lentil-based specialties of Rajasthan, kebabs and kormas from Delhi, or coconut-infused curries from Kerala, viewers will get a chance to accompany Madhur on her very personal tour of the modern-day Curry Nation.

  • Experience the extravagant life in TLC’s new show ‘Epic’

    Experience the extravagant life in TLC’s new show ‘Epic’

    MUMBAI: India’s favourite lifestyle channel brings an all new season of EPIC that will feature the most expensive, excessive and outrageous extravagances people indulge in. The series will follow passionate individual that create the best and biggest way of life from massive log homes to fascinating American castles to high-tech over-the-top bathrooms, rotating houses or even backyards with private racetracks or sport courts suspended over cliffs,  and more. No price tag is too high and no obstacle too great to keep them getting exactly what they want.  If they can dream it, they will make it happen on a truly EPICscale!

     

    EPIC will showcase the daydreamers who have taken their passion to another level with impressive prized possessions that involves expert craftsmanship, technology, and innovation. Premiering on May 16, EPIC will air every Friday at 9 PM only on TLC.

     

    With eye-popping price tags over the million dollar mark, the recreational vehicles (RVs) featured this season have been transformed into mobile man-caves and mansions and tricked out with high tech gadgets that make every mile an adventure.Joining RVs for a second round in the series are more episodes featuring the cr?me de la cr?me of log homes.

     

    Rahul Johri, Executive Vice President and General Manager- South Asia and Head of Revenue, Pan- Regional Ad Sales & Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, said, “TLC continues to present the finest lifestyle experiencesto Indian audience. We are excited to bring some of the world’s most lavish possessions created by passionate group of individuals in our new series EPIC.”

     

    Step aside, living rooms and kitchens, the home has a new star! Bathrooms are the new hot spots of modern homes and in EPIC, we take a look at bathrooms with six-figure fixtures to ceilings with stars, to hot tubs that steal the show and space age technology that demand top notch engineering. Other brand new episodes include backyards that feature pro race tracks to full sport courts, zip lines and underwater caves, beach homes with two story windows, outdoor showers and indoor rivers, and the smartest homes ever – they follow voice commands, feed the cat, shut out sunlight and even automatically trap intruders!

     

    Viewers will also be amazed by EPIC’s ‘Home Builds’ episode that showcases a “flying saucer” house that spins, an underground dome and a 10-story tree house all of which are engineered and built by creative geniuses who never let reality dampen their wild imaginations.

     

    If those homes don’t impress you, maybe a private island and personal paradise will! From a very private Florida Key with a pier that cost half a million bucks to Frank Llyod Wright house with a rooftop helipad, to a 3,000 acre nature preserve in Wisconsin – that’s the size of almost 2,270 American football fields – these islanders are enjoying every aspect of their home living.

     

    Meet the passionate, determined and downright obsessed Americans who will stop at nothing to build the best, most elaborate places ever in some of the following episodes of EPIC:

     

    Episode 1 – RVs 2

    More Americans are taking to the open road in RVs than ever before, and the rigs are bigger and ‘badder’ than ever.  From a professional golfer who practices on a putting green inside his trailer, to a Hollywood star who ordered a double-wide soaking tub on his double-decker bus, life in these RVs is ingenious luxury on wheels.  

    Episode 2 – Bathrooms

    Bathrooms are the new “it” room of the house and people are going overboard to make these thrones fit for royalty.    From toilet  lids that open when you walk in the room, to showers that set their own water temperature and pressure to hand-pounded copper tubs worth thousands, bathrooms have gotten smart and sophisticated.  

    Episode 3 – Tech Homes

    The future is now in these EPIC high tech homes. Some are like being on a starship that answers voice commands and talks back to you; others make you feel part of a spy movie where the house protects you from intruders with dangerous gadgets straight out of James Bond.  

    Episode 4 – Backyards

    Backyards used to just have swing sets and wading pools… but not anymore. They’ve been transformed into five star resorts just outside the door. It’s all about fun and games, from a full size race car speedway to a complete replica of Fenway Park.  

     

    Episode 5 – Beach Homes

    Imagine living so close to the ocean you can hear dolphins and whales just outside your front door, or being able to walk along a sandy beach your backyard.  

     

    Episode 6 – Private Islands

    The owners of these private islands know what they want. Whether it’s the southernmost tip of the U.S. or the northern border just shy of Canada, an island in the Georgia marshes or the remote mountains of Montana, these owners are going the distance to get their very own piece of paradise.

     

    Episode 7 – American Castles

    You don’t need to travel to Europe to find truly amazing castles – there are plenty in Americathat run the gamut from Medieval to modern, and historic relics to contemporary compounds.

  • Discovery Science presents new season of ‘Mega Moves’

    Discovery Science presents new season of ‘Mega Moves’

    MUMBAI: Imagine the supersize task of trucking two of the most precious steam locomotives across the Atlantic Ocean from North America to the UK or the herculean task of hauling a brand new ?20 million Search and Rescue Helicopter 3,500 miles to the Shetland Islands. Discovery Science takes you behind the scene of how mega structures get relocated in the new season of MEGA MOVES.

    Premiering on May 2, the series will air every Friday to Sunday at 9PM only on Discovery Science.

    Rahul Johri, Executive Vice President and General Manager, South Asia and Head of Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “Discovery Science has always been innovating through its unmatched content to offer captivating viewing experience to everyone. Towards this endeavour, Discovery Science brings the new season of its popular series MEGA MOVES which features some of the most daring and risky relocation projects ever attempted.”

    Each episode of MEGA MOVES will showcase the physics and the daunting challenge behind the trucking of oversize objects. The series begins with Titanic Train Trek in which a team of British engineers attempt to haul two historic A4 Pacific steam locomotives – each worth more than ?2 million – more than five thousand miles across the Atlantic to the National Railway Museum in York. In the next one, an expert team of heavy haulers attempts to transport a massive World War One artillery gun 400 miles from the Royal Artillery in Wiltshire to a museum in Utrecht, Holland. The rare 200-ton gun was designed to be moved around the Western Front on rail lines.

    This year, the stakes are higher for the haulers and the owners. The experience will be tested and revealed in the exciting series of MEGA MOVES.

     

  • Discovery Channel partners to organise MTB Shimla 2014

    Discovery Channel partners to organise MTB Shimla 2014

    MUMBAI: Discovery Channel has partnered with Himalayan Adventure Sports and Tourism Promotion Association (HASPTA) to organise MTB Shimla 2014, one of its kind ever – evolving mountain biking races, in Shimla. 

     

    MTB Shimla is scheduled from 12 to 13 April 2014 and will cover 58 kilometers in two days with a competitive design of 43 kilometers, traveling through villages, small towns and forests. Through this association Discovery Channel and MTB Shimla aim to promote mountain biking and inspire cycling enthusiasts across the nation. The promotional partnership will be leveraged through press, on-ground events, digital and social media platforms.

     

    Commenting on the association, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific executive VP & GM, South Asia and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and Southeast Asia, Rahul Johri said in a statement: “Discovery Channel’s partnership with MTB Shimla 2014 complements our brand promise to offer our consumers an experience of thrill, adventure and entertainment.”

     

    MTB Shimla has come up as one of the pioneer events in India in a very short span of three years. Like the past two editions, it will take participants around routes, most of them undiscovered and some specially earmarked for maximum thrill to the riders. The race track consists of river bed sections, speedy downhill and gut wrenching uphill stretches with ninety percent of the track being off road which will allow riders to experience the real adventure of mountain biking in the soothing ambience of nature.

  • Discovery Networks Asia Pacific promotes Rahul Johri

    Discovery Networks Asia Pacific promotes Rahul Johri

    MUMBAI: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP) has promoted Rahul Johri to the role of executive vice president and general manager, South Asia and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and Southeast Asia.

     

    Johri continues to spearhead the operations and overall growth strategy of DNAP’s portfolio in the South Asian region, as well as leading and managing the advertising sales and solutions deals for the Asia-Pacific pan-regional business with a focus on expanding distribution and growing local ad sales for Southeast Asia.

     

    “During his time at Discovery, Rahul has built a very successful Indian business for us, and recently expanded his role to include revenue leadership for the Southeast Asia business and pan-regional sales efforts. This promotion recognises his continuing leadership and contributions to Discovery,” said DNAP president and managing director Arjan Hoekstra.

     

    Johri joined Discovery in June 2001 in the ad sales division, based in New Delhi. Since then, he has been promoted through the organisation to his previous role of senior VP and GM of South Asia and head of revenue, pan regional ad sales and Southeast Asia, where he spearheaded the operations and overall growth strategy of DNAP’s portfolio in those markets. 

     

    He was also responsible for revenue generation, portfolio expansion, affiliate partnerships, viewership, content creation and talent management. He pioneered Discovery’s localisation drive in India and launched multiple language feeds across different brands.  Most recently, Johri oversaw the launch of Discovery Kids in India.

     

    Johri is a Board Director and VP of Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF).  In January 2013, he was honoured as ‘CEO of the Year’ at the Broadcasting Industry Awards, for his outstanding contribution to the Indian television industry.

     

    Johri holds an MBA in marketing as well as a degree in chemistry, and is an alumnus of Sherwood College, Nainital.

  • TLC strengthens content library with the launch of fresh series this quarter

    TLC strengthens content library with the launch of fresh series this quarter

    MUMBAI: The Discovery Communications owned television network, TLC, is gearing up to amplify the entertainment experience of its viewers with a fascinating line-up of 18 new series this quarter.

     

    Cuisine, high-life and fashion, are some of the lifestyle themes that will be presented in TLC’s distinct and inimitable style to its viewers. Some of the new series that will be launched this quarter include Cake Boss, Celebrity Style Story, Epic, Heston’s Fantastical Food, Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Nation, and Jamie & Jimmy’s Food Fight Club amongst many others.

     

    The thing to look out for in each of these new series will be the fact that it will be presented by world-renowned hosts such as accomplished fourth generation baker buddy Valastro (Cake Boss), passionate cook and author Lorraine Pascal (Lorraine’s Fast, Fresh and Easy Food), culinary wizard Heston (Heston’s Fantastical Food) and one of the world’s most loved television personalities Jamie Oliver (Jamie & Jimmy’s Food Fight Club).

     

    Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific senior VP & GM – South Asia and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and Southeast Asia Rahul Johri said in a release, “TLC has been the pioneer in presenting differentiated and aspirational lifestyle content in the country. We will continue to invest and bring in the finest quality programs from across the globe. Spread across a variety of themes and hosted by celebrated chefs, the new programming line-up will make for a splendid viewing experience.”

     

    Taking a closer look at the series, Cake Boss will take the viewers behind-the-scenes to witness the process of creating edible art out of flour and sugar in the form of remarkably modern cakes. Celebrity Style Story delves into the world of fashion uncovering the style secrets of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Angelina Jolie, the Oslen twins, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Hudson, Nicole Kidman and Lindsay Lohan among others.

     

    In the show, Heston’s Fantastical Food, he will bring back the wonder and excitement of childhood days by creating supersized versions of meals and treats. Madhur Jaffrey will explore the curry nation of Britain in Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Nation to uncover how Indian food has been transformed and embraced in the UK from restaurants to places of worship to homes of British South Asians.

  • Discovery Tamil launches a month long programming initiative ‘WHERE TIGERS RULE’

    Discovery Tamil launches a month long programming initiative ‘WHERE TIGERS RULE’

    MUMBAI: Discovery Tamil brings for its viewers a month long programming line-up – WHERE TIGERS RULE, to celebrate India’s regal national animal, tigers.

     

    Premiering every night at 8 PM in April on Discovery Tamil, WHERE TIGERS RULE will present viewers with engaging programmes on the tigers’ behaviour, predatory skills, legends and issues related to its survival. Filmed in breathtaking landscapes in magnificent forests, grasslands and protected reserves, WHERE TIGERS RULE will provide an intimate look into the mysterious world of the tiger.

     

    Joining Discovery Tamil’s initiative to create awareness on tigers, the famous Indian actor, Shruti Hassan, will share her personal messages with the viewers, raising consciousness on the diminishing number of tigers and the need for conservation. Shruti has been a wildlife enthusiast and has a passion towards animal conservation in the country.

     

    Announcing the series Rahul Johri, Senior Vice President and General Manager – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific and Head of Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, said, “Discovery Tamil in last few years have gained huge popularity in the region and amongst the Tamil speaking audience. The channel’s initiative and Shruti’s contributions will certainly create awareness about tiger conservation. The month long programming initiative, Where Tigers Rule has been customised to intensify the consciousness on the cause.”

     

    Speaking on the occasion, actor Shruti Hassan said, “I am excited to support Discovery Tamil in reaching out to millions of viewers to highlight issues concerning the plight of tigers and how their existence or extinction impacts our environment. I feel it is important for everyone to be a part of any drive like Discovery Tamil’s Where Tigers Rule that is undertaken to raise awareness on the tiger.”

     

    The month long programme Where Tigers Rule will enlighten viewers about tigers’ behaviour, predatory skills, family life and issues related to illegal poaching. All through April, the channel will air programmes to raise consciousness on the diminishing number of tigers and the need for conservation.

  • Discovery Kids brings back ‘Akbar & Birbal’ tales

    Discovery Kids brings back ‘Akbar & Birbal’ tales

    MUMBAI: Every child in India has grown up on tales of Emperor Akbar and his trusted adviser Birbal and the tradition has continued passing from generation to generation, enthralling young and old listeners alike.

     

    Discovery Kids brings back those tales with its new series Akbar & Birbal airing everyday at 2:00 p.m. The channel will take its viewers to the era of Mughals where they will witness amusing exchanges between Akbar and Birbal.

     

    Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Pan-Regional ad sales and southeast Asia senior VP and GM -South Asia and head of revenue Rahul Johri said: “Discovery Kids would continue to bring engaging content that inspires children to believe in traditional wisdom and also inculcate moral values in them. Expanding our bouquet of indigenous titles, Akbar & Birbal will entertain the viewers with its clever wit and exciting storytelling.”

     

    Birbal who was in the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar was considered to be one of the best loved figures in the folklore of India. He will be seen outsmarting everyone even the Emperor sometimes by his exceptional wisdom, presence of mind and his excellent problem solving skills.

     

    Entertainingly narrated in three languages English, Hindi and Tamil, this multilingual series will encourage language development in children and also make the experience of listening to stories more enjoyable by offering popular stories in a familiar language. The series consists of beautifully animated and captivatingly narrated stories which bring to life traditional wisdom.

  • Discovery Channel to air six-part series ‘Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell’

    Discovery Channel to air six-part series ‘Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell’

    NEW DELHI: The world-renowned survival extraordinaire Bear Grylls will feature in a new series BEAR GRYLLS: ESCAPE FROM HELL on Discovery Channel where he will apply his expertise one step further by pitting himself against real-life dangers faced by ordinary people stranded in devastatingly dire situations in the world’s most desolate landscapes.

     

    Coupled with incredible archive footage and intimate interviews with the survivors – including a British scientist who was lost and alone in the deep jungles of Malaysia, Bear will show how they survived by attempting to recreate and reliving their fateful journeys through firsthand experience and demonstrating the best possible strategies for survival.

     

    The six-part series will air every night at 9.00 pm starting 9 March.

     

    Bear risks his life by trekking in the shoes of the amateur adventurers across the most inhospitable locations on Earth and through the harshest weathers, dissecting and analysing the survival techniques they employed and providing expert advice and tips on what could have been done to completely elude or alleviate the severity of these unfortunate circumstances. From a plane crash in the Amazon, to remote crevasses of the European Alps, scorching North African desert and more, Bear will toss himself into the same unforgiving landscapes where these incidents took place and attempt to live, sleep, survive and navigate to safety.

     

    He traces and reconstructs the steps and actions of these survivors – and even suggests what he thought they could have done better – including throwing himself into mini-avalanches, leaping off from cliff ledges to tree tops, hunting and eating animals and insects unique to each terrain, creating shelters and making weapons.

     

    Senior vice president & general manager, India, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, Rahul Johri said, “Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell presents Bear Grylls taking on bigger challenges as he throws himself into the harshest of situations using his vast knowledge of life-saving techniques. An extremely thrilling series, it will attract high appointment viewing from both men and women.”

     

    “In this new format series, viewers can also look forward to more inspiring stories of endurance and persistence from the iconic explorer.” Johri added.

     

    While each landscape presents its own unique set of challenges, they also share universal themes of survival; hydration, shelter, warmth, food and navigation. Bear uncovers how each survivor cheated death using ingenuity and persistence to ensure they had at least one of these necessities. Along the way, he demonstrates crucial life-saving skills that can be easily executed by inexperienced adventurers, including drinking the blood of a snake for crucial hydration in the scorching desert, minimising the loss of mobile phone battery energy by warming it up underneath your armpits, hunting tarantulas in the jungle for vital caloric intake, creating tepee shelters from tree branches, fighting off frostbites by creating improvised hot water bottles with zip lock bags and your pee, amongst others.

     

    The series marries emotion with real experience in a no holds barred series that celebrates instinct, courage, ingenuity and sheer determination in the face of extreme dangers and phenomenal pressure, revealing insight into the human spirit and our instinct to survive.

     

    Highlights from Episodes

     

    ·Bear enters the Guatemalan jungle to relive the experiences of three groups of jungle survivors. Mexican archaeologist Armando Anaya tells how his team were attacked by bandits as they excavated Mayan ruins, then stripped of their belongings and forced across a dangerous river. In Malaysia, British microbiologist John Gillat had only set out on a short walk from his hotel when he got lost in the jungle. It was soon clear he would have to stay in the jungle for the night. Two Frenchmen, Loic Pillois and Guilhem Nayral, went on an expedition into the Amazon rainforest which turned into a gruelling 52 day ordeal. Bear experiences their toughest challenges and demonstrates the survival skills they used to stay alive – from river crossings, to tarantula hunting and lighting signal fires.

     

    ·Bear heads to Canada’s snow-covered Pacific Coast mountain range to explore incredible real life survival stories in this hostile, unforgiving terrain. He throws himself into mini avalanches, jumps into freezing cold rivers and leaps from a cliff ledge into a tree top as he retraces the steps of three remarkable men – Sébastien Boucher, Eric Le Marque and Charles Horton – who all found themselves in the ultimate battle for survival. They faced freezing temperatures, life threatening injuries, severe dehydration and extreme exhaustion but showed courage, ingenuity and sheer determination to escape from hell.

     

    ·Bear travels to Morocco’s searing Sahara Desert where he recreates the brute force of a Saharan sandstorm, scales crumbling desert cliffs, drinks the blood from a snake and his own urine for vital rehydration, as he retraces the steps of three remarkable men – Mauro Prosperi, Ed Rosenthal and Merritt Myers – who each found themselves in the battle for survival. They all faced scorching temperatures, the constant search for water, severe dehydration and heat exhaustion, and accepted that death was inevitable, before pulling back from the brink and surviving despite the odds.