Discovery India to revamp its kids’ channel

As Discovery India gears up to make its debut in the Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) space, it is also eyeing a leadership position in the children’s entertainment genre. The broadcasting company will also make a strategic bet in the digital space.

Discovery Communications India, which aims to triple its revenues by 2020, will be launching its Hindi GEC, called Discovery Jeet, early next year. The broadcasting company, which has a strong viewership base in the top 20 million TV households with its infotainment and lifestyle channels, believes Discovery Jeet will help grow its presence in the next 100 million TV households in the country.

360-degree approach Talking about the strategy for Discovery Kids, Karan Bajaj, Senior Vice-President and General Manager (South Asia), Discovery Communications India, said: “We are currently a niche player in the kids’ entertainment space. Our aim is to become one of the top three channels in this genre by the end of next year.”

“Kids are known to develop strong loyalties for IPs (characters) and then want a lot of content around those IPs. Keeping these insights in mind, we are working on revamping Discovery Kids with the launch of a brand new locally- produced IP, which will be launched with over 300 episodes. It will represent nearly 70 per cent of the total programming shown on the channel,” he added.

The broadcaster will follow a 360-degree approach for the revamp of the channel and leverage on synergies in merchandise as well as the gaming space.

“We don’t want to just grow by adding more noise on TV but in a purpose-led way. As part of this strategy, we are focusing on growing our presence in the next 100 million TV households with Discovery Jeet. We will also continue to strengthen our presence in the top 20 million households,” Bajaj said.

As far as its digital strategy is concerned, Discovery India will look at building community of viewers with a targeted approach.

“The digital space is very attractive for us considering genres, such as lifestyle and infotainment, have a strong digital viewership. We will create and curate branded content for digital audiences in genres that have passionate communities of viewers and focus on delivering this content through multiple delivery ecosystems,” Bajaj added.

The broadcasting network will look at launching smartphone-attuned branded content in genres such as military, outdoor, food, fashion, automobile.