BACKGROUND

Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable TV founded by John Hendricks in 1985 and distributed by Discovery Communications. Due to increasing popularity, United Cable Television corp..,Cox Cable Communications Inc..,and Tele-Communications Inc..,invested in the company in 1986. In its first year itself, the channel subscription increased to 7 million in US. In 1987,entered into an agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation to telecast in Japan. In 1994,DCI launched its programs in few Asian countries. In 1995,DCI extended its programs in Canada and India. In the same year, launched its first ever consumer catalog, Discovery Channel Catalog.

 In 1996 launched in Brazil, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. announced launch of new channel-Animal Planet in US & also announced launch of Discovery Kids Programs. By the end of 1996,Discoverys subscription increased to 101.4 million households around the world. In 1997 entered Turkey through a partnership agreement with The Media Group. In the same year, DCI entered into joint venture with British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) to launch BBC America. By 2002,Discovery Channel became the worlds most widely distributed television brand. Discovery channel was aired in over 155 countries and had around 700 million subscribers. The 14 entertainment brands of DCI were distributed through 33 networks in around 33 languages all over the globe Discovery Network Asia Pacific was first established in 1994 Discovery Communications in Asian countries, Named as "Discovery Channel (Asia) Operated by "Discovery Network Asia & has 5 channels.

Discovery Channels Launch in India

Discovery entered in Indian market in 1995 when the Indian markets were dominated by the channels which provided Family soaps Discovery was the first channel to provide information with Theme based programme relating to nature, History , Science & Technology in English It was successful in attracting viewers in the first year of its operation it reached 3 million homes.

Inherent Advantages

In 1995, Discovery entered into India. It was the first channel to provide Infotainment programs in India. Programs related to Nature, wildlife and science technology. Innovative programs gave viewers break from routine family dramas. Parents concerned for positive influence on children.

Success Factors of Discovery in India

Innovative Programs Parents who were convinced about influence of TV on children. Programs aired in India possess at least 10%culturally neutral content Offered programs based on non-fiction focusing on themes of history; popular science and knowledge about different countries in the world.

Issue Faced by Discovery Channel

Market were limited as most of the channels were aired in English A market research was conducted to find out how Indian viewers perceived Discovery. The research highlighted the following points: Channel viewers consisted of mostly urban males between 25-54 years. Around 60%of its viewership was from SEC A and B. Discovery was very popular with kids and their parents. In mid-1999, Discovery become a pay channel, charging around Rs 5 per household. Subsequently the number of household receiving it went down to 8 million from 13 million. Discovery faced problem of Positioning : it was perceived as niche or specialty channel Viewers are not aware about the show timings. Channel Could not attract the Viewers from southern & eastern Part as the regional Launguaage was different

Brand Repositioning
In December 2000, when Mr. Deepak Shourie was appointed as the new MD of Discovery India a huge investment was made on R&D to conduct a survey on the perception of Indian viewers on Discovery Channel. Mass marketing to build brand image & reworking on brand positioning was initiated.

Tie up with Doordarshan (DD) to air Discovery Program in Hindi In 2000 they made Revenue share agreement with Vijay TV Providing Discovery channel in Tamil New strategy My time on Discovery implemented in October 2001 Providing advertisers a focused platform to reach out to their key target group. Introduced Programming blocks targeting different viewer segments on basis of broadcast time. -In October launched time bands to mainstream their market. In October 2002 a programme guide of "discovery channel" circulated to readers which was attached inside the magazine "India Today. In April 2003, Discovery entered into a tie-up with Businessworld17 to provide a programming guide for the period April - June 2003

Time Bands Sunrise

Target Audience Early morning television viewers Children Teenagers

Timings 7am to 9am

Nature of Programs Wild life and nature

Discovery Kids Action Zone

3pm to 4pm 4pm to 5pm

Mystery Hunters, Popular Mechanics Reality adventure shows

Family Time
Friday Showcase Super Sundays Womans Hour

Family
Office Goers Family Women

8pm to 11pm
9pm to 11pm 7am to midnight Noon to 1pm

Science, History and wildlife

Science and Technology Missed Programs of the week Family, womens health, interior designing Sex, crime, horror, violence Health and Exercise Animals

Late Night Discovery Healthy Living Amazing Animals

Adults College Goers Children and college goers

Discovery started with Innovative Programme World Birth Day Launch Programme India Hour & Tech Tuesday It conducted a yearly audio-visual quiz contest for schools students across India In August 2002, Discovery also conducted a contest for students tie up with Canon India Ltd., in association with Colgate Dental Cream Discovery conducted Discovery Exhibition Conducted Win With Discovery Channel Contest. Advertise through television channels and the print media

Implications of New Strategy

Viewership among women increased by 21 % Viewership among kids increased by 22% Prime Time band Viewer ship Increased by 43 % Differentiated discovery from NGC

Consolidating The Presence

To Increase Presence in south India Discovery snapped its ties with Vijay TV to launch 24 hour feed in Tamil In 2002 to enhance its distribution reach Discovery entered in to Joint Venture with SET Which make Discovery No. 1 Television network in the country It helped Channel to increase its reach from around 21 Million home to 28 Millions homes

The Rediff Business Interview/ Kiran Karnik

He said NGC are so good, so expert, the ordinary viewer may find it difficult to relate. It gives the impression of an expert talking down to a lowly, ignorant viewer. National Geographic has a textbook style. Discovery is different. It's like a friend talking to another friend. With its lively mix of nature, wildlife, science, travel, space, life and what have you, Discovery is a hangout place for curious minds. Those who tell the stories rule the world. He said, We don't compromise on quality. Because we believe audio plays a critical part in a channel's success. For people who don't understand English, Discovery could mean a whole load of pretty pictures. We want to be a story-telling lot, we want to complement the visuals with meaningful, comprehensible audio. One friend told me that Discovery, unlike other channels, promotes harmony in his home. Some young parents told me that with Discovery around, they don't need baby-sitters anymore. learn that Discovery is more popular than cartoons among the 6-14 age-group on Sunday mornings.

Future Plans
Turning to our operating divisions, the companys laser-focused strategy of investing in high-quality content for its global brands and networks, combined with the universal appeal of Discoverys nonfiction genres, resulted in larger audiences this past year around the globe. This increased market share enabled the company to deliver consistently healthy advertising growth, while also further leveraging its valuable programming across emerging distribution platforms worldwide

The flagship Discovery Channel benefitted from a number of new and returning series in 2012, which have positioned the network with the strongest slate of series in its history. This success was broad based with returning hits such as Gold Rush and Moonshiners growing versus last season, while new series such as Fast N Loud, Jungle Gold and Amish Mafia emerged as breakout hits. In fact, Amish Mafia delivered the highest-rated premiere in Discovery Channels history, building on the huge audience generated with American Chopper Live Several of these series also helped Discovery Channel deliver its best fourth quarter ever with viewership up 14% versus a year ago, and the network is off to a great start in 2013, with viewership on the channel up over 20% in January. It was the best month in Discovery Channels history and, with more returning hits than ever before and a great slate of new series and specials, the network is extremely well positioned to take additional share in the year ahead.

Future Objectives
To invest in content for our networks to build -viewership, -maximize distribution revenue, -capture advertising sales and -create or reposition additional branded channels and -businesses that can sustain long-term growth and -occupy a desired programming niche with strong consumer appeal. Content is designed to target key audience demographics and the popularity of our programming creates demand on the part of advertisers and distributors. The company will continue to invest on all three fronts - programming, distribution and marketing, to increase the channels viewership.

Challenges
Ability to produce and acquire popular content is an important competitive factor for the distribution of networks, attracting viewers and the sale of advertising. Changes in consumer behavior resulting from new technologies and distribution platforms may impact the performance of businesses.

Thank You
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