GOWRI MANICKAVASAGAM
Discovery channel on Monday announced its entry into the OTT market with the launch of a streaming app ”Discovery Plus”. Superstar Rajinikanth’s episode of “Into The Wild With Bear Grylls” will be launched first on Discovery Plus, a company release said.
Discovery Plus, being touted as India’s first aggregated real-life entertainment streaming app, will offer over 40 genres, including science, adventure, food, and lifestyle, in eight languages, including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi.
The much-anticipated Rajinikanth’s TV debut show “Into The Wild With Bear Grylls” will be launched first on Discovery Plus at 6:00 a.m. on March 23 before the television premiere which is at 8:00 p.m. Discovery Plus will also stream exclusive videos, including Behind The Scenes from the episode.
For the app, the content will be curated from brands such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, BBC, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, ID, Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Motortrend, and VICE.
Talking about the app, Simon Robinson, President APAC & CFO International, Discovery, Inc., said: “Globally, we are observing healthy trends from direct-to-consumer businesses and Discovery Plus, with its India focused strategy, is a valued addition. The launch of Discovery Plus is a significant development for our business in India and reflects our commitment to this critical market.”
“The consumer is spoilt for choice in the scripted content space but doesn’t have a dedicated offering in the unscripted space – a place we intend to fill with the launch of Discovery Plus,” said, Megha Tata, Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery, adding: “Our large global library of 3,00,000 hours of premium content and expertise in owning passionate communities will give us a huge competitive advantage in the digital domain.”
With an introductory offer of Rs 299 per annum, the app has been developed and curated specifically for India. In the initial phase, the company will reach out to 25 million strong bases of core TV infotainment consumers across Tier I and Tier II towns.
On the content, Issac John, Business Head – Digital (South Asia), Discovery, said: “Over the next 12 months, the lineup includes premium content across all our key genres such as ”Into the Wild” with Rajnikanth, ”Expedition Unknown”, ”Coronavirus: The Silent Killer”, ”Food Factory”, ”Mythbusters”, ”Wild Karnataka” and ”Project Runway” among many others.
