Discovery
lines up new programmes; Karnik's replacement still not decided
(Posted on 10 February 7:00 pm)
When
Kiran Karnik took the reins at Discovery India in mid-1995 his
mission was to drive the channel's penetration into the unknown
terrain that made up India's cable TV viewing population. Today,
that has been achieved to a large extent and as he prepares to
hand over charge sometime in May, the channel is attempting further
forays with a line-up of new programmes.
It
was to drive the point across to the advertising world that a
meeting for the fraternity was called at a south Mumbai hotel
on Friday. The channel made a presentation on the potential that
is there for advertisers.
According
to the figures dished out, Discovery has greatly widened its audience
reach following its recent tie-up with national broadcaster Doordarshan.
Discovery now has a penetration of 18 million cable homes while
sister channel Animal Planet reaches 6.5 million homes across
India.
"Discovery's
tie-up with Doordarshan early this year bilingually in Hindi and
English is a step toward reaching a wider audience," Ambika Shrivastava,
vice-president, marketing and sales said. The recent earthquake
that devastated Gujarat state has driven people's need to learn
more about the phenomenon, Shrivastava said. "Curiosity, knowledge,
and exploring the world around us is what people look forward
to and that is what Discovery Channel and Animal Planet intend
to give them," she said.
Discovery's
special series on earthquakes telecast in the first week of February
has received a good response, Shrivastava said, while announcing
the forthcoming lineup of programmes. A lineup which includes
"The Raging Planet" and "Ancient Earthquakes and Sunken Cities".
Shrivastava
also pointed out that the channel was reaching out to schools
with quiz based programmes. "Discovery channel annually hosts
an all-India quiz where students from 18 cities all over the country
participate, she said.
On
the issue of who will take over from Karnik, however, there was
no word. "Discovery is still looking for somebody to head the
organisation. Mr Karnik is still on the board and will be guiding
the channel till they find somebody," was all that the corporate
communications team could say when the subject was broached.
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