Discovery Channel - Discovering India

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Themes : Differentiation
Period : 1995-2003
Organization : Discovery Channel, Sony Entertainment Channel
Pub Date : 2003
Countries : India
Industry : Media and Entertainment

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Case Code : MKTG052
Case Length : 10 Pages
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Marketing 'Discovery' Contd...

Discovery also conducted Discovery Exhibition, wherein, students from Classes VI to IX watched the channel's program 'Popular Mechanics for Kids' and created things under teachers' directions. This was conducted by Discovery in association with Colgate Dental Cream to create awareness among children about the channel's programs. Discovery also came up with the novel concept of programming guides to provide information about Discovery programs for every quarter.

The first program guide was launched in association with India Today magazine in August 2002. In April 2003, Discovery entered into a tie-up with Businessworld¹⁷ to provide a programming guide for the period April - June 2003. It also used direct mailers to inform viewers of the channel's programs.

Discovery also conducted contests to attract viewers to channel. In April 2003, it launched the 'Win With Discovery Channel Contest.' In this contest, viewers were expected to register online or e-mail their particulars to the Discovery channel. Discovery channel entered the name of the viewers in its database and held a lucky draw every month (the contest covered a period of 3 months). The lucky draw winner was awarded numerous prizes.

Discovery also advertised extensively in the media to enhance its brand image and increase its brand awareness. It advertised through television channels (Refer Exhibit IV) and the print media. In the metros it also used outdoor advertising.

Consolidating the Presence

Discovery announced that it would bring in new programs to consolidate the gains made by the new programming strategy. It planned to source world-class programs from Discovery's 14 channels across the globe. Analysts pointed out that none of the programs were produced in India by Discovery. Commenting on why none of the Discovery programs were produced in India, channel sources said that producing one program for Discovery cost around $1.5 million and that revenues in India did not match the costs incurred for producing programs.

According to Shourie, "If you incur that kind of cost, the revenues just don't come in India." In 2000, NGC entered into a distribution and marketing agreement with STAR network in India. According to analysts, this move helped it successfully increase its reach. It was reported that while Discovery was strong in northern India, NGC was strong in South India.

To increase its presence in South India, Discovery announced that it would launch a 24-hour feed in Tamil. In March 2002, it snapped its ties with Vijay TV and announced that it would air Tamil programs in the family time band (8 p.m. to 10 p.m.) on weekdays. It was reported that the channel would offer programs on the basis of themes - history on Monday, science on Tuesday, forensics on Wednesday, health on Thursday and premiers on Friday.

Commenting on the channel's decision, Shourie said, "With Tamil, we hope to capture a large Tamil-speaking viewer base to the channel and expand viewership in south India." In June 2002, in order to enhance its distribution reach, Discovery entered into a joint venture with Sony Entertainment Television (Sony), known as SET Discovery, with an equity structure of 74:26. The majority stake was held by Sony.

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17] India’s popular weekly business magazine.