MUMBAI: Discovery?s lifestyle channel TLC will double the amount of local content this year to four shows as it seeks to fortify its position in India.

The channel has identified the grooming genre as a popular mix for the Indian audiences and is looking at growing it in a big way.

"As India is becoming an increasingly important market, we are introducing a healthy dose of Indian content. We are doubling the number of local shows on TLC. Local shows help improve the relatability of the channel," says Discovery South Asia senior VP, GM Rahul Johri.

On 3 September, TLC will launch the local version of the international format ?What Not To Wear?. Hosted by Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan and Aki Narula, ?What Not To Wear - India? will run for 13 episodes at 10 pm every day.

The first local show launched this year was ?Be Blunt with Adhuna?, produced by Red Chillies Entertainment.

Produced by BBC Worldwide, ?What Not To Wear? took a year to make. A scouting agency was appointed to find out the participants. The show will give a clothing makeover to women and the selected ones will get Rs 30,000 for the exercise.

"There will be a mix of Indian and western clothes showcased. Our aim is to show the diversity of the country," says Johri.

Khan is all praise for the ideas behind the show, after initially doubting if she was the best fit for it. "This is the first time I am doing this. It was an incentive and also terrifying as I had to expose my personality on the screen. But there was strong content behind me. There are women who struggle with style. It could be due to a physical or a psychological obstacle. They need ideas to help them overcome these obstacles," she says.

TLC?s earlier local shows for the Indian market include ?Oh! My Gold?, which explores some of the most distinct jewellery and ornamental styles of India. It is hosted by international actress Lisa Ray. "Each of them are a first of its kind in the lifestyle genre," avers Johri.

According to Johri, 60 per cent of Discovery?s revenue figures in India come from ad sales. With digitisation, he expects the revenue to be split equally between subscription and ad sales."Quality content will come out on top in a digital world. Viewers will choose depending on quality which is why we are investing more in local productions. We are prepared for digitisation".

MUMBAI: Discovery has reported a seven per cent jump in its revenue to $1.14 billion for the fiscal second quarter ended 30 June 2012.

Adjusted OIBDA increased by six per cent to $543 million, while net income rose 15 per cent to $293 million.

Discovery president, CEO David Zaslav said, ?Discovery?s consistent focus on investing in our global platform, building new brands and developing additional growth opportunities resulted in continued strong operating results during the second quarter. The steps we have taken to broaden our international content offerings, along with the continued evolution of pay-tv globally, are driving international expansion, while domestically we are generating significant returns from the sustained programming initiatives and audience growth across our younger networks."

The rise in revenue was led by six per cent growth at US Networks and 10 per cent growth at International Networks.

Adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (1) (?OIBDA?) grew six per cent to $543 million, driven by an eight per cent increase at US Networks and a two per cent increase at International Networks. Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, total company revenues increased 10 per cent and Adjusted OIBDA increased by 11 per cent.

Second quarter net income available to Discovery stockholders of $293 million increased by $39 million compared to $254 million for the second quarter a year ago, primarily due to strong operating performance in the current year and lower taxes primarily due to a re-organisation of certain operations partially offset by the impact of foreign currency fluctuations.

Free cash flow was $138 million for the second quarter, a decrease of $60 million from the second quarter of 2011, as increased operating performance was more than offset by higher content investment and increased tax payments versus a year ago. For the last 12 months, free cash flow increased by five per cent over the previous twelve month period. Free cash flow is defined as cash provided by operating activities less acquisitions of property and equipment.

NEW DELHI: Factual entertainment network Discovery has launched in India its kids channel, Discovery Kids, to fight in a genre that is struggling to push up revenues amidst strong competition.

Discovery?s eighth channel in India will be in three languages ? English, Hindi, and Tamil. Discovery Kids is priced at Rs 13.75 in analogue and a little over Rs 6 in digital.

Discovery General Manager (South Asia) Rahul Johri said that the channel was aimed at children between 4 and 11 years from amongst the 370 million children under 14 years of age.

Most of the programmes on the channel are in animation but some are in live action. Some of the shows are aimed at children aged between four to six years. The mid-morning is reserved for these young ones, while the other programmes will be aired later in the evening.

Discovery Kids is already running in Latin America and in the Asia Pacific region from the Philippines, but the Indian channel will have several indigenously produced programmes.

Johri said research had shown parents wanted a kids channel that had programming they could trust. Hence, the tagline ?Ignite your imagination?.

Johri told that the channel is presently available only on Videocon D2H and Dish TV among the DTH platforms, but will shortly be available on other platforms too.

While pointing out that the channel will not take advertising immediately but will do so within a month or so, he did not agree that there was a slowdown in advertising. ?In any case, we are here for a long haul?, he added. He felt that experience from the other Discovery channels had shown that it was a healthy market.

Johri said that the channel would use all its usual methods for advertising the new channel, not only on its own channels but on others as well. However, he refused to divulge any figures about the advertising budget.

Positioned as a factual channel, Discovery Kids has no plans at present to take fictional stories. However, he did not rule out taking tales from the Panchtantra since they were moral in nature.

The research had covered focused groups in all the major cities. ?Discovery Kids will offer Indian children an entertaining way to satisfy their natural curiosity and promises to ignite their imagination through stimulating programming. It will form the bedrock for development of their social, cognitive, emotional and personal skills. The channel will usher in a new wave of kids? entertainment in India ? one which will have them engaged and their parents satisfied,? he said.

The channel will have some shared content from the Latin American or Asia Pacific channels but will also have some indigenous stories. Johri said some of the animation was also being done in India. The channel will be working on more Indian shows in the near future.

Discovery Kids website will launch next week. Discovery already runs the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Science, Discovery HD, and Discovery Tamil Nadu.

The channel will cover a variety of programming ranging from iconic global content to multiple India-themed series. Committed to offer a comprehensive viewing experience and cater to diverse demands of Indian kids, the programming formats will include highest-quality animation and engaging live action series under multiple genres such as adventure, mythology, nature, history and science.

The core values of Discovery Kids include playful (by stimulating learning and imagination in a fun and innovative way), smart (by giving creative surprises for enquiring minds), transformative (by providing an immersive world that sparks wonder and curiosity) and learning (by creating a trusting and engaging environment).

Discovery Kids? programming slate features fun, enriching and entertaining programmes such as Kim, Rudyard Kipling?s famous hero; Adiboo Adventure (unveils all the puzzling questions that can bother a kid?s mind); and The Legend of Enyo (takes kids on a spectacular journey of fantasy, fun and wild adventure); and Gali Cricket that takes on a whole new exciting and colourful avatar in the unique animation series Howzzatt.

MUMBAI: Infotainment broadcaster Discovery will kick off a new season of the show ‘Swamp Brothers‘ from 1 August.

The show will air Monday to Friday at 10 pm with a repeat next day at 10:30 am.

The show is about Robbie and Stephen Keszey who run their family business that is uniquely suited for the swamp ? where wild animals rule.

The Keszeys risk their lives on a daily basis working with wild and dangerous animals deep in the swamps of Florida. Robbie is a veteran of the ‘80s metal scene who is passionate about all things scaly, and Stephen is a former New York City bartender who is more comfortable hailing a cab than handling a snake. They encounter everything from pythons and gators to bobcats and black bears

They run Glades Herp Farms, Florida?s largest reptile sanctuary and exotic reptile dealership. Their farm also houses Florida?s International Teaching Zoo, which is full of rare species from around the globe and brings in a constant stream of new and different animals each month.

In each episode, the brothers put themselves on the line to protect the most unusual of creatures ? from venomous snakes to aggressive crocodilians.

Each episode takes viewers to the wet and wild world of Florida swamps, forests and waterways where dangerous animals breed out of control and are increasingly finding their way into the backyards, cul-de-sacs, and neighbourhood ponds of suburban Florida. When this happens, Robbie and Stephen are just about the only two guys in the entire state with the expertise to deal with the problem.

From pythons to exotic gators, the brothers make it their business to track these beasts down, capture them and return them to a safe environment ? without losing life or limb in the process.

MUMBAI: Infotainment broadcaster Discovery will air a new series ‘Extraordinary Women‘ starting 19 June every Tuesday at 8 pm.

This will reveal the stories of women, who overcame adverse conditions and social prejudices to rise to the top of their field to earn the admiration of millions across the world.

They rewrote the rules for women of their time, stepping out of the shadows of men to make their own mark in history. Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn and Agatha Christie are some of the women who will be profiled on the show. The women featured achieved success in fields as diverse as fashion, cinema, politics, philanthropy, technology and activism.

They seemed to have it all, but often the trials and tribulations of their personal lives were masked by their public success. Featuring archive, interviews and dramatic re-enactment, the show reveals the price these extraordinary women paid for their achievements. Yet in the end, they overcame all adversities to emerge as triumphant, inspirational icons of the 20th century, the channel said.

A Special Ambassador to Unicef, Hepburn was one of the first to recognise that her celebrity status could be used to improve the lives of many less fortunate people. Hedy Lamarr is best known as a star of MGM‘s golden age, but she was also the co-inventor of an early form of spread spectrum communications technology, a key to modern wireless communications. Coco Chanel was an illegitimate child, born into a poorhouse and abandoned in an orphanage, but she rose from unimaginable poverty to create the most iconic fashion brand of the 20th century, The House of Chanel.

Josephine Baker a black entertainer took the world by storm; determined to escape a life of deprivation and racial prejudice, she danced her way to New York and then Paris. In a remarkable life spanning eight decades, Maria Montessori challenged convention to pioneer a new system of education; she leaves a legacy of thousands of Montessori schools across the world. Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime Fiction wrote 80 novels and short stories; but, her private life remains as mysterious as any of the characters in her novels.

MUMBAI: Infotainment broadcaster Discovery has announced that it will produce a programme on the Indian Army?s Women Expedition to Mount Everest. The show will air later this year.

Discovery?s production team will follow the expedition to capture the summit, attempted by a group of seven Indian Army Women officers. The cameras will follow the contingent as they endeavour to reach the summit and achieve the ultimate mountaineering goal. For the first time, an Army Women Contingent is scaling the summit from the South ridge route. This route was used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

Discovery South Asia senior VP, GM Rahul Johri said, "Discovery Channel is delighted to cover this unique and distinguished expedition by Indian Army?s Women Officers. We are committed to present stories of success and achievement from India to audiences around the world."

Johri adds that Discovery has been working on this project for a few months. "The adventure wing of the army has given us support. We have been following the progress of these women who were trained for months. This year we have done a few local shows already. We did one on the evolution of Indian television. We also did another on the making of Ra.One. So local shows are an important part of what we do."

Indian Army AVSM, Director General of Military Training Lt Gen SP Tanwar said, "Indian Army has appreciated the efforts of Discovery Channel to undertake the coverage of such an expedition for the first time. Such coverage besides projecting the unique and glorious feat of the Indian Army, will be a boon to the large international audience that watches this esteemed channel and will provide a platform for future joint ventures with the Discovery Channel on issues related to sports and adventure in the Indian Army."

The team is led by Col Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM, and includes seven Indian Army Women officers: Capt Deepika Rathore (Rajasthan), Capt Namrata Rathore (Uttarakhand), Capt Prachi R Gole (Maharastra), Maj N Linyu (Nagaland), Maj Neha Bhatnagar (Rajasthan), Capt Poonam Sangwan (Haryana), and Capt Smitha (Karnataka).

Meanwhile, Discovery has also soft launched its kids channel Discovery Kids. Johri said, "35 per cent of this country is under the age of 14. That is why we are confident about the scope of this genre. The official launch will take place in the second half of this year. An announcement will be made shortly."