MUMBAI: US cable major Comcast is selling its 15.8 per cent stake in A&E Television Networks to joint venture partners Disney and Hearst for $3.03 billion in cash.

A&E is majority owned by Disney?s ABC Television Group and Hearst. It runs channels including the History Channel and Lifetime.

In India, AETN has a JV with TV18 and has runs the infotainment channel History.

MUMBAI: History, the factual entertainment channel from the JV between AETN and TV18, will be launched in India on 9 October.

Also planned are two more channel launches next year - Bio and Crime And Investigation.

In order to have a broader appeal, History channel will be available in six languages ? English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi - at the outset. This is the first time that any channel in this genre will have a dubbed feed in Marathi.

It is worth noting that the other channels in this genre like NGC and Discovery took years before going into local languages outside Hindi.

History is looking at one more language feed a couple of months down the road. "We want to double the viewership of this genre. We feel that it is not just for the elite or for people who are well traveled or who like wildlife. We want to go beyond the six Metro game. That is why we have gone into several languages which will help us cut across SECs and age groups," History GM marketing Sangeeta Aiyer told Indiantelevision.com.

Viewership for fiction entertainment content abroad tends to be cyclical. "People get fed up of it and look for something new. This is where factual entertainment comes in. This trend will come to India as well in the next couple of years. Factual entertainment will become more mass," explained Aiyer.

History will be a high definition channel catering to the TG of SEC A,B audiences of 15 + age group.

The channel expects to have 80 per cent connectivity within three weeks of launch, said Aiyer. The marketing spend is in the region of Rs 150-170 million.

The channel has already roped in Salman Khan as the brand ambassador.

"Khan personifies what History channel is all about ? thrills, action, adventure etc. He is also not known for being associated with this genre which lends the tie up a novelty value," said Aiyer.

The tagline of the campaign is ?Kuch Naya dekho history banthe Dekho? (Watch something new see history in the making). The aim of the campaign is to get viewers to watch something new by going beyond the familiar.

History has conceptualised three TVCs and they have gone viral through facebook which will go on-air next week.

In the TVCs, Khan is a ?sutradhaar? of sorts. The TVCs have been conceptualised by McCann Erickson and directed by Prashant Issar of Tubelight Films.

"Generally history has a perception of belonging to the past and being about black and white images. We want to break this. History is being created everyday; it is contemporary. History is not about something that happened 50 years ago or about dead people," Aiyer said.

History will be conveyed in shows in an entertaining manner.

Ice Road Truckers, for instance, is about US and Canadian truckers navigating deadly roads. "While that is exciting to watch, one gets to know facts about how the Alaskan pipeline was laid out and how long it takes for an ice glacier to melt. It has also been shot in the Himalayas," Aiyer averred.

Another show called Swamp People tells you about a 300-year-old community that hunts alligators; it is about their eco-system, food habits and occupation.

"People don?t want something shown in an educational manner. They don?t want something that sounds preachy. Our treatment of shows is unique," Aiyer claimed, offering the example of Top Shot.

Top Shot, a show about weapons from different ages, is in a reality format. "16 American shooters shoot with weapons of different eras. The winner gets a prize. Viewers learn about different weapons like a bow and arrow," Aiyer elaborated.

History approaches a show on gadgets in a different manner through Sliced. Here the host takes a chainsaw and slices an object like a Volvo truck in half. He then shows viewers how the object functions. "This is far more impactful than just having a map of an object and then getting the host to show with a ruler how the object functions," Aiyer added.

On localisation of content, Aiyer said the aim is to have at least one local show within the first quarter of the channel?s launch. "But we cannot do a local show for the sake of it. That does not work. It has to have the same scale and value of international shows. We are talking to various producers," said Aiyer.

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Productions will produce an American version of ?Hairy Bikers? for the History Channel in the US.

The commission comes after BBC Worldwide struck a partnership with ?Hairy Bikers?, managed by James Grant Group, to license their brand and format around the world.

US cable channel History has commissioned Los Angeles- based BBC Worldwide Productions to produce 12x30? episodes to be broadcast later this year.

The US Hairy Bikers are former personal chef for President George W Bush, Paul Patranella and his motorcycle mechanic and foodie friend of 20 years, Bill Allen. Paul, a classically trained chef, will travel with Bill across the country sampling unique delicacies, as well as uncovering America?s traditional dishes and putting their own twist on them.

This is BBC Worldwide?s first deal for the Hairy Bikers brand after recently striking this innovative partnership. The structure also includes DVD, merchandise and live events rights globally.

BBC Worldwide executive VP International Production Matt Paice said, "The Hairy Bikers have really captured viewers? attention in the UK and the introduction of their stateside doppelgangers is a really exciting development. We look forward to striking innovative new deals for Dave and Si and we will be looking for talent to replicate this success for broadcasters around the world."

James Grant Group head of television Holly Pye said, "The History deal represents the first of its kind for the Bikers. We look forward to working in partnership (for our clients) with BBC Worldwide in the coming months and years. History has the ideal platform and audience from which to showcase the Bikers unique concept."

The original Hairy Bikers, Dave Myers and Si King, first appeared on BBC Two in 2005 in The Hairy Bikers? Cookbook: Si and Dave do Portugal. Their friendship, charm and passion for cooking appealed to viewers and the duo then went on to make a series of many other culinary programmes.

The Hairy Bikers programmes have been sold by BBC Worldwide to more than 160 territories around the world; titles include Mums Know Best, The Hairy Bakers and The Hairy Bikers? Cook Off.