Mumbai: The genre of true crime has seen expansive growth with an increased demand from audiences across all ages to view more of such content. Shows from across platforms have gone on to win international accolades and witnessed the highest numbers of viewership.
Discovery+ launched True Crime on OTT, and this genre has grown and the channel has seen the growth of the genre.
Sai Abishek has over 16 years of experience in the industry at Discovery he oversees original content, programming strategy, and profitability across a broad portfolio of global brands and networks in entertainment, kids, sports, and infotainment genres in South Asia.
Sai's deep knowledge and content experience make him an ideal commentator at various top-notch content-driven events. He is committed to delivering high-quality programming and creating engaging content that resonates with audiences across regions.
Indiantelevision.com in conversation with Sai Abishek, Head of Factual & Lifestyle Cluster, Warner Bros. Discovery, South Asia on the genre, being the leader in this genre, the ideas and strategies, content line-up in 2023 and much more.
On your tenure at Discovery
It has been a productive and exciting period for me and my team under the combined Warner Bros Discovery group. There's been a lot of work on growing the linear flagships and building new global & local IPs, and franchises as well as growing our leadership in the category across linear and OTT. It's also been a period of coming together of people from across teams at Warner and Discovery working together as one team as we build out for this new phase.
On the plethora of OTT Apps available today, how has Discovery+ held its position?
We have a differentiated position in the industry to be a one-stop destination for all things non-fiction with deeply curated content across various genres and sub-genres of adventure, food, crime, history, science, lifestyle, wildlife, sports, kids and live channels. There is a huge bouquet of programming of thousands of hours both from the global slate as well as originals from the local slate that sit alongside it. I believe we have really good programming that appeals to not just the loyalists but also a larger audience base in the country.
On the thought and strategy to introduce the True Crime genre on the platform?
Crime has been one of the key storytelling pillars for decades across different mediums. Fiction novels, news, radio, films, serials, series, docs and podcasts etc... to name some of the key modes of how this genre has been consumed over time. The intent was to tap into an already existing heavy interest among audiences and go deep into the heart of the stories that needed to be told.
Also, this category feeds into the zeitgeist and allows viewers to consume these stories very passionately as the stories themselves are quite riveting and gripping to follow. With the cinematic filmmaking techniques available to us now with the level of research, access and depth we can bring to the stories, we are able to do justice to them in the documentary format.
On being in the infotainment space, how does this genre work for you and has it established Discovery+ as a strong contender?
Yes, I believe we are a very strong and differentiated product in the market with a mix of high-quality global and local programming. We have seen a fantastic upward trajectory in the last couple of years after launching Discovery+ in the market. There is a dedicated audience but what's heartwarming is to see this audience grow consistently over time.
We have been the market leader in nonfiction for years and continue to do so. We have expanded on our existing and established linear networks offering with Discovery Plus with the promise as the home of non-fiction. It is early days for the genre expansion, but I’m quite confident that the interest and content consumption levels we see now are only going to expand multifold as the supply of must-have programming also grows in the coming days.
On the thought process when content for an app is kept in mind?
The first thing we did was to determine how our existing fan base could be given a meaningful experience on the product side as well as the content offering. Naturally, we had a tonne of programming and insights we already had on how our fans like to interact with our brands and franchises. Once we got into that, we started looking deeper at what are the other passion and super fan groups that audiences around the country had an interest in but also potentially undernourished. So many genres and subgenres come out of that insight. We looked at not just the categories we operated in but looked at across categories, platforms, regions and audience groups etc... We constantly look for exclusive docs and series to produce, curate as well as acquire.
On the TG you are looking at especially when it comes to content like ‘True Crime’?
We look at True Crime squarely from a story interest perspective and the ability of the story to move audiences across different age groups. Having said that, we see robust interest in True Crime stories among young audiences today who have a much higher exposure to newer methods and treatments in storytelling. This helps us push the boundaries a bit in not only choosing the right kind of global True Crime stories but also in the development of it from an original production point of view.
For Instance, our global production Johnny vs Amber, Anni: the Honeymoon Murder had heavy traction in viewership as did our local productions mounted on a global scale like My Daughter Joined a Cult, Money Mafia, Love Kills: Madhumitha Shula Hatyakand Dangals of Crime etc.
On the content line-up for 2023, also would you be experimenting with other genres? Other than True Crime are we going to see some interesting lifestyle content?
An exciting slate of global and local programming is lined up on linear and OTT. We have a mix of fan-favourite returning hit franchises as well as lots of new shows across genres that should be quite fresh for audiences. We are investing in building talent, and new IPs across various genres such as History, Mythology, Biopics, Adventure, True Crime, Lifestyle, True Stories, and Investigation etc... in various formats such as docs, docudramas, reality etc.
