MUMBAI: Discovery Communications’ lifestyle channel - TLC, armed with consumer feedback and international research, is back with the second season of "Style Inc. with Aalim Hakim." With a reach of over 70-80 million households in India, the lifestyle channel is attempting to give viewers another peek at what is the latest in terms of hair styling in India.
The series will provide a gateway to the life of Bollywood's new male brigade from 20 October every Thursday-Friday at 10 pm. The repeat telecast will be on Saturday-Sunday at 6 pm on TLC and TLC HD World.
The second season of the series has heart throbs Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditya Roy Kapur, Ayushmann Khurrana, Tiger Shroff and Sanjay Dutt opening themselves up to Aalim. Viewers can watch Aalim transform their favourite stars for movies, photo shoots and ad films, as well showcase the unique relationship they share with Bollywood’s go-to stylist.
The six-episode show has roped in FitBit and Usha International as advertisers on board so far, and talks are on with a few more brands.
“TLC is a unique, standalone channel. It can’t be compared with any other channel. We have always tried to capture the trend of the country. Once, travel was a trend and then grooming was, and makeover used to be; now styling is in vogue. We believe that the audience is looking for content on beauty and style right now. We want to invest in this genre which is unique," said Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific vice president, female and family entertainment products, south Asia Rajiv Bakshi.
He further stated that, “We are overwhelmed with the tremendous response the series has received on social platforms. Style is the new buzzword, and no one does it better than the new generation of Bollywood actors. The kind of Bollywood stars who would be appearing on the show can offer tips about maintaining one's hair. It is a layered show, and not a straightforward one."
Depending on the success of this season, the team will explore further possibilities. “We want to build a franchise,” added Bakshi.
Hakim added, “It is so exciting to witness this shift in India towards styling and grooming. I am super-charged to be doing the second season of "Style Inc. with TLC." Fans will get to see Bollywood’s youngest and most stylish stars and get to know their style mantras.”
Targeted at the young millennials in the 15-35 age-group across India - who have a deep interest in styling but don’t know where to get it done from - the show will tell them the difference between a good and a bad haircut. “We are certainly targeting urban India. From the south, Bangalore is a very important market for us, and Hyderabad too has a good viewership. There is enough appetite in the north and the south,” voiced Bakshi.
The channel is launching eight to 10 shows in the next three months based on the genres of dating, relationship, food, travel, and a couple of series coming in from India.
Bakshi stressed that TLC is not limiting itself to a particular show genre. "We have always tried to do something more than what the audience demands. The approach of what they would want to watch which could be unknown to them is what we want to capture."
With a countable number of channels in this space, Bakshi opined that there was enough place for new players.
“It is an attractive and feasible genre, and the market is dynamic. Certainly, as a market, it can obviously take more channels. The passion towards a certain kind of TV will overtake passion towards traditional TV. And, we believe, lifestyle is one of the areas of interest,” Bakshi concluded.
