To get the look

Television channels are repackaging themselves for vibrancy and viewership.

A slew of television channels is busy smartening up to reinvigorate viewer interest. Some are even reorienting their focus.

So while for the consumer channel Awaaz, it's a look-and-feel change, for The History Channel (THC), it's a shift in positioning from infotainment to entertainment, even as others like Discovery, Animal Planet and CNN spruce themselves up with little more of India in their programming mix. All this, even as Star Gold woos audiences with broadcast premieres of recent blockbusters.

"The change in our strategy and programming follows some key insights that we acquired following our research over 1,200 respondents across cities," says CNBC's Ajay Chacko.

"We realised that cutting-edge financial information or business news is not just sought by the English-speaking class, but even the Hindi population."

That's why TV18's Awaaz, all of 14 months old, has undergone a makeover "" to reinforce its claim to the "consumer channel" position. The new "red and ruby" look, by design house Renderon, aims to capture the aspirational aspects of the viewer's lifestyle.

The programming is also getting consumer-centric with shows such as Aapka Darbaar and Khas Mulaqat. "The thrust of the programming is now on three areas "" investment, career and spending," says Chacko.

The History Channel, meanwhile, is turning itself more entertaining "" having perhaps overdosed its viewership on the second world war. Nikhil Mirchandani, managing director, THC, calls it the next phase of evolution for the channel.

"We realised it was time to expand the appeal of the channel to rope in additional viewers as well as advertisers," he says. With its new tagline, "Live The Story", the channel is set to deliver high-energy drama while maintaining its commitment to credible history. "We will broadbase the theme to showcase real life stories, struggles and drama," promises Mirchandani.

For a bigger reorientation of strategy, look at Discovery and Animal Planet. There's now an additional hour of India-specific programming on Discovery channel, according to Rajiv Bakshi, associate director, marketing & communications, Discovery Networks India.

Meanwhile, for CNN, repackaging has meant a new "on air" look that involved a redesign of the logo, network identity spots, music and tickers.

Says Rena Golden, senior vice-president, CNN International: "This new design is more evolution than revolution. Our priority is to ensure that our viewers around the globe, many of whom do not speak English as a first language, understand and engage with the news we deliver. The uncluttered screen and enhanced concise graphics will now allow our video and journalism to breathe fully."

With all that action, News Corp's Star Network couldn't be sitting idle. Well, Star Gold has been repackaged. "It was imperative to give the channel a contemporary look," says Puneet Johar, senior vice-president, marketing, Star group. It is showing new films for a change "" and has several entertainment shows too. Gold needn't just be old.