Lifestyle channel Discovery Travel and Living has been rebranded TLC, and it is now eyeing to become the country’s top English entertainment channel. TLC currently leads viewership in the travel and lifestyle category with a share of 56.6 per cent (for January to September 2010, TAM data), ahead of rival NDTV Good Times which led the space last year.
TLC says it is focusing on new, more engaging content to extend its on-air presence. In this quarter, it will be rolling out 15 new shows, six new hosts and 11 new seasons of existing series. Says Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Senior Vice-president & General Manager (India) Rahul Johri: “We want to make TLC the number one English entertainment channel. While content-wise, the focus will remain on food, travel and lifestyle, a wide variety of entertainment to the Indian programming is the new thing.” Last month, the channel featured film star Shah Rukh Khan in new episodes of Living With A Superstar. Later this month, TLC will roll out Asian Diary-Season 2 with host Vir Sanghvi exploring culinary delights across India and Asia. India will be featured on some international shows as well. “The change is happening in our programming, and we are bringing world-class packaging too,” says Johri.
TLC has initiated a flurry of activities to create more buzz around the new programming. Recently, it brought three popular show hosts — globe-trotter Ian Wright, chef Bobby Chinn and beverage specialist Kevin Brauch — to India to engage with the audience. All three will be hosting new shows starting this month or the next.
Johri says he hopes to take TLC to 50 million homes by year-end, up from the current 35 million homes it reaches. This month Discovery Networks has also launched its Telugu feed which will further attract more viewers. TLC is now available in four languages: English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
The channel is, however, up for some stiff competition from rival NDTV Good Times which too is ready with fresh engaging content. The biggest showstopper is likely to be the Hunt for Kingfisher Calendar Girls 2011 which starts on October 11. The makers of Kingfisher calendar recently tied up with NDTV Good Times for a reality show to search for the next calendar girls. Shibani Sharma Khanna, channel head, NDTV Good Times, & creative head, NDTV Lifestyle, is hopeful that once the show goes on air, the television viewer ratings will again swing in favour of NDTV Good Times for the next three months. She stresses that the channel’s customised programming for the Indian audience will be its biggest pull. “We are contemporary yet global and carry a 360-degree urban Indian channel experience. The channel is for the urban, educated lot that spans across topics like dating and getting married, gadget, style and fashion, ownership of diamonds, shoes, accessories and so on; and, most importantly, how we eat, where we at, and with whom we eat,” says Khanna.