 "‘Will make Discovery a mass-market player’: Karan Bajaj")
Karan Bajaj, Discovery Network Asia-Pacific’s newly appointed senior vice-president and general manager for South Asia, has donned many hats in his career. While he has experience in brand management and digital strategy through his stints at Kraft, BCG and P&G, he is also a yoga instructor and literary fiction writer. Bajaj who takes over the role in October this year, talks to Urvi Malvania about his plans for the network. Edited excerpts:
Given the diversity of roles you have already executed, what’s the attraction of the new role at Discovery?
I feel my experience in writing literary fiction over the past few years will really help me. When you write a fiction novel, it has to be meaningful and entertaining at the same time. It’s similar to the content we need to out there and that is one of the challenges of the role that excited me when I decided to join the network.
I also see similarities and differences in the roles I have performed and the one I have taken up. What I think (that) is very similar is that when you are working with a brand, you need to have a very good understanding of the consumer. Also, the time that you have to communicate (about) a brand is 30 seconds. At Discovery, too, we are trying to serve a certain segment of consumers and understanding them is necessary.
The second thing is that the distribution setup is pretty analogous compared to consumer (goods). We have the retailer who is the middle man between the consumer and the brand, which is similar to the MSOs (multi-system operators) we have in broadcast. Some of the dynamics are similar to the consolidation happening in the MSO space.
What, however, is different is that my experience so far has been in short-form content and this is long-form. The challenge for me is to figure out what content has legs. Having said that, in both cases, the main thing is to be in the zeitgeist of the consumer.
What can an established network like Discovery do to keep growing?
The network has to be firmly embedded in the consumer zeitgeist. There is a seismic shift taking place and the biggest thrust would be to be part of or catalyst in that shift. How we achieve it, is something we will have to see as we go ahead. Whether it will be through doing what we have been doing or by thinking out of the box and doing something new, is a call to be taken with time.
What is the potential for audience expansion that you foresee for the market?
We as a network are skewed demographically to a certain segment – primarily SEC A and mostly English-speaking. A major area of thrust for me would be to become a successful mass market player. Deeper distribution in some markets could be a part of achieving this.
Also, we have pioneered the concept of localisation in the genre, the south Indian market will be a high priority. Right now, we have a feed in the South, but I don’t think we have had the resources to capitalise on the potential of the market. What we are doing right now with the feed is using the national feed for the South. What is needed is a ground-up approach for localisation.
With programmes like Naked and Afraid, Discovery seems to be pushing the envelope in terms on content. Will there be a shift in the content strategy in India?
Our most popular show in the past five years has been Man Vs Wild, which falls in the survival and adventure category. Naked and Afraid is an addition to that category. It is one of the top-rated shows in the US and we felt it was a nice experiment to do, since the genre (survival/adventure) does well. The intent is not to be provocative or titillating just for the sake of it. It is an edgier take on the genre since the participants are completely stripped and have to survive in the wild in the most primal state and we have all the checks and balances in place. The prep time took almost three months, and we air it at 11 pm. So, it abides by the law of the land. It does push the boundaries and I feel it is something the network will have to do to stay ahead of the game.
What is the potential to expand the portfolio of brands associating with the network? How can it be achieved?
It is pretty high. The target audience we cater to is a good fit for some of the brands we are not associated with as of now. E-commerce, for example, is a category that’s spending and can benefit greatly from our portfolio right from the flagship channel to ones that operate in respective niches.
The FoodFood acquisition will play a significant role in expanding the reach of the network to more female viewers. Right now, the core audience we are able to target is 15+ male, and the advertisers are happy. While we do have a TLC channel which has a lot of females tuning in, it is still in the premium category. With FoodFood, we hope to expand the base of female viewership, which will also help the goal of being a significant mass market player.
What is the network’s strategy for digital/online streaming platforms?
We’re looking at the space closely and will like to have a play. Having said that, we want enough non-linear content and do not see ourselves as merely aggregators. The digital play is going to be one of the most important strategies on the agenda and, hopefully, by the first or second quarter next year, we should have a chalked out plan for the same.
