Discovery Science to start Hindi language feed

Come 1 October, Discovery Science will have a Hindi language feed, in addition to the English one.

Rahul Johri, senior vice president and general manager – South Asia, Discovery Network Asia-Pacific, said that the 15 to 35 age group comprises the bulk of the viewership of the English channel which launched in 2010, and that the channel enjoys dedicated viewing.

“The channel now reaches close to 30 million homes. Apart from the metros (Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata), the channel has good distribution in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” he elaborated.

The opportunity for a Hindi language feed to be added to the offering is two-fold, according to Johri. “We know the advantage of language from past experience, and whenever we’ve introduced a language, the viewership has grown geometrically. Also, it becomes more engaging and people spend more time on the channel,” he said.

In terms of advertiser presence, Johri said all mainstream advertisers are on Discovery Science, with ‘Through The Wormhole with Morgan Freeman’ receiving quite a bit of interest.

Asked whether the Hindi language offering also indicates more India-produced content for Discovery Science, Johri said, “Absolutely. The normal progression of our channels is that when they are launched, they are international channels, and as they progress, you see more and more of India. On Science, we’ve had a show called Stan Lee’s Superhumans which has featured Bangalore-based Jyothi Raj. As time goes forward, you will see more of India on Science, though it won’t be this year as these programmes take time to make.”

[Campaign India note: Channel officials have clarified that the new launch is a Hindi feed of Discovery Science, and not a new channel, as reported earlier. The inconvenience to readers is regretted.]