Discovery eyes mass market foray with 'JEET'

Discovery Communications, known for its niche channels in India, is gearing up for the next phase of expansion with plans to enter the mass market segment with a new channel 'Discovery JEET'.
The broadcaster is targeting to go on air with the new Hindi general entertainment channel by the end of this year or early 2018 with content themes like true crime investigations, small-town heroes and gritty survival.
"Earlier we were known as the category leader in the niche infotainment segment and now we are readying to go up to the next level with mass audience," Discovery Networks Asia Pacific SVP and GM South Asia, Karan Bajaj told PTI.

He said while TV viewing is evolving in India, there are a lot of under-served areas, specially in the mass segment.
"That's why we thought to launch a channel like Discovery JEET, where we can grow the whole category and make it much more accessible to masses with stories coming from the heartland, mounted on a larger than life image," said Bajaj.
Discovery is preparing for over 200 hours of local content originals to be premiered on the new channel. It will target young male audiences in urban as well as tier II and III cities.

Discovery Networks Asia Pacific President and MD Arthur Bastings said, "We would like to be indigenous in play and not an importer of content or product. We would like to a be a native maker and producer of content."

He said Discovery's expansion into general entertainment with JEET is part of its strategy to redefine how the network connects and interacts with new young audiences across the heartlands of India.
Discovery Communication currently has several channels in the country, including Discovery, Discovery Kid, Discovery Science, Discovery ID, Animal Planet and TLC.