Discovery takes the digital route

Discovery Communications India, the television network housing the Discovery, Animal Planet and TLC brands, announced its digital foray on Thursday.

Unlike its peers, however, the network is not going the video streaming platform route. Instead, it has announced the launch of digital/mobile-first channels starting January 2018.

The majority of broadcasters have launched own overthe-top services (the term for delivery of film or TV content via the internet, without requiring users to subscribe to a traditional cable or satellite pay TV). Star India has Hotstar since 2015, Viacom18 launched VOOT in 2016 and Zee is expected to launch Zee5 in the coming weeks; it already operates two video streaming services in the form of Ozee and Ditto. Sony Entertainment Television operates its OTT service under the Sony LIV brand.

Apart from this, telecom entities Vodafone, Jio and Airtel have their own content streaming platforms. So do content creators Balaji Telefilm (ALT Balaji) and Eros (Eros Now). International players include Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HOOW.

In sum, the past two years have seen an explosion in the number of OTT platforms in the country; it is now a norm for all broadcast entities to have a digital presence. Realising the potential, Discovery will now take the plunge, using the route of digital-first channels distributed across online platforms like YouTube, Facebook Video and telecom players, including Vodafone Play and Reliance Jio.

“While it’s important to be present on digital, it’s also important to have sound financial prospects for the venture. We realised, by observing the industry in India and through our global experience that launching an OTT platform, while easy, might not be the best way for us. Instead, we’re putting out content that will appeal to the audiences that have moved online,” says Karan Bajaj, senior vice-president and general manager, Discovery Communications India.