News Broadcasting
Discovery gets all fashionable with high heels
MUMBAI: Infotainment channel Discovery has caught the fashion bug. It has acquired the one hour special High Heel Confidential from Canadian firm CBC.
It has also licensed Rainbow’s Full Frontal Fashion London, Full Frontal Fashion New York, Full Frontal Fashion Milan and Full Frontal Fashion Paris for its viewers. Its sister platform, Discovery Asia, licensed six one-hour episodes of Ultra Eye for its fashion conscious audience.
CBC produces high-end documentary specials and series for broadcast on CBC Television/Newsworld and international broadcasters.
High Heel Confidential CBC says takes a bold step into the the world of high heels and the passion surrounding them. Shoes are hot: in 2004, sales generated close to $40 billion in the US alone and this year, that number is expected to rise another 20 per cent. This lucrative market is now shadowed by a growing underworld of fakes and knock-offs that are consumed almost as eagerly as the originals. Some women are so mad for shoes they’ll reshape their feet and destroy their bank accounts to satisfy their obsession.
High Heel Confidential travels the globe to bring viewers interviews with the world’s top designers, including shoe superstar Manolo Blahnik, whose rare public appearances draw groupies more typical of a rock band than a shoe designer. Viewers will also women who line up for hours, eager for a chance to meet the shoemaker of their dreams and, of course, buy his exquisite shoes, which can cost as much as $7500 a pair.
Viewers will also meet Patrick Cox, who thinks he has what it takes to play in the big leagues. Stepping out with his own brand of high heels, Cox takes High Heel Confidential behind-the-scenes for a revealing look at the trials and tribulations of an ambitious designer on the cusp of stardom- from courting international buyers in Paris to wooing celebrity clientele in Hollywood.
The show also takes a walk in Dublin, Ireland – a gateway for smuggled goods into the European Union. Custom officials give the lowdown on a shipment of fake Guccis on their way to consumers’ feet. The show also looks at women who are obsessed about high heels. There’s no telling the heights they’ll climb for them, including cosmetic surgery to shape the ideal foot. And then there are the women just need their heels to make a living, from the fetish heels of Toronto dominatrices to Las Vegas shoe models.
What is it about footwear that drives such madness, secrecy and obsession? To many, no price is too high, no sacrifice is too great for the greatest love of all: Shoes.
Meanwhile in Rainbow Media’s show Full Frontal Fashion, viewers will get to see the hottest looks straight from the spring and fall 2006 runway collections of today’s most talked about designers. Viewers will gain access to a fashion event that will unveil New York bridal fashion featuring every big name in the business – Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera and Vera Wang.
Full Frontal Fashion then jets of to Miami to give viewers a front-row seat at the newest and hottest American Fashion Week, the Sunglass Hut Swim Show. The work of designers like Rosa Cha, Carmen Marc Valvo and Shay Todd will be showcased.
Ultra Eye meanwhile is a lifestyle and travel show. Heer viewers will get to visit stylish cities and meet the people who are keeping those cities at the cutting edge of design and style. From Steffen Duemlet, designer of Berlin’s famed Sony House, to David Tang, Hong Kong’s most famed style-maker, Ultra Eye introduces viewers to the people and places that are shaping these internationally famous cities.
Some of these cities include, Marrakech, a style that is uniquely Moroccan. Tour North Africa’s original marketplace, The Souk, and be a personal dinner guest of Mohammed Zkhiri at the restaurant Yacout.
Rainbow Media adds that China’s CCTV HD has licensed 10 hours, including 15 half-hour episodes of Reservations Required and five half-hour episodes of Ultra Space. Reservations Required takes viewers behind the scenes of the hottest and most talked about restaurants in three of the food capitals of the world. New York City, Hollywood, and Napa Valley, California. Discover the secrets to creating dramatic dining experiences that keep everyone, the ‘so-hip’ celebrity crowd, the stargazers, and the ‘foodies’ ? buzzing. Some of these hot spots we enter are ’66’, owned by superstar Jean-Georges Bongerichten and ‘Nick & Toni’s’ where the stars flock during Summer breaks in the Hamptons. The show will look at the design of the restaurant to the menu and kitchen trade secrets.
Ultra Space takes the viewer on a major style journey. Go inside innovative residential spaces designed to speak to the tastes of a modern world. From New York to California, experience the ultimate in home design and style.
Hosted by fashion and decor journalist Melissa Barrett Rhodes, the series thrills the eye with three home tours in each half hour episode. Some of these include the sleek Manhattan home of Lisa Ling, go inside architect Lee Mindel?s penthouse apartment and visit the urban oasis designed by Hariri & Hariri.
Hong Kong’s ATV has picked up 13 episodes of Gallery Tours and 12 episodes of Magnificent Obsessions. Gallery Tours explores great collections of art from the world’s foremost galleries and museums. Each hour show selects highlights from an individual museum or gallery and explores the work’s aesthetic, composition, visual effect, meaning, relevance, and relationship with the world at large.
These programmes Rainbow says give the viewer the sense that he or she has literally taken a guided tour of the best museums and galleries in the world, and seen the most notable art pieces each has to offer. The galleries featured include The Saatchi Gallery in London, The Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Sammlung Hoffman Gallery in Germany.
Korea’s OnMedia has picked up the Reservations Required series. CJ Media licensed the series Full Frontal Fashion Miami and a one-hour special Swim Suits Secrets Revealed for its Korean audience.
UBC Thailand took a mix of art and lifestyle series, including Reservations Required, Ultra Space, Gallery Tours, Art In Unexpected Places and Magnificent Obsessions. In the last mentioned show viewers will meet collectors who have amassed collections. Each half hour episode features two obsessive collectors with world-class collections. Viewers will hear the stories behind their obsessions and learn what makes these rabid hunters tick. The show will also go behind closed doors to see some of the most treasured collections in private hands.
The show also focusses on the man behind the largest collection of Statue of Liberty memorabilia and artifacts. Also take a trip back in time and the collector who covets all things Harry Houdini. Viewers will also see how Scooby Doo sparked David Scheve’s obsession with animation art. Then they can check out Paul Kowlschuk’s highly regarded yet odd collection of pottery and ceramic art.
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI:Â Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
