English Entertainment
Discovery India revamps DTamil; enters GEC space
MUMBAI: Discovery Communications India has revamped DTamil into an entertainment channel which will have best of programming, curated for family audiences in Tamil Nadu, from across Discovery Network including Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Kids, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo & Scripps Networks Interactive. DTamil will therefore have a very different look and feel as compared to Discovery Channel – which continues to dominate India’s infotainment genre, with its highest quality non-fiction content available in 8 language audio feeds, including Tamil, English, Hindi, Telegu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali.
In a unique initiative which is bound to attract fun seeking audiences across the state, DTamil has roped in famous Tamil actor Karunakaran, in his maiden appearance on TV, as the host of ‘Asaalta Alaravidum Pullingo’ premiering on November 16 at 1:00 pm & 7 pm IST.
Discovery Communications India has initiated these changes keeping in view the importance of Tamil Nadu, a market with highest regional affinity, with a strong GEC presence. Discovery India’s detailed consumer study across India, including Tamil Nadu, helped in understanding consumer need gaps. The learnings from the state of Tamil Nadu clearly pointed towards an infotainment cum entertainment network – a channel which no one else except Discovery could offer. The channel started incorporating the learnings and the results are already visible with DTamil’s viewership increasing by 51% over the last four weeks with any marketing spends.
“We are excited with how the new proposition of DTamil is shaping up. It is an interesting strategy – one which leverages our strengths and offers us a long-term scale-up of DTamil, said, Discovery Communications India Director–Content, Factual & Lifestyle Entertainment – South Asia Sai Abishek. On the show with Karunakaran, Sai Abishek, added, “This is the first time that such a show has been created for discerning Tamil audiences. Fail Army is the world-wide leader in funny fail videos and Karunakaran tops and tails these videos in his own inimitable humorous way, making the entire show more endearing. We are very confident that Tamil audience will lap-up this new series.”
Speaking about his TV debut, Karunakaran, said, “I have never thought of being on TV before but couldn’t refuse this offer for two reasons. Firstly, it came from Discovery, a brand I truly love and propagate and secondly, I loved the concept of Fail Army. To laugh in the face of failure is a rare ability. It is fun, and at the same time, a strong underlying message of ‘not taking yourself too seriously’ being delivered. What a combination!”
DTamil is targeting to maximize viewership across time-bands with family friendly formats including comedy, crime, early prime programming to make it a truly differentiated brand. The prime time 9:00 pm band will be focused on tentpole entertainment led by innovative food-based shows like Cutthroat Kitchen followed by paranormal focused programming like Paranormal Witness and A Haunting at 10:00 pm. The 6:00 slot has been earmarked with non-fiction programming with the worldwide popular show Toddlers and Tiaras. Kids related programming has also been scheduled in the morning hours and evening time at 5:00 pm with shows like Little Singham, How Do Animals Do That? and Animals Unleashed.
Discovery has appointed Fourth Dimension Media Solutions as the Ad Sales partner for Tamil Nadu. Led by industry veteran Shankar. B, Fourth Dimension Media manages ad-sales for leading News Channels as well as Radio Stations in the region.
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
