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In a world of fiction, reality no longer bites, infact it is a welcome move. And this is exactly how Warner Bros Discovery has created its content strategy. Known for factual entertainment, the network has added a bit of zing with celebrity. The introduction of popular figures, such as Prime Minister Modi and chefs like Ranveer Brar, showcases the network’s aim to blend entertainment with credible information, thereby establishing a connection with their audience. And now it plans to expand its original content slate, exploring topics like history, crime, and adventure Moreover, the growing demand from consumers for adventure, culture and culinary exploration has paved the way for channels like Discovery and TLC. With over 120 million monthly viewers, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to reign the market. In conversation with BrandWagon Online, Sai Abishek, head, factual and lifestyle cluster – South Asia, Warner Bros. Discovery elaborates on their strategy to fill content gaps and elevate the viewing experience. (Edited Excerpts) What lifestyle content do Indian consumers favour, especially beyond platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video? Is there a particular focus on areas like food or travel? At Warner Bros. Discovery, our factual lifestyle portfolio holds about 50% of the category in terms of market share, which includes Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC, Science, Investigation Discovery, Turbo, and even our Tamil channel, GEC, where we’ve added Hollywood movies and series from Warner Brothers. Collectively, these channels reach around 120 million viewers a month, which is huge. Our goal, especially with Discovery, has always been to deliver high-quality factual and lifestyle programming in India . Since 2019, we’ve upped the game with ambitious projects like ‘Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls’, which featured stars like Prime Minister Modi, Rajinikanth, and Akshay Kumar . The launch of Discovery+ in 2020 saw us making a buzz with shows like ‘My Daughter Joined a Cult’ and ‘Legends of Ramayan’ with Amish Tripathi. We’ve also partnered with Neeraj Pandey for the Secrets franchise, exploring historical topics like the Kohinoor and Buddha relics. Just today, we dropped the promo for Star vs Food Survival with Ranveer Brar, another exciting addition. All of this has been about filling gaps in the market and elevating content in areas like crime, adventure, survival, and history. We commissioned a study with Kantar to understand how Indian viewers are consuming this type of content, and it confirmed what we had been observing. Discovery, as a brand, is synonymous with trust, and viewers come to us expecting a balance of entertainment and information. Our research highlighted that viewers still value that credibility, and we need to keep building on it. At Warner Bros. Discovery, a significant portion, around 70% to 80%, of our viewership is driven by adventure and survival programming. We wanted to elevate this in India and make it as real as it gets. So, we took an original format from Warner Brothers and localised it for the Indian audience, giving it the Discovery touch. One recent example is our survival reality show Rannvijay Singha’s ‘Reality Ranis of the Jungle’, which features 12 stars from shows like Bigg Boss and Shark Tank competing in extreme conditions. It’s been one of our top-rated shows right now. Another fun series is ‘Star vs Food Survival’, where celebs like Kartik Aaryan, Shikhar Dhawan, and Munawar Faruqui have to learn survival cooking skills while sharing personal stories. It’s a mix of adventure and reality TV with a fun twist. I read that Discovery has a slate of 3,000 hours of original content. How much of this has been completed so far, and how much is still pending? We’ve covered about 70% of the 3,000 hours of original content, and we’re in Q4 now, so the remaining 30% is rolling out as we speak. Our fiscal year follows the calendar year, and we wanted to announce this now because we have a lot of exciting content lined up back-to-back. We’re building on the strategy from the last few years and only increasing our ambition in the market. Next year, that 3,000 hours will grow to 3,500! We’re also diving into history and mythology with new franchises. For example, we recently launched a series with Amish Tripathi called ‘Secrets’, and last year we did a franchise with Manish Paul called History Hunter. There’s a growing interest in people wanting to connect with their pasts in India, which has often been viewed through a Western lens. Now, there’s a strong desire for content that reflects India’s rich history. To cater to that interest, we’ve commissioned a new series tentatively titled ‘Mystery Hunter’ with Ranvijay, who we’ve styled like an Indiana Jones character. He’ll explore ancient mysteries across India, from lost empires to ships from our past, and even take us back 66 million years to when dinosaurs roamed the country. That’s set to launch later this year. We’re also expanding our ‘Legends’ series, which was a hit with ‘Ramayan’. This time, we’re introducing ‘Legends of Shiva’, inspired by Amish’s work on the Shiva universe. While it’s loosely based on his books, it’s not a direct adaptation. On the crime side, we’re gearing up for a second season of our cult series, following the success of the Nithyananda documentary. It resonated globally and sparked a lot of discussions, even among cult members. Can you elaborate on your regional strategy, specifically regarding Tamil content? It is understood that you have revamped your offerings, with a significant amount of content being dubbed in Tamil. What additional regional initiatives do you have in place beyond this? Discovery is unique in the country because we broadcast in the maximum number of languages—seven in total including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bangla, Malayalam, and Kannada. Localisation, including dubbing and subtitling, is a key priority for us. We have a well-oiled machine for this within our network, working with studios both in India and internationally. Sometimes, we even take shows from Mexico and Latin America, dub them into English, Hindi, and other languages. Regarding our Tamil content, we have the D Tamil brand, which operates as a general entertainment channel, distinct from the Discovery Channel. The Tamil Nadu market is incredibly movie-hungry, and since merging with Warner Brothers about two years ago, we recognised the fantastic IP we have—100 years of cinema, from classics like ‘The Matrix’ to ‘V for Vendetta’. We’ve taken a selection of Warner Brothers movies and dubbed them into Tamil, and many of these films have never aired in the Tamil market before. We’ve launched dedicated bands on the D Tamil channel, where about 50% of the content is now movies. For the first time, we’re also introducing a series aimed at the Tamil audience. We produce a lot of popular DC series, like ‘Supernatural’, ‘Arrow’, ‘Legends of Tomorrow’, ‘The Flash’, and ‘Supergirl’, and we’ve recently curated and launched these on D Tamil. We went live just two weeks ago, and we’re already seeing positive audience engagement. In my opinion, the Tamil audience has been underserved, and we’ve tapped into that gap in the market. Could you discuss the shift in content strategy towards larger productions featuring popular names and celebrity involvement? How does this new approach compare to the earlier Discovery format, which focused more on documentary-style content, in terms of audience engagement and overall effectiveness? I think the direction we’ve taken over the past few years has been quite strategic. When I got the mandate to take over original productions, we identified a gap: when global programming features big stars, we needed to match that standard in India. We realised that when viewers see the brand Discovery, they don’t differentiate between local and global; they see one singular unit that represents high-quality programming, great talent, credible research, and excellent execution. Elevating the Discovery brand was crucial, especially given its strong reputation built over the last two decades. My team and I aimed to raise that stature further, true to its name. So, we got behind a lot of credible people, marrying them to the right subjects. For example, we launched Amish. After all, he knows that subject well, and Ranveer because he’s excellent with food, but we had to put him in an adventure format. We also thought it was the right time to do something never done before, like featuring the Prime Minister, which brought a unique angle to our programming. Of course, the noise and buzz generated from these high-profile collaborations bring advertiser interest, without a doubt. However, we’ve also been committed to building first-time talent. For instance, Varun Sood has transitioned from being a participant to a host in our reality shows. We felt he was at the right point in his career to take on this new role, and when we spoke to him, we realised he was ready for it. To answer your question, yes, we also build on the backs of up-and-coming people as well, not just well-established celebrities. Fresh talent is a significant part of our strategy. Even when we did a series called ‘I Should Have Stayed Home’, we launched a duo called the Big Focus, who were popular on YouTube but not established Bollywood celebrities. They have been winning awards for the last year and a half on that series. So, it’s a balanced approach. While celebrities give us that instant reach—a kind of ‘booster shot’ that opens doors at a different level—we’re also investing heavily in local talent. It works both ways. Follow us on Twitter , Instagram , LinkedIn, Facebook None
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