Seven new series on History TV18; India Unlimited to focus on local content

A special band, India Unlimited, to start in November, will focus on India-centric content. Another bigger bet of the channel lies on Mankind, a series that will go on air in January, 2013.

The factual entertainment channel from the TV18 Group and A+E Networks joint venture, History TV18 has planned about seven series in this next quarter (October-December). One of the most important aspects of the channels' plans is the India band that will be launched around Diwali.

Incidentally, the channel has recently completed a year; it was launched on October 9, 2011.

Christened India Unlimited, the India band will have different India-centric series. It will start with Road Less Travelled, which is a traveller's ethic of spontaneity and readiness. The programme will showcase a young and vibrant India through a traveller who tries to explore the length and breadth of the country, right from Jagannath Puri to Jaipur.

Another series under the India Unlimited band will be India on Four Wheels, which has earlier been telecast in the UK. The series depicts the individual journeys of an American, a British and an Indian.

Ritu Kapur, programming head, A+E Networks | TV18, says, "India Unlimited is sheer celebration of India. It is the portrayal of the best that the country has and the challenges faced by it. It doesn't show the typical traditional India, but also portrays the modern day India."

Apart from these two series, the India band will have special programmes on the Taj Mahal, the Kamasutra, Passage Through India with Caroline Quentin and the people who travel to India.

The other planned launches in the month of November are Bollywood Star, a four-episode series that will show Australian aspirants of the Indian film industry; Great Expectation, a series featuring Barack Obama; American Pickers, a series where the anchors will be seen buying and selling antiques and collectables; and Larry The Cable Guy, a series featuring a funny character who travels to America and experiences a variety of different lifestyles that occur only in America - the comedian explores the country and immerses himself in different lifestyles, jobs and hobbies.

Meanwhile, riding on the back of the success of Pawn Stars, the channel has planned to launch another show that depicts ancient artefacts, called American Pickers. Kapur states that the channel has realised that its expertise lies in the character-driven shows (like Larry and Passage) and the artefact-oriented shows.

She adds, "Surprisingly, when we tried to test the grounds for Pawn Stars initially, the research revealed that the audience is not interested in the ancient arts content. But when the show went on-air, it was one of the most watched shows on the channel."

She further adds that the two shows, Larry and American Pickers, may be produced locally later, once the audience receptivity is tested through the American versions.

The channel has in the pipeline Cities of the Underworld, to be launched later in this quarter. It shows the cities which were built underground. The first season is a 14-part series. The other series are 60 Hours - 26/11 A Close View (a detailed account of 26/11), The Perfect Terrorist (about David Headley) and Black Ox (based on counter terrorism measures).

The biggest bet of the channel in the next year, however, is Mankind - The Story of All of Us, to be launched in January, 2013. It is a 10-part series which will showcase the 13 major factors which have helped the evolution of mankind.

The show is currently undergoing post-production and will be first launched in the US in November. The languages (in Telugu, Tamil) of the channel will be processed by January and the show will be ready for launch in India in January 2013.

The factual entertainment genre revenue is estimate at about 200 crore. However History TV 18 has spent close to Rs 13 crore on marketing in the previous year.

Sangeetha Aiyer, general manager, marketing, History TV18, states, "The marketing in the launch year is always much above optimal. We have mostly spent on television and outdoor media since it has more connect with the audience. Hereon, however, the need to be visible is over and the channel will spend little as compared to the previous year. We plan to consolidate and leverage network synergies. We have 16 TV channels (five from the Viacom group, five from the TV18 group and six from the ETV group) to leverage the reach."

However, in the next year, the channel will spend a lot on TV (network channels) and digital media. Aiyer adds that the spend in the coming year should be close to Rs 3-5 crore. Also, the channel plans to use a lot of short formats for its biggest bet of the year, Mankind.