Discovery India Adds Telugu Feed

HYDERABAD: Discovery Channel in now available in four languages in India, with a Telugu-language feed, for viewers in Andhra Pradesh, adding to existing feeds in English, Hindi and Tamil.

In Asia-Pacific alone, Discovery Channel is broadcast in 11 different languages. The new feed coincides with the celebration of Discovery Channel’s 15th anniversary in India. It rolled out October 1 and has contributed to an 81-percent rise in viewership for the channel in Andhra Pradesh.

Rahul Johri, senior VP and general manager for India at Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, noted, “Discovery Channel has always been committed towards satisfying viewers’ curiosity through its entertaining programs. The introduction of regional language feeds is aimed at increasing the channel’s connection with its audience. The launch of the Telugu feed—and before this, our Tamil and Hindi feeds—is part of Discovery’s localization strategy, which is backed by comprehensive research and supported by an efficient dubbing process and a strong distribution infrastructure.”

He added, “Discovery Channel was one of the first international broadcasters to introduce a regional-language service in India. This has helped strengthen our channel’s leadership position by ensuring the availability of content in the language that people understand or prefer.”

Discovery Channel reaches more than 53 million subscribers in India.