The growing legacy and premier leagues in India have encouraged many networks to foray into sports and to put his foot forward is Discovery Networks India. With 11 existing infotainment channels in India, Discovery has increased its penetration with the launch of DSport yesterday. The current sports broadcast (TV) market is lead by Star and Sony Pictures Network and with the launch Discovery has entered into the growing market.
The audience of Discovery has been section A & B and more of metro audience. Over the decade it was felt that to penetrate deep the content has to local and with focused efforts Discovery has come up with its new infotainment channel. With the market understanding Discovery now has Hindi & Tamil channels as well. The launch is targeted with 30 million through distribution across various platforms in India.
Other than India’s favorite sports cricket the channel will include golf, motor sports, rugby and football as well. Football is watched over by 125 million people across the world and there are many sports which are grabbing the attention of youngsters. Hence, this was the right time for DSport to come in the scene. With the existing Olympic media rights for Europe, Bundesliga rights with Sky and Wimbledon rights in 15 European markets Discovery has grown bigger and better.
The current sports market is right bet or not, nobody knows. But it is for sure that Discovery has measured the growing interest in football and poor coverage of sporting events across India. While Zee did the calculation and exited from the sports market with less funding and high cost, Discovery might be playing it safe. Discovery is willing to add more local stories and give a tough competition to existing and upcoming market players. Be ready for more entertainment in the segment with DSport and more upcoming players.