MUMBAI: Discovery is set to disrupt the OTT landscape in the country with the launch of Discovery Plus, new D2C streaming app offering premium real-life entertainment.

Priced competitively with an introductory offer of Rs 299 per annum, the app has been developed and curated specifically for India. In the initial phase, the company will reach out to the 25 million strong base of core TV infotainment consumers across tier I and tier II towns (defined as those who watch over three hours of infotainment every month).

Speaking on the occasion, Discovery Inc APAC president and International CFO Simon Robinson said, “Globally, we are observing healthy trends from direct-to-consumer businesses and Discovery Plus, with its India focused strategy, is a valued addition. The launch of Discovery Plus is a significant development for our business in India and reflects our commitment to this critical market.”

“The consumer is spoilt for choice in the scripted content space but doesn’t have a dedicated offering in the unscripted space – a place we intend to fill with the launch of Discovery Plus,” Discovery South Asia managing director Megha Tata said.

"Our large global library of 300,000 hours of premium content and expertise in owning passionate communities will give us a huge competitive advantage in the digital domain,” Tata added.

Furthermore, in order to drive engagement, Discovery Plus is launching rewards with Google Pay. Google Pay users who tune-in to the premiere of Into the Wild with Bear Grylls featuring Rajinikanth on 23 March at 8 pm on Discovery can match  the audio for the first four minutes of the show or  the promos leading up to the show with Google Pay’s ‘On-Air’ feature, and get a reward upto 100 per cent off on Discovery Plus annual  subscription price. 

The newly launched OTT service will offer thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres, including science, adventure, food and lifestyle, in eight languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali & Marathi. Discovery Plus will offer premium subscribers a large selection of never-seen-before Premium Discovery titles, must-watch documentaries, India originals and exclusive acquisitions. Free users of the app will have access to all-time favorites from the Discovery library.  Additionally, a unique destination titled ‘Shorts’ will feature hundreds of free short-form videos that will satisfy the new and emerging Indian mobile user looking for infotainment on the go.

The much-anticipated superstar Rajinikanth’s TV debut show –‘Into The Wild With Bear Grylls’ will be launched first on Discovery Plus at 6 am on 23 March much before the television premiere which is at 8 pm. Discovery Plus will also exclusive videos including Behind The Scenes for Thalaiva’s fans.

“In a digital world that’s laden with hours and hours of scripted content, Discovery Plus offers a unique and untapped opportunity for us to build on the trust of the flagship brand and offer content that truly powers people’s passions across verticals as varied as Adventure, Science and Lifestyle to name a few,” Discovery Digital (South Asia) business head Issac John said. “Over the next 12 months, the lineup includes premium content across all our key genres such as Into the Wild with Rajnikanth, Expedition Unknown, Coronavirus: The Silent Killer, Food Factory, Mythbusters, Wild Karnataka and Project Runway among many other,” he added.

The content will be curated from brands such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, BBC, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, ID, Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Motortrend and VICE.

Discovery India has conducted multiple consumer researches to find cues to develop a truly diffrentiated product. In a nationwide research conducted across 10 cities, 62 per cent of consumers indicated that they are keen to subscribe to a product that will offer interesting knowledge about the world. Additionally, research from Vidooly, indicated that interest in core categories of factual and lifestyle entertainment on YT, the world’s largest streaming platform went up by 36 per cent contributing to an overall 70 billion views in 2020. This growth and increase in infotainment consumption has been proven in the consumption pattern of the Discovery Plus destination on Daily Hunt App where over the last 12 months, over 40 million consumers have viewed Discovery short-form videos.

Discovery’s research clearly shows that even though consumers are happy with their current entertainment products, there is still a need for a trusted product that helps them stand out among their peers and that will teach them interesting things about the world. They expressed the need that in various situations in life, knowing something interesting about the world makes them seem smarter and helps them progress in life.  This specific need combined with the trust of the Discovery was a strong reason for consumers to prefer Discovery Plus as an app of choice on their mobiles. 

Discovery has launched a targeted marketing campaign ‘App Interesting toh AAP interesting’ to connect with consumers across the country.  Discovery’s network of channels including Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC, DSPORT, Discovery Kids DTamil, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery ID reaches 164 million consumers on a monthly basis and all will promote the newly launched service. In addition, Discovery has planned a strong and targeted digital campaign to reach out to infotainment genre seekers.

Content on the app

•            Thousands of hours of marquee programs featuring our top talent like Bear Grylls (Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Man vs Wild), Josh Gates (Expedition Unknown), Jeremy Wade (River Monsters, Mighty Rivers), Ed Stafford (Into the Unknown), Buddy Valastro (Cake Boss) and many more

•            4,000+ hours of content at launch spanning across 40+ genres in the language of your choice

•            Kids-friendly shows like Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Crikey! It’s The Irwins, Kids Baking Championship, The Cute Ones, How Do They Do It? The Great Indian Factory & more

•            Hundreds of blue-chip documentaries and specials – Racing Extinction, First In Human, The Great Migration, Terra, Sherpa, India Emerges: A Visual History, Apollo: The Forgotten Films

•            Exclusives and all-time favorites like Body Hack, Say Yes to the Dress, Food Paradise, Cake Boss, Gold Rush, Savage Family Diggers, Chopped, American Chopper, Deadliest Catch and more

•            #MindBlown – a curated destination featuring learning focused collections of kids-friendly science and wildlife content