MUMBAI: Discovery will launch DMax in Germany in September 2006 in place of XXP, a free-to-air channel that the company acquired earlier this year.
The fact-based entertainment channel, DMax will focus on the lifestyles and interests of male viewers aged 20 – 49 and offers frank opinions, revealing insights and a fresh, thought-provoking perspective on contemporary life and the way we live today.
The channel will deliver the inside track on everything that is important to a predominantly male audience and will offer a broad range of locally and internationally produced content encompassing investigative documentaries, popular science, lifestyle, talk shows, real-life human interest stories, motoring and outdoor activities. DMax will occupy a unique position within the German media landscape as the only mainstream free-to-air fact- based entertainment channel.
Discovery Germany VP country manager Dr. Patrick Höerl said, “The launch of DMax represents a significant investment by Discovery to build a compelling free-to-air brand that serves an important and growing segment of the German television market. DMax will benefit from investment in content produced in Germany, a fortified technical infrastructure that extends the reach of the channel and increased marketing and programming staff.”
A significant investment will be made in programming for DMax consisting of both local German commissions and local and international acquisitions. It is expected that approximately 70 per cent of 2006 programming budgets will be invested in local commissions. DMax currently has over 1,000 new programming hours scheduled from launch in September until the end of 2006.
Discovery Germany VP ad sales Magnus Kastner says, “DMax has a unique and compelling channel proposition designed specifically to attract the young male audience advertisers want to reach. The fact-based programming provides advertisers with a contemporary and high-quality environment for their commercial messages.”
At launch, DMax will reach approximately 27 million households. The channel can be viewed on both analogue and digital satellite 24 hours a day and has extensive reach across Germany’s cable networks. DMax will be managed out of Discovery’s German offices in Munich by a growing team of media professionals.
Kastner joined Discovery Germany in May 2006 and is currently building a full-service advertising sales function for DMax, which will be comprised of more than 20 employees operating out of Munich.
