Breezing through

Among the plethora of film-based TV channels and programmes, one channel that stands out is Discovery. Since its inception in August 1995, the channel has built up a reputation for providing informative yet entertaining programmes on science and technology, health, wildlife, archaeology and culture. According to Kiran Karnik, chief operating officer, Discovery Channel, India, "What makes Discovery so popular is the quality of content and the style of presentation. Stunning visuals coupled with interesting narratives which bring out the human interest in the programmes have a basic emotional appeal that cuts across class, language and cultural barriers."

Discovery has recently introduced a new scheme, whereby programmes dubbed in Hindi are beamed out simultaneously with the original English version on a different audio frequency. It is left to the cable operator to decide which version to telecast, depending on the language spoken by the majority of the people catered to. The Hindi version is now available for seven hours a week. "We hope to increase this to about 20 hours a week by the end of the year," says Karnik. Also in the offing are a series of spots to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of India's Independence and 'India week', a Discovery Channel special showcasing India-centric programmes.