Discovery Networks Asia Pacific is considering the launch of its over-the-top (OTT) platform in India once 4G services are rolled out across the country.
“As the bandwidth constraints get eliminated and once 4G is really in place in the country, we will start evaluating the Discovery offering in India,” Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific EVP Rahul Johri said in a statement.
The plan follows the company’s launch of its OTT offering in some European countries, including two direct-to-customer products dubbed “Dplay" and “Eurosport Player.”
“We are building a good pipeline and have been constantly giving Indian viewers a whole host of shows that are being produced in India. So, we hope to continue doing the same,” said Johri.
Discovery Networks has a viewership base of 270 million in India for its various channels — Discovery Channel, Discovery HD World, TLC, TLC HD World, Animal Planet, Animal Planet HD World, Discovery Science, Discovery Kids, Discovery Turbo, Investigation Discovery (ID).
Discovery, which is airing a four-part series on Mumbai CST titled “Mumbai Railway,” is also increasing India-specific shows to cash in on its growing viewership.
Talking about plans to introduce vernacular languages on other channels, Johri said Discovery is available in five languages.
“Language is something we are constantly evaluating,” he said. "In the last year or so, we have added Hindi to all our channels."