The newest channel to join the bouquet of channels at AETN All Asia Network (now A+E Networks’ Venture) is unabashedly female skewed, and that naturally complements the regional pay-TV broadcaster’s offering of factual entertainment that has largely attracted male audiences.

“I think that’s the beauty of our bouquet,” explains Michele Schofield, Senior Vice President of Programming & Marketing. “We have a slightly male-skewing channel with HISTORY and H2 (to be launched in June). HISTORY is a channel that is driven by ‘entertainment that offers information’. H2 is a channel that is driven by ‘information that is entertaining’. Then, we have Lifetime, and yes, it is going to skew more females. We’ve really got this bouquet that’s not only catering factual and general entertainment to men but also to women. So, it’s perfect!”

Besides the obvious Lifetime inventory to draw from (said to be the largest commissioner of original TV movies in the world), Schofield says she is very fortunate to be given the freedom (and budget) to shape the look and feel of Lifetime Asia with a combination of internal buys from the A+E family of networks (about 60%) and external acquisitions which accounts for the rest.

Tim Nolan, Senior Vice President, Marketing Creative and Brand Strategy for Lifetime (U.S.), explains that the 28-year-old Lifetime network had been primarily a movie network, and while recent programming changes had included reality and generalentertainment shows, the initiative is a continual process, and that leaves Asia some room to interpret its own channel.

“What’s great about coming from a parent like A+E Networks is that we can tap into the brainchild – what has worked for them and what hasn’t,” adds Schofield. “Certain staples aren’t really working for them so it’s been an advantage or an opportunity because I get the freedom to choose what I think are the best shows for the Asian market.”

For starters, Lifetime Asia will open its movie slate with the Lifetime original movie Liz & Dick, whose 3.5 million viewers ranked it the “fourth most-watched original movie premiere on an ad-supported cable network for 2012”. The story of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, which garnered a substantial amount of social buzz, was arguably taken over not by the decent ratings, but by the life of the actress playing Taylor – Lindsay Lohan.

Besides Lifetime original movies, Lifetime Asia’s programming lineup will include a mixture of fictional drama series and reality shows. Rather than featuring what one might call “mumsy”, Lifetime Asia is opting for the “edgy”; as seen by the key promotables in its inaugural month of launch beginning June 14. Headlining the drama category is The Client List, a Lifetime original drama starring Jennifer Love Hewitt as a day spa employee who realises her clients are asking for more than just massages! – and Unforgettable, a CBS crime drama starring Poppy Montgomery as a detective with an unusually detailed memory.

On the reality front, Dance Moms, a breakout hit for the U.S. Lifetime, will heighten the “dramatic” quotient to somewhat “cardiac-arresting” levels – watch what happens when a group of jealous mums come together with their dancing daughters’ best interest at heart.

A reality show acquired from the UK, Channel 4’s One Born Every Minute, is what Schofield hopes will bring a different dimension to the otherwise predominantly Americanised content. An observational reality-series taking place in a Southampton maternity ward, the series was a ratings winner for Channel 4, with a “Best Factual” BAFTA to boot; plus the series also re-popularised what is known as the “fixed-rig” style of shooting.

To add more “spice” to the network’s eclectic mix, Scholfield is attempting a genre that its U.S. counterparts have not ventured into – food.

A major acquisition, and a win for the network, Schofield hopes, is the latest season (Season 4) of Masterchef Australia, which will be first and exclusive on Lifetime Asia. The network would strip this to get two doses of Masterchef Australia every night of the week (during early and late fringe hours).

“We know that food, as a genre, is really popular here in Asia. We’re not necessarily trying to encroach on channels that are specifically already doing that. It’s not what Lifetime’s about. Food is passion. It’s something people feel very strongly about. In the case of Masterchef, that is a life-changing experience. That is something that will define these people’s lives for the rest of their lives. We felt like it was perfect fit in terms of the characters and the format,” says Schofield.

Schofield’s primetime grid will be a combination of stacks (theme nights) and weekday strips during the early and late fringe hours. Lifetime Asia will carry three movie nights a week, with a formula to “follow through” from movie into drama. Wednesdays through Fridays will be “reality nights”. Sunday, Scholfield says, will be the “big, promotable movie night.”

While the programming is admittedly female-skewed, both Schofield and Nolan undoubtedly see this also as a meninclusive channel.

“It won’t be like a private women’s club. The programming has changed so that men will like it too. We don’t want men running from the room when Lifetime is on. We want the men to come in as well so that they can watch together (with the women) and fight about it,” says Nolan.

Scholfield agrees. “The programmes that we are looking for are very much curated from a point of view of whether a man would walk out of the room. If he would, then we don’t want it. We want it to be a female-focused network that still encourages co-viewing. That’s especially important in Asia where in some of the markets, you are still having single-TV households. You need to cater to the family.”

The rollout for Lifetime Asia (following Lifetime Canada which launched in 2012) is but a string of global Lifetime rollouts to follow. With each international network taking on its distinctive look and feel, it’s only a matter of time we will be watching Lifetime Asia’s original productions. That, Schofield says, is already in the works. But for now, the current mix of internal and external acquisitions, coupled with the other channels that the combined A+E Networks’ Venture has to offer, will make for an attractive proposition.

“If he (the male viewer) has another TV, then go and watch HISTORY! (laughs) Either way, if men don’t walk out of the room and stay to watch Lifetime, that’s fine – we’re still getting his viewership. If he wants to walk out of the room and watch HISTORY, that’s great as well,” says Schofield, optimistically.

Lifetime Asia will launch June 14, 2013 in the following territories: Singapore (StarHub TV), Thailand (TrueVisions), Hong Kong (PPCW’s now TV), Macau (Macau Cable TV), and Malaysia (Astro).