Discovery Communications India, one of the winners of the 25th Asian Television Awards for the category of Cable, Satellite, or Online Network of the Year has been evolving in the last 25 years that the company has been in South Asia.
Managing Director Megha Tata said, “We’re a company [that] creates world-class content, and a large part of our content is global. The beauty about our genre is it’s actually geography-gnostic, and that’s why we’ve been able to optimize our content across different parts of the world.”
The Managing Director added that one of the fundamental aspects of Discovery Communications India as an organization is its ability to tell a story that is relatable but also inspiring and entertaining at the same time.
“We have been true to our content of creating content for passionate communities and being a purpose-driven organization,” Megha said. With its content, Discovery Communications India has stood its ground in not only educating viewers but to continue to entertain and inspire.
Words for aspiring filmmakers
Megha observed that there is a lot of content being consumed from linear to digital, with consumers having a lot of choices on what to watch. One of the challenges that the Managing Director has noticed is that a lot of focus has gone into building talent in the fiction content space.
“One of the challenges I think is that a lot of focus and energies have gone into building and nurturing talent which is in the fiction content space,” Megha said. “There is an entire ecosystem which exists locally or globally to nurture great filmmaking and talent. To do so, you have to satiate the needs of fiction content,” she continued.
Megha noted there is a lack of either no intent or talent to create world-class content per se to satiate the needs of the real-life entertainment space. She said, “The genre has evolved. It is no more just about when you look at real life and you talk about real-life entertainment in Indian content. It is always about music, dance, and singing, but there’s so much more to offer. Whether it’s investigative, travel, food, lifestyle, adventure, and survival, we don’t have enough talent to create world-class content from here.”
Megha said that while there are some great things that happen, there is still an opportunity for growth. “My sort of request to the filmmaking community is that we need to nurture more content out of this market, which addresses the needs of our consumers who want to watch more real-life entertainment content,” she added.
Award-winning content that cuts across borders
From unravelling potential dangers of environmental degradation in India in India 2050 to exploring India’s patriarchy through real-life examples in Man, Woman and #MeToo, and shedding light on environmental conservation and climate change in Man vs Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Discovery Communications India stays true to its word of delivering relatable, inspiring, and relatable content.
Discovery’s award-winning content has also won awards at the 25th Asian Television Awards and is a testament that great content knows no boundaries. Megha said, “I’m really thrilled that what we created out of this market has cut across the entire region. It is a constant effort to create world-class content which not only entertains but also encourages and inspires.”
Watch out for more interviews with past Asian Television Awards winners with our coverage of the Asian Television Awards Alumni Spotlight.
