Warner Bros. Discovery unveils factual entertainment content slate for South Asia

Warner Bros. Discovery aims to programme 3,000 hours of global and local content in India in 2024 and scale it to 3,500-4,000 hours in 2025.

The company, premiered 2500 hours of content last year, is commissioning both Indian originals and acquiring international titles from partner networks to cater to diverse audiences.

Several new Indian shows including reality shows hosted by Varun Sood and Rannvijay Singha, sequels to popular series like Star vs. Food Survival and Cult, and documentaries exploring history and mythology are slated for release across discovery+ and linear channels like Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and TLC. Additionally, Warner Bros.’ Hollywood library will be dubbed and localized for the DTamil channel.

“We are investing in shows that can work both on linear channels as well as discovery+. Ninety percent of what we programme goes on TV and OTT concurrently so our marketing overlaps and is effective. The idea is to make sure audiences know of titles and can watch them wherever convenient,” Sai Abishek, head of factual and lifestyle cluster at Warner Bros. Discovery, South Asia, said in an interview with Mint.

The company recognizes that certain genres, like crime, are more suited for OTT platforms. Therefore, these shows often have an exclusive OTT premiere period before they are made available on linear channels, he added.

“The challenge is to supply high-quality content faster because the audience is extremely hungry. There are few players in this category so we have to do the heavy lifting, which is why we are trying to build teams and back local talent so that the category turns into a ‘must-have’, not a ‘could have,” he added.

He also said that discovery+ will primarily focus on a subscription-based model, rather than relying heavily on advertising.

The company operates in a cluttered video market that hosts both foreign players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video as well as homegrown entitles like ZEE5 and JioCinema. Platforms, which began scaling back investments in 2022 following rising global pressure on their parent companies, and sluggish subscriber growth, have remained cautious through 2023 and 2024.

The slate on discovery+ also includes Chris Brown: A History of Violence and Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking along with BBC offerings like Dynasties (season two) and Frozen Planet II. Discovery Channel, meanwhile, will launch five new series, including Bear Grylls’ Jesus: Refugee and Josh Gates’ Expedition Unknown (season nine), alongside Naked & Afraid (XL season nine) and Naked & Afraid: Last One Standing (season two).

Foreign streaming apps new to India’s crowded market are taking baby steps, as low returns in a price-conscious market deter them from making big bets with local originals. While Warner Bros. has delayed the launch of HBO Max, it has licensed its content to JioCinema. Apple offers Apple TV+ through Airtel XStream but lacks local originals. Crunchyroll, an anime brand, operates in India, but does not make any local content.

Industry experts attribute this caution to poor advertising, subscription revenues, and limited audience reach for niche content. LiveMint