DISCOVERY NETWORKS ASIA-PACIFIC MAKES ITS FORAY INTO KIDS
– Discovery Kids to launch in Asia Pacific from April 2 increasing Discovery’s portfolio in the region to eight high-quality networks –
Mumbai, March 14, 2012 – Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP), a division of leading global real-world media company Discovery Communications, today announced that it will be launching Discovery Kids in the region with India, Indonesia and the Philippines as the first markets to roll out. This announcement was made by Mark Hollinger, president and chief executive officer, Discovery Networks International at the FICCI Frames industry event in Mumbai where he was a keynote speaker.
Sharing details on the launch, Hollinger said, “Discovery Kids will offer children the ideal combination of learning and entertainment. A unique network in the kids’ genre, Discovery Kids will offer children a fun and entertaining way to satisfy their natural curiosity and explore their world with stimulating and imaginative programming. The network will ignite viewers’ imagination through its compelling and differentiated content.”
“With the entry of Discovery Kids in the region, we’ve added a new channel to our portfolio dedicated exclusively to children that reflects the content on Discovery. Parents know what to expect from Discovery – a trusted and safe environment for their children. Discovery Kids delivers on our brand promise to provide quality programming, now to a younger audience, which we hope will grow with us,” said Tom Keaveny, president and managing director, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.
Discovery Kids seeks to entertain and educate children with content that sparks their curiosity and helps to develop their cognitive, social, emotional and personal skills, bringing families together by promoting co-viewing with parents. The target audience for Discovery Kids is kids four to twelve years old and their parents, with the core target audience being kids seven to ten years old.
The core values of Discovery Kids in Asia Pacific include being transformative (by providing an immersive world that sparks wonder and curiosity), smart (by giving creative surprises for enquiring minds), playful (by stimulating learning and imagination in a fun and innovative way), and educational (by creating a trusted atmosphere for engaged learning).
Some programming highlights from Discovery Kids at launch include Discovery-produced HEADRUSH featuring Kari Byron from the popular hit series MYTHBUSTERS, THINK BIG and WILD KRATTS. HEADRUSH, an original Discovery production, provides children with an hour of games and experiences, pulling from MYTHBUSTERS. THINK BIG features journeys of young inventors who might just have the next big hit. From the “sibling alarm” to the “toilet paper headband,” each episode is peppered with fun facts, trivia, inspirational success stories and imagination labs to get the viewers to start inventing too. WILD KRATTS, an animated series created by real-life zoologists Chris and Martin Kratt, is a cartoon series with a twist – combining science education with fun and humour, young viewers can join the adventures of the two brothers as they travel around the globe encountering incredible wild animals. The series also teaches children small ways to make big impacts (such as building bat houses), while entertaining them with the Kratt’s usual antics.
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific launched its first network in the region in 1994 with Discovery Channel. It has since increased its Asia-Pacific footprint and grown its portfolio to eight high-quality networks including TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery HD World, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery Home & Health reaching over 534 million cumulative subscribers in 34 countries.
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About Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids lets children explore their awesome world and ignite their natural curiosity by providing content that is fun and enriching for growing children. The channel stimulates learning and imagination, and provides a safe environment that parents can trust. Discovery Kids offers its viewers a world of endless possibilities through informative and entertaining programming that explores adventure, nature, science, wildlife, history and technology.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 210 countries and territories. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 130-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Science and Discovery HD, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. In Asia-Pacific, eight Discovery brands reach over 534 million cumulative subscribers in 34 countries with programming customized in 15 languages.
Contact:
Melissa Tham/Charmaine Huet
melissa_tham@discovery.com/charmaine_huet@discovery.com
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