MUMBAI: In the recent past Discovery has made some serious efforts to push Animal Planet. A couple of years ago it conducted roadshows with the aim of connecting closer with the viewers.
This resulted in some viewership gains. Now the channel is looking to take things a step further on air by introducing time bands.
Similar to what Discovery had done way back in 2001 Animal Planet's new time-band strategy will give viewers the chance to enjoy programmes of their interest at a particular time. The channel aims to reach out to viewers with more compact programming through its new programming schedule.
Animal Planet brand director marketing Raja Balasubramanian said, “The introduction of ‘time bands’ will help in our marketing endeavours to promote appointment viewing, programme slots and channel recall.
“The selection of the time bands and the programmes to be aired has been chosen after we conducted a thorough research among our existing and prospective viewers. This is an attempt to reinforce our commitment to the Indian audience.”
Starting from the first quarter of 2006, Animal Planet will introduce four time bands. They are Funzone, Safari, Masters of the Jungle and Unexplained, Unexplored.
In the Funzone time band Animal Planet pays tribute to the joy that animals bring. It features episodes of the series The Planet’s Funniest Animals and Amazing Animal Videos. The series delves in the humorous and lighter aspects of pets.
The Safari time band is devoted to the experiences of jungle safari. Some of the programmes that will be aired in the series are Most Extremes, Indian Safari, Natural World, Predators, Young & Wild and Equator.
The third time band Masters of the Jungles encapsulates a series of world’s most exotic and dangerous animals. The series includes The Snake Buster, Chimpanzee Diary, Corwin’s Quest, Nick’s Quest, Ultimate Killers / Deep Into the Wild, Bugggin with Rudd and Crocodile Hunter Diaries.
On Unexplained, Unexplored viewers can watch shows like Animal Miracles, Pet Powers, Supernatural, Nightmares of Nature, Beyond the Unexplored, Animal X, Twisted Tales and Unexplained, Unexplored. The programmes in this space reveal the sixth sense that prevails in animals and how they can predict the unforeseen.