In the coming months, Fox History and Entertainment is set to launch five new series and shows on the channel.
The new programming lineup includes fresh content in shows such as Tudors, Over There, Iconoclasts, Deconstructing Design Icons and Mera India.
Rajesh Sheshadri, vice-president, content and communication, Fox History and Entertainment, says, “The fresh shows will be rolled out in mid-March and April. The new content will continue to engage, inform and entertain our viewers. Tudors is a period drama on the life of Henry VIII and we are pitching it as the biggest property amongst the new launches, along with the special series, Mera India, hosted by actor Irrfan Khan.”
Deconstructing Design Icons will bring into the limelight interesting people and the stories behind various marvellous machines. Over There is a drama series based on the war in Iraq, which won an Emmy nomination. Iconoclasts will showcase 12 creative visionaries such as Oscar winner Sean Penn and Hollywood actors such as Robert Redford.
Sheshadri shares that Fox’s target group (TG) comprises the metro male in the age group of 25+ years. To appeal to viewers, the content is divided into categories such as War, Technology, Sports, India Special and Movies, with Special of the Week on Sundays. The channel has 10-13 hours of original programming covering one theme each day.
Sheshadri says that so far, the slowdown has had no negative impact on the growth of Fox History and Entertainment. He confirmed that it will continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate than last year.
Fox India is positive about getting licences to launch three new channels, Fox Crime, FX and Baby TV, in 2009. These new channels will be launched on the digital platform.
Sheshadri commented on the content and programming for the new launches, “Our philosophy is to come in the market with distinct positioning for all the individual channels. To achieve this, we determine our markets either by genre or TG. Fox History and Entertainment is a good example of leading by genre and the upcoming channel, Baby TV, will be identified more by our TG, which will include young parents of kids in the age group of 0-3 years.”