History TV18 announces three initiatives

Focuses on local content with 'History Har Din' and 'The Greatest Indian'; launches Urdu as its 8^th language feed

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | February 27, 2012

History TV18, the India edition of the world's leading factual entertainment channel launched on October 9, 2011 in a joint venture between TV18 and A+E Networks, has announced three major forthcoming initiatives. The initiatives were announced by the brand ambassador of the channel, Salman Khan, at a press conference in Mumbai on Friday, February 24.

Within five months of its launch, the channel has launched its 8th language feed, in Urdu. History TV18 has announced the launch of 'History Har Din' – a user generated content initiative for online, social media and other platforms; and 'The Greatest Indian' – the channel's first big-ticket local production in association with CNN-IBN.

'History HAr Din' is an innovative UGC (user generated content) concept where viewers are invited to share instances from their life when they too have made history. The pioneering format is a first by any factual entertainment channel in the country and is based on the channel's brand position of 'History Made Everyday' – that history is more about achievement and is made every day by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Through this initiative, viewers are invited to share images or videos that capture their life's biggest successes, turning points, most inspiring and endearing moments or just plain fun experiences -- anything which they believe were points in time when they truly created history.

Entries can be submitted by visiting HistoryHarDin.in.com. The best of the 'history making' stories will be telecast on the channel in the coming months. The press conference also saw Salman Khan sharing an image from his personal collection.

While History Har Din is about regular people, the channel's first joint production with CNN-IBN, 'The Greatest Indian', features India's best known faces. The initiative is set to trigger a national debate on 'Who is the greatest Indian after Independence?' The show format is based on a path-breaking series featured on BBC called 'The Greatest Briton'. Launched in 2002 in the UK, the initiative reached out to millions of viewers and broke significant viewership records there. An astounding 21 countries have successfully adopted this format since then.

History TV18 is now available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi and now Urdu.

Speaking on the occasion, Ajay Chacko, President, A+E Networks | TV18, said, “The initiatives truly exemplify what History TV18 stands for -- the celebration of human spirit to succeed and achieve against odds -- to make History. While 'History Har Din' celebrates the human spirit through achievements of regular people, 'The Greatest Indian' commemorates those who have made invaluable contribution to the nation, through popular vote. Through these initiatives, we believe we will make significant inroads towards our objective of broad basing the genre.”

Commenting on the partnership, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN18 Network, said, “At CNN-IBN, we have always believed in celebrating the idea of India with all its unmatched diversity. What better way then to partner History TV18 in this pathbreaking programme to find out who is the greatest Indian after Gandhi. In today's world of social media, every Indian has a chance to be part of this inclusive debate and we hope that millions will join us in this exciting adventure.”

Said Salman Khan, “History TV18 has successfully created a special place for itself in the minds of Indian audiences with its edgy, lively, fast-paced and differentiated content. The channel has already begun to whet the audience's appetite for more of its kind. With the launch of these two initiatives, the channel is all set to engage with viewers in more ways than one.”

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