Lifetime, H2 debut on pay TV

MANILA, Philippines - Apparently, there is credence to the oft-uttered proposition that people — regardless of country or creed — have more things in common than they think.

A+E Networks International EVP Sean Cohen would probably be the first to assent. Under the Asian ambit of the global media content company are five channels — three of which (History, Bio, and Crime & Investigation Network) are already staples for a growing legion of reality-based entertainment fans.

While conceding there are differences in viewers’ tastes across regions, Cohen said in a recent interview that “generally, there have not been a lot of (hit shows) in the US that have not been hits… in the (Asian) region.”

He quickly adds that it doesn’t mean A+E brass doesn’t spend time thinking about how shows are “positioned and contextualized,” or if there are regional versions that would complement US-counterpart shows.

Still, the ratings have borne him out. “I think our content’s fairly beloved around the world. History is a Top 15 channel for the first quarter,” Cohen continued. First catering to our neck of the woods in 2007, A+E Networks now operates and makes available its portfolio to viewers in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and the Philippines. He added: “Our five channels, for the most part, (are) largely about big characters, big talent, investing heavily in content and entertainment.”

Cohen observed: “What we learned is that, regardless of context, great television and big characters travel in a surprising way.” Take, for instance, the great success and widespread acclaim for History’s highly-rated Pawn Stars show that follows the antics and exploits of the Harrisons as they run the family pawn shop on the Las Vegas strip. Cohen was well aware of the recent visit of Rick and Corey Harrison to Manila — a trip where they were treated like rock stars and mobbed accordingly.

A+E is now doubtless counting on its history of successes and hits as it debuts the two remaining channels of its Asian portfolio in the Philippines. If you haven’t noticed yet, Lifetime and H2 (in HD) should be on your channel list.

In a release, A+E described Lifetime as having a “heritage of high-profile and celebrated programs that attract some of the top talent in Hollywood. The network brings viewers a diversified selection of critically-acclaimed original movies, scripted dramas and unscripted programming.”

Cohen said that while History attracts a broader, mostly male audience, Lifetime “has had a tendency to skew female” — a 60/40 split — and employs a “triple threat” of content: Unscripted or reality,” movies, and drama. That, he insisted, makes it unique not just within A+E’s portfolio but the TV landscape as well. Launched in 1984, Lifetime is the leading cable network for movies among women 18 and above across primetime. A+E further reported that the channel “is the number-one women’s network among all TV networks, ranking 16th on index and quality and buzz on YouGov’s Q1 2013 BrandIndex Report.”

Meanwhile, H2 is a complementary channel to History — providing a deeper dive into events and stories from the past. The topics range from military; ancient, modern and natural history; and science and technology.

“History is generally entertaining, and happens to be informative. H2 is information that happens to be entertaining,” underscored Cohen. “It’s for information junkies (and) designed to be factual first.” However, he promised a faster pace than the old black-and-white documentaries that we were perhaps weaned on as kids.

Cohen has good reason to hope that Lifetime and H2 will generate and sustain its own cultural fixtures such as the Pawn Stars, Ice Road Truckers, Storage Wars, Duck Dynasty, Swamp People, and a number of now-familiar shows.

However, this writer asked if A+E executives ever worry of attaining a progressively bandwidth of audiences that it doesn’t attain the numbers or even, gasp, start to cannibalize sibling channels?

“We’re less worried about cannibalizing from ourselves than we are about cannibalizing from a competitor,” replied Cohen, with a smile. “It’s hard enough to get the viewers’ attention. I’m not really fussed whether they’re watching one or another. We’d rather steal from ourselves, in a way… I think our channels, while niche and will generally say what they are — (i.e. History, Crime & Investigation), they tend to broader entertainment channels… with slightly different tweak or positioning.”

So, yes, he expects there will be “audience back and forth; there will be overlap.” But there’s no need to fret about them. Rather, “we want to find the right balance between a brand that means something... and not being too narrow that we’re not attracting a sizeable enough audience.”

As far as the reality content goes, Cohen insists the family of channels will stick to its guns in what works and what the viewership deserves. “Markets are very discerning about authenticity… there are shows out there that feel contrived either because the situation isn’t real or the way it’s shot or put together.”

Still, Cohen is modest enough to admit it’s not 100-percent foolproof. “It’s a little bit of a crapshoot… sometimes it just doesn’t work and sometimes it’s magic,” he concluded.