MANILA – October 30, 2013 – A+E Networks, responsible for bringing the History Channel to the Philippines, has expanded its presence in the country by launching two new channels: Lifetime, and H2.
Lifetime is a female-driven network offering dramas such as The Client List, reality series such as Masterchef Australia and Dance Moms, and Lifetime original movies such as Liz & Dick, Ring of Fire, and Sworn to Silence.
The channel launched in 1984, and has since grown to be a leading women’s entertainment network in the United States, ranking #16 on Index & Quality and Buzz on YouGov’s Q1 2013 BrandIndex Report.
H2 is a spin-off of the History Channel, providing more extensive coverage of the stories on History. It presents information in new ways, covering military, ancient, modern, and natural history, as well as science and technology.
It launched in September 2011, and has become the #1 emerging ad-supported cable network in the US among adults aged 25 to 54, delivering a 38 percent YOY growth in 2012.
At a round table interview with reporters, A+E international executive vice president Sean Cohan said explained that the two new offerings are complementary to their channels already in the Philippines.
Lifetime, for instance, complements History in that its audience generally skews female, where as History’s generally skews male.
Cohan also said that Lifestyle offers more drama-oriented content, whereas History focuses more on historical and informative features.
On why they chose to bring these to channels to the Philippines specifically, Cohan said, "You have a critical mass of people, there’s an affinity for factual, at times American content…you’ve got obviously a proximity to other markets, [there’s] a lot of different reasons why it’s attractive to us."
He also said that the success of their existing offerings, which also includes Bio and the Crime & Investigation network, makes them confident in bringing new channels to Filipino viewers.
"History having launched less than two years ago in the Philippines, and being a top two channel in the first half of 2012, that’s pretty remarkable."
Cohan also said that they are currently developing local, Filipino-specific content,which they plan to roll-out in the first half of next year.
(Photo: the contestants of Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition and their mothers)
