Created by Ogilvy & Mather, the campaign educates the viewer about the value of the channel, adding a line that Discovery Channel will be a pay channel with an MRP of Rs 5 per month. The campaign will run in a short burst -- with four inserts in magazines and dailies, and other media options like billboards and bus shelters. Earlier on April 29, Discovery launched Animal Planet, which can be viewed at an MRP of Rs 2.50 per month.

The new campaign points out how ``The Discovery Channel helps you tosatisfy your curiosity.'' Discovery's earlier campaign-which began running in July 1998-was essentially to create pull and had a humourous approach with a tag line `Put your curiosity to better use'.

Now going a step further, the new campaign focuses on what the channel shows-and therefore highlights the brand's value delivery. One sample hook: ``If telephones had not been invented what would have happened.'' However, the main point of the campaign is to highlight Discovery's shift to MRP -- and to make its MRP strategy transparent to the end-user.

Says Karnik, ``Putting the price upfront like this helps both the viewers and cable networks. In some instances cable networks have problems in collecting subscriptions. In others, the viewers have been taken for a ride with networks charging an exorbitant amount. Almost no viewer knows what is the price of a pay channel like say, Star Movies.''

Will the tack succeed? Says Karnik, ``When we first encrypted we were worried. But the transition from free-to-airto encrypted was so smooth that we didn't lose any viewership.''

With a viewership base of over 10 million in India, an emboldened Discovery now plans to maximise its earnings through the subscription route, which accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the revenue in mature markets. Karnik feels that in the next three years the momentum may swing away from ad sales in favour of subscription revenues, which would account for nearly half of Discovery's total revenues. ``Even if we are able to win a quarter of our viewers to pay for the channel, it will be pretty good,'' he adds.

What also strengthened Discovery's decision to sell itself with an MRP was a market survey done by a publication, Cable Wave, edited by Siddartha Ray.

The survey revealed viewers were more than wiling to pay for Discovery and that a maximum MRP of Rs 11 could be charged. But Discovery eventually settled for Rs 5, after further research with focus groups.