TLC will be launching 8-10 new series in the next 3 months: Rajiv Bakshi

TLC is all set to premiere the second season of ‘Style Inc’ on October 20, 2016. The show with celebrity stylist Aalim Hakim will air every Thursday and Friday at 10 pm, with repeat telecast on Saturdays and Sundays at 6 pm on TLC and TLC HD World.

Season 2 of ‘Style Inc’ will feature Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditya Roy Kapur, Ayushmann Khurrana, Tiger Shroff and Sanjay Dutt, among others. Viewers will watch Aalim transform their favourite stars for movies, photo shoots and ad films, and will showcase the relationship they share with Bollywood’s go-to stylist.

Launching the series, Rajiv Bakshi, Vice President - Female & Family Entertainment Products – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, said, “We are overwhelmed with the tremendous response the series has received on social platforms. Aalim is the go-to stylist in Bollywood and viewers will get direct access to the latest trends in grooming and styling. Style is the new buzz word and no one does it better than the new generation of Bollywood actors. A must watch television.”

Celebrity stylist Aalim Hakim added here, “It is so exciting to witness this shift in India towards styling and grooming. I am super charged to be doing the second season of ‘Style Inc’ with TLC. Fans will get to see Bollywood’s youngest and most stylish stars and get to know their style mantras.”

Known for his fresh styling techniques and diverse interests, Hakim has contributed significantly to the country’s hairstyling industry and has gained wide recognition in the sector.

Rajiv Bakshi speaks to Adgully about the concept of the show ‘Style Inc’, growth of the lifestyle genre in India, what has helped TLC create differentiation over the years and more. Excerpts:

What was the thought process behind ‘Style Inc’?
TLC as a channel has always been ahead of the curve in terms of setting trends. There was a trend on makeovers a few years back and we had a show on that. Today, the trend is styling and who better than Bollywood stars that represent style? And with Aalim Hakim as the host, who is pretty much the coolest stylist that we have in Mumbai and who share a great relationships with the Bollywood stars plus his ease in style in terms of hosting the show – we feel that this is the perfect show for television.

How did you associate with Aalim Hakim for the show?
Aalim and I have had a long relationship. We did Season 1 of ‘Style Inc’ in 2013, where understood each other’s strengths and we felt that we could come together and produce a concept which has not been shown or tried on television earlier. Essentially, TLC tries to show what has not been done on television both in terms of format and in terms of concept. Aalim has never been on television and the concept of styling has also never been done on television, and when we got this combination, TLC is the only channel which shows this.

What is TLC’s content strategy? Earlier, the proportion of global content was higher on the channel, but now we have started to see more of Indian shows.
Well, I would say that the India content is still less, but certainly a significant portion and these are high impact shows. From the days of Living with Superstar Shah Rukh Khan to the shows that we have today, they are very much differentiated, high in impact and quite cool. Something which has never been done on television; the strategy has always been to do content which is differentiated and I think that’s what has helped the channel to stand out.

How challenging is it to create this differentiation?
TLC has been differentiated from day one. So, I think from the differentiation point of view we have always been ahead of what anybody could have thought about – both from the brand point of view and content point of view. The biggest strength of TLC has been this differentiation from day one.

What do you think about growth of the lifestyle genre?
I think the way India is changing and the demand for certain types of content by the millennials, the lifestyle genre is on a great growth path.

What kind of content works in the lifestyle genre?
Lifestyle, as the word suggests, is very dynamic, which means what worked three years ago might not work today or tomorrow. Food shows, relationship-based shows, dating shows and of course, grooming and makeover shows – a combination of these is working very now. However, even if you get the concept right, it eventually comes down to the host and the storytelling that you incorporate.

What is the kind of content that today’s generation wants to watch the most?
Today’s generation, as I had earlier, wants to watch content which is relevant to their daily lives, hence, grooming, styling, relationship, dating, food and cookery shows, as well as travel. Relevance is the critical thing with this type of viewership, especially when we are talking about millennials.

How has the performance of TLC been?
In one word – fantastic!

What are the new shows that are coming up on TLC in the next couple of months?
We will be launching about 8-10 new series in the next three months, which will cover topics like food, relationships, India.

Any new genres you are planning to focus on and introduce in the coming days?
Dating and relationship with a difference has not been tried before. This is the most relevant subject for today’s millennials.