TV with Thinus: Tatiana Lagewaard

Showing posts with label Tatiana Lagewaard. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 3: IN IMAGES - 9 photos of the media breakfast and press screening & 4 sizzle reels including a special Home Town surprise message.

On Day 3 of Discovery Inc.'s 3-day press tour for the media launch of its HGTV channel in South Africa, the day kicked off with a light breakfast and coffee and the Grand Provence wine estate in Franschhoek, followed by a press screening of the content on the channel that included a special video message, a cellar tour and wine blending experience, followed by a gourmet wine-paired lunch.

MultiChoice has added Discovery Inc.'s latest TV channel, HGTV (DStv 177) to its DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.

On Day 3 the invited media and Discovery Inc. executives all went with shuttles to the luxurious Grand Provence wine estate nestled within the vines of the Franschhoek Valley, about an hour's drive from Cape Town.

The cold and wet winter weather was perfect for a warm cosy indoor day ... watching television!

At the wine estate, Discovery Inc. with the help of the Cape Town-based events solution company Show Works, welcomed media with coffee-to-order and a barista behind the coffee machine alongside a delectable array of breakfast pastries and fruit in the art gallery.

Then media were ushered into the screening room with a choice of luxury popcorn (and various toppings like chocolate).

Tatiana Lagewaard (vice president of lifestyle and pay-TV production for the EMEA region), did the screening presentation and introduced several of the new shows that are part of HGTV's programming schedule to the media and played several sizzle reels.

The first sizzle reel was a promo for HGTV's Flip or Flop, Flip or Flop Nashville, Good Bones, Home Town, and House Hunters, followed by a show reel for My Lottery Dream Home.

After that Tatiana Lagewaard told the media more about the show Good Bones, and then showed an edited episode of about 20-minutes to give the press an indication of how the show looks.

The HGTV screening day was then capped off with a 20-minute edited version of an episode of Home Town that was screened.

At the end Discovery Inc. had a lovely surprise in the form of a specially-recorded video message from the stars of Home Town, Erin and Ben Napier, talking about HGTV being launched in South Africa. "HGTV is coming to South Africa guys! This is so exciting!" said Erin.

After the screening, the media went to the Grand Provence cellar for a wine blending exercise with everybody who went home with their own bottle of wine, followed by lunch.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer Kathleen Finch says HGTV 'is a channel tailor-made for people who love their homes - and there are a lot of those people'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Tarek El Moussa, the star of Flip or Flop on HGTV says it's 'a magical channel about real people working on real houses' and reveals what home means to him.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Announcing Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa and a new teaser trailer.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Discovery Inc.'s Africa boss Amanda Turnbull says new channel HGTV on DStv is about real people but also aspirational, 'which is why we fought really hard to have it on Compact as well so more people can see it'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference: Ads on HGTV won't get in viewers' way, instead it will add to the viewing experience.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: MultiChoice on why it decided to make HGTV available to DStv Compact subscribers as well: 'The content speaks to everybody'.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: HGTV in HD - why MultiChoice launched Discovery Inc.'s latest channel in high definition on DStv and the factors influencing what quality version a TV channel is launched and seen as.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Will Discovery Inc.'s latest channel have local content? MultiChoice explains how it works with international third-party TV channels.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Press conference - Why Discovery Inc. launched it so quickly in South Africa after acquiring Scripps and Africa's growing importance as a pay-TV market among global content suppliers.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference - HGTV's surprising answer on design trend-spotting and staying ahead of the curve with what viewers want to see next.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: INTERVIEW - Flip or Flop star Tarek El Moussa: 'I feel like I have a very intimate relationship with HGTV because I feel like I've grown with them'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN IMAGES - 20 photos of HGTV's gala rooftop dinner at the Zeitz Museum in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 3: IN IMAGES - 8 photos of the Grand Provence media lunch.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch press tour - An overview.

Monday, July 29, 2019

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

Left to right: Aletta Alberts, Kathleen Finch, Amanda Turnbull

Discovery Inc.'s new HGTV channel in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service will be both inspirational and aspirational, said Discovery Inc. and MultiChoice executives in their opening remarks at the HGTV press conference.

Discovery Inc. held an executive press conference for the media, with Discovery Inc. executives and MultiChoice's content boss who attended and who took a wide range of questions during the afternoon of Day 2 of Discovery Inc.'s 3-day press tour for the launch of its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel in South Africa.

HGTV was added on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.

Held at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town where Discovery Inc. executives, as well as the media from across South Africa and the Middle East, stayed for the press tour, the always wonderful Lee Hobbs (Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region) served as moderator.

Fielding questions from the press were the extremely capable and experienced, well-versed and knowledgeable TV executives (and an all-women panel!) Aletta Alberts (MultiChoice's head of content strategy), Kathleen Finch (Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer), Amanda Turnbull (vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region) and Tatiana Lagewaard (vice president of lifestyle and pay-TV production for the EMEA region).

Amanda Turnbull in her opening remarks said "We are delighted to bring HGTV here. We have such a huge channels portfolio (here) already. I think it's really important how we make sure that this portfolio is complementary because we need to cycle viewers around TLC, ID, Food Network and now HGTV".

"In theory, it's the same sort of demographic but in reality it's all slightly different. We're going to get very targeted. We're going to think about the daypart strategy, but the idea is with us, with our networks it is all about real-life entertainment."

"So if you like real television - and in this South African market everybody watches an enormous amount of TV - you want a trade-off. If you give your time to TV you want something tangible back in return and that's what we do. That's why people really love us."

"Specifically with HGTV, it's going to be both inspirational and aspirational," said Amanda Turnbull.

"We will give people ideas that they can potentially use, but at the same time it is entertainment and it's inspiring. It's also real people. There's always a sense of jeopardy. Will this person make it? So that's what we want to bring into the portfolio. It's going to be more great stuff."

Aletta Alberts in her opening remarks said "I think HGTV is a great brand because it's the one thing we were missing, home and garden - especially garden. People are very interested in gardening and they often ask us for gardening programmes".

"The most important thing for me is how you can migrate audiences within these brands now, because you can cross-promote, and that for me is the great thing. You don't have to lose the audience, they can stay there within the cluster," said Aletta Alberts.

"What is really, really amazing is that we see demographics that you would not expect on these channels - kids for instance. So all of a sudden they get very involved in this and we would see the kids genre losing audience and going to channels like TLC and makeover type shows which is really interesting".

Kathleen Finch, in America described as the "Queen of cable TV", in her opening remarks said "HGTV is real people, doing real things. A lot of our shows appeal to the entire family because you watch it and an interesting process unfolds".

"It's a cool before-and-after makeover, its tools, its paint, it's people moving in and out, it's earthmovers putting trees in. So HGTV is fun to watch as a family, it's very family-friendly which is something that's very important to us."

"We take great pride in the fact that your 5-year old can come into the room while mom is watching and you never have to change the channel. Ever. We're so proud of the quality of our content. HGTV teaches you, it inspires you, it never offends you. And all of our shows have a wonderful, happy ending and that's on purpose," said Kathleen Finch.

"We know that our target audience - which is a working mom - she's been working all day, she comes home, she makes dinner for her family, and she sits down and it's her time, and she wants to relax with something that is going to entertain her but it's also going to teach her something."

"We've also opened it up so much that she's watching but her husband walks into the room - he's sees something interesting, and he watches as well. So we created this really robust family viewing opportunity for people and you can watch it without any guilt because you are learning something. But you also love to see the story unfold with an ending that sometimes surprises you, but it always makes you feel good."

Tatiana Lagewaard in her opening remarks said "what's really important is that we worked really closely with Kathleen Finch and her team in the United States, because firstly they have so much experience of the brand and they know all the in's and out's with all of the data they have from viewers already".

"So we worked really closely with them to work out the schedule that really caters to the viewer. We have marathons where people can binge-watch and where they can stay on HGTV for hours and we also have themed nights, so we make it easy for viewers for instance on Mondays it's a certain type of shows, on Sundays it's another type of shows".

"We make it really easy for viewers to recognise what content they can see on HGTV on what night."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Tarek El Moussa, the star of Flip or Flop on HGTV says it's 'a magical channel about real people working on real houses' and reveals what home means to him.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Announcing Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa and a new teaser trailer.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.

Discovery Inc. held a media launch for its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa in the form of a 3-day press tour in Cape Town that kicked off with a beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a multi-storey Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.

The Cape Town based events solution company Show Works conceptualised and executed Discovery Inc.'s incredibly beautiful, unique and extremely impressive HGTV cocktail party on the Day 1 evening of the HGTV media launch week.

The cocktail party took place at Villa Beyond, the stunning home of the South African architect, Stefan Antoni. The 6-level luxury mansion is suspended over the highest point in Clifton - South Africa's most expensive suburb - and its panoramic views over the Atlantic Ocean are some of the very best in Cape Town.

Discovery Inc. executives who jetted to Cape Town from the United States, Dubai and Amsterdam, mingled with the South African and Middle East media, as well as advertisers and ad execs, alongside MultiChoice executives, sipping champagne and nibbling on the light supper on offer as everyone watched a magnificent winter sunset.

High-ranking Discovery Inc. executives included Amanda Turnbull (vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region), Kathleen Finch (Discovery's chief lifestyle brands officer), Lee Hobbs (senior vice president for pay-TV and global brands for the EMEA region), Tatiana Lagewaard (vice president of lifestyle and pay-TV production for the EMEA region), and Henry Windridge (head of brand at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region).

High-ranking MultiChoice executives who attended the cocktail party included Yolisa Phahle (MultiChoice CEO for general entertainment), Mark Rayner (MultiChoice South Africa CEO), Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee (CEO of DStv Media Sales), and Aletta Alberts (MultiChoice head of content strategy).

Also in attendance were Stefan Antoni himself, as well as the American TV talent Tarek El Moussa of HGTV's Flip or Flop who flew to Cape Town for the media launch.

The beautifully executed HGTV cocktail evening set the perfect tone for the channel's launch.

"We're incredibly proud and excited to launch HGTV in this market," said Amanda Turbull.

"I must say Stefan, thank you so much. I don't think we could have chosen a more perfect venue to start the HGTV channel launch than this wonderful, wonderful house. It's a wonderful way to start the channel here."

"This has really been a great journey for us to bring HGTV to the South African market. It's one of the first international channel launches since the acquisition of Scripps. We're very proud that our South African partner, MultiChoice, can be part of that journey with us," said Amanda Turnbull.