1 April 2015: Discovery Asia headed into the second quarter of 2015 with local leadership uncertainty after the sudden exit of president/MD Arjan Hoekstra in February after only 18 months. And if the network retains some of its old programming clout, competition is fierce and the flagship channel is being challenged on every front by main rivals Nat Geo and History. Discovery Channel, for instance, topped the list of 25 prime-time shows on Astro's Learning Pack in Malaysia for the week of 16-22 March with What Happened Next?. But it took only four spots of the 25; Discovery HD World, with its separate schedule, took four spots as well. Fox International Channels; Nat Geo took seven (the separate Nat Geo HD took another two) and A+E Networks Asia's History took six, including second place for Gangland Undercover (source: Nielsen Malaysia). Discovery Channel's list of top titles in Asia for 2015 is powered by Discovery Networks International (DNI), including a new season of Manhunt with Joel Lambert featuring Bear Grylls and Louie Psihoyos' Racing Extinction. DNI original, Marooned With Ed Stafford, was Discovery Channel's most successful show in 2014, and will be followed this year with a new Ed Stafford series. Last year's hits also included the expanded Shark Week stunt, with several premieres topping ratings charts in multiple territories, says Charmaine Kwan, programming vice president for Discovery Network Asia Pacific. Local original content is also key. Local productions in Asia this year include a version of First Time Filmmakers to mark Singapore's 50th anniversary, and a new season of Taiwan's Military Elite, as well as several natural history projects from India. Local productions have worked well for the channel, Kwan says. Two specials - Revealed: Rann of Kutch and the three-part Taiwan Made - doubled the channel's total day average viewership in Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwan. Discovery's greatest programming challenge is the commoditisation of content and the diversity of viewers in Asia, Kwan says. "Localisation is key - to be able to target specific preferences, both from content as well as scheduling perspective," she adds. The greatest influence on factual content this year is the blurring lines between factual, entertainment and scripted, Kwan says. "There has been less delineation between factual, entertainment and scripted. Factual content is no longer just limited to traditional narrative documentaries and genres," she says, adding: "To create hit shows, factual content makers are mixing and matching different successful genres."ContentAsia Factual 2015