Discovering the martial arts

'Red Trousers' premieres on 29 March at 9pm and features Hong Kong's kung fu movie stuntmen. Their work involves full-body, no-holds-barred contact and is not for the faint-hearted, as the 'Red Trousers' get hurt for real. The programme explores the little-known origins and motivations of this profession.

This will be followed by 'Martial Arts Hot Spots', which explores the beginnings of various martial art forms. Viewers will learn about kung fu in China, karate and judo in Japan, Thai kick-boxing and South Korean tae kwon do.

According to Oracle Airtime Sales, Discovery Channel in South Africa recently experienced an interesting shift in terms of audience, from a 35+ to a 25+ audience. Oracle Airtime Sales also reports that audience ratings delivery has increased over the last few months, from 0.6ARs in August 2005 to 0.8ARs in December 2005.