ITV

Category: Kids

  • Pinnacle to introduce video editing & filmmaking to Indian schools

    MUMBAI: Pinnacle Systems Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Avid Technology Inc and video editing solutions provider, is set to launch an educational tool for schools in India. The company will introduce a customized programme in video editing and filmmaking called the Studio Academic Programme.


    With technology including mobiles and cameras becoming an increasing part of kids lives, the programme will teach students to capture videos or still photographs and edit them to make their own home movies and albums.


    In the first phase of its launch, the Academic programme will be introduced to schools in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore and will be launched in other cities in phase II. A special curriculum has been formulated to help students learn all nuances and become proficient in the art of video editing and filmmaking, informs an official release.



    Using the Pinnacle Studio editing software, students can now add sound effects, put labels and re-arrange the order of the pictures or video to make their own Harry Potter movies or special birthday videos and upload them on the net to share with their friends and relatives.


    Pinnacle Systems manager – India Rim Ashish Bakshi said, “Children nowadays are looking to do more beyond current hobbies like painting and drawings. With cameras and mobiles becoming a daily part of their lives, the Pinnacle Studio Editing Software can help children edit videos and still pictures to make their own favourite movies like Spiderman and Harry Potter! Not only that, with Pinnacle Studio editing children can easily upload the movies on the net and share with their friends. patriotic


    “The Studio Academic programme has been a big hit with children across the globe and we are sure it will be a great success in India too. The best part of this programme is that it taps into the ‘technologically savvy‘ new generation and offers it an avenue into the rapidly growing world of broadcasting in India.”

    Pinnacle Systems, Inc., a consumer division of Avid, helps consumers enjoy their growing digital media collections whenever and wherever they like with products covering video editing, TV tuners for the PC, mobile media, home music making, and digital media adapters.

  • Nick India is exclusive kids TV partner for ‘Dhamaal’

    MUMBAI: Nick has tied up with the upcoming flick Dhamaal as its exclusive kids TV partner.


    As part of the association, Nick will promote Dhamaal through special on air promos. Additionally, kids can participate in contests, watch exclusive promos and win the grand prize of watching the premiere with the cast Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaaferi and Ashish Chowdhry. Also starring in the movie is Sanjay Dutt.

    Nick India VP & GM Nina Elavia Jaipuria said, “At Nick our endeavor has always been to bring a smile to every kid‘s face and with the Dhamaal promotion we will further our efforts and give children an opportunity to interact with the Dhamaal stars, win specially autographed music CDs and the grand prize of winning premier tickets and watching the film with the starcast.”



    “It‘s a comedy movie with fun filled adventure and kids are going to love it. To add to this we have Sanju baba, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaaferi and Ashish Chowdhry who are a big hit amongst kids. Kids would be extremely excited to meet and greet them. At Nick our effort will also be to create exciting content around the theme of the movie which will generate kids‘ interest and thereby promote the movie far more effectively while entertaining them,” she adds.


    The film is about four characters that live and work together. Their idea of work is doing small time jobs and earning a quick buck! As one misadventure follows after another, the four are thrown into hilarious situations that have the audience in splits and guessing.


    Dhamaal producer Ashok Thakeria said, “We are pleased to be associated with Nick. Dhamaal is a fun and masti movie which will appeal to children across the nation. With this exclusive tie up with Nick we are directly talking to the children through our promos and other interesting contests centered around Nick and the movie. This promotion will surely help both Nick and Dhamaal the movie in capturing large audiences.”


    Dhamaal director Indra Kumar said, “Dhamaal is a movie that will tickle the nation‘s funny bone just as Nick as a channel is constantly trying to make kids laugh. Together Nick and Dhamaal the movie will create a riot of laughter.”

  • MTVN to launch Noggin & The N as separate channels in December

    MUMBAI: The two Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group brands Noggin and The N will be launched as separate 24-hour channels from 31 December.









    Currently, the two brands share space on a single channel. This move is part of the network‘s niche programming strategy to serve target audiences.

    “Having Noggin and The N as two separate channels alongside our Nicktoons network gives our core audiences of preschoolers, kids 6 -11 and tweens/teens their own dedicated 24-hour services, as well as more places for us to cultivate and develop future hits,” Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group president Cyma Zarghami said.


    “Making these highly valued channels separate and distinct will also provide us with the opportunity to explore serving audiences adjacent to these demos, and will provide demo- specific home bases for our vast programming library.”










    Kicking off on 31 December, commercial-free preschool channel Noogin will expand to 24- hours, as will ad-supported The N, which will serve tweens and teens with programming from Nickelodeon‘s TeeNick block during the day and continue as The N at night. Noggin and The N will be carried by all cable operators, DirecTV, AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS, informs an official statement issued by the company.


    The N will move into the transponder currently occupied by the Nick Games and Sports channel (GAS), which will evolve into a new broadband service for TurboNick.


    “Splitting these channels into two 24-hour services provides MTV Networks and our partners with wonderful growth opportunities to further reach and serve our audiences,” said MTVN content distribution and marketing executive vice president Denise Dahldorf. “The demos that Noggin and The N serve are important drivers with VOD, broadband and interactive applications, which adds to these brands‘ already incredible value.”


    Some of the new, forthcoming programming for The N includes brand-new seasons of Degrassi (October 2008), Instant Star (February 2008) and the return of South of Nowhere (February 2008) in addition to four new original series.

  • Baby DVDs, videos may hinder infants’ language development: Study

    MUMBAI: Despite marketing claims, parents who want to give their infants a boost in learning language probably should limit the amount of time they expose their children to DVDs and videos such as Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby.


    Rather than helping babies, the over-use of such productions actually may slow down infants eight to 16 months of age when it comes to acquiring vocabulary, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute in the US.


    The scientists found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies on toddlers 17 to 24 months of age. The study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.



    Lead author of the study Frederick Zimmerman says, “The most important fact to come from this study is there is no clear evidence of a benefit coming from baby DVDs and videos and there is some suggestion of harm. The bottom line is the more a child watches baby DVDs and videos the bigger the effect. The amount of viewing does matter.”


    The paper is part of a larger project looking at the trajectory of media viewing in the first two years of life and examining the content of what is being watched and its effects on young children. A paper published last spring by the same researchers showed that by three months of age 40 per cent of infants are regular viewers of television, DVDs or videos and by the age of two this number jumps to 90 per cent.


    For both papers, the researchers conducted random telephone interviews with more than 1,000 families in Minnesota and Washington with a child born in the previous two years. Television, DVD and video viewing were divided into four categories: baby DVDs and videos; educational TV programmes, DVDs and videos such as Sesame Street, Arthur and Blue’s Clues; children’s non-educational television shows and movies such as Sponge Bob Square Pants, Bob the Builder and Toy Story and adult television such as The Simpsons, Oprah and sports programming.


    The researchers found no positive or negative effects on infants of either age group from viewing educational and non-educational media or adult television programs, reveal the findings.


    The researchers believe the content of baby DVDs and videos is different from the other types of programming because it tends to have little dialogue, short scenes, disconnected pictures and shows linguistically indescribable images such as a lava lamp. By contrast, children’s educational programs, which make up the largest viewing category at this age, are, crafted and tested to meet developmental needs of preschool children.


    Zimmerman adds, “We don’t know for sure that baby DVDs and videos are harmful, but the best policy is safety first. Parents should limit their exposure as much as possible. Over the course of childhood, children spend more time watching TV than they do in school. So parents need to spend as much time monitoring TV and other media viewing as they do in monitoring their children’s school activities.”


    The researchers believe more research is required, particularly to examine the long-term effects of baby DVDs and videos on children’s cognitive development.

  • Pogo to kick off second round of Funtakshari with school visits on 4 September

    MUMBAI: As part of a four month activity, Pogo will kick off the on-ground phase of the interschool musical contest Pogo Funtakshari on 4 September.


    This version of the age old Indian game antakshari, is dedicated to kids and promises to include new innovative additions to the format. The first phase of this activity commenced on air on 15 July urging viewers to vote for their own cities. The four cities with the most votes will be chosen to host the event.


    This will be followed by the school contact programme in those selected cities and the channel plans to visit 1200 schools. The four teams that make it to the grand finale will get an opportunity to be featured on the channel as well as become an RJ for a day on Radio One in the month of October.


    With a week left to determine the four cities that will host the event, Kolkata and Mumbai are leading the pack Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad are also strong contenders in the race.








    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Turner Entertainment Networks – Asia Pacific executive director – marketing Vivek Krishnani said, “The interschool activity, which is the second phase of Pogo Funtakshari will allow children to experience the brand. This is in line with the company‘s brand promise of ‘Its My TV.‘ Our aim is to extend our brand beyond TV to become the preferred lifestyle brand for kids across the country. From the responses to Pogo Funtakshari that was held in January 2006, we decided to make the event this year even bigger.”


    The Turner Network has in the past conducted several on ground initiaves like Toon Cricket, Beyblade Championships, Toonami Game On and the Pogo Amazing Kid‘s Awards to give children a touch and feel experience to their brands.

     

  • Kid’s TV up for big battle

    As the path ahead for television in India is to adopt the ‘niche’ approach, here’s a look at one such genre: kids channels.

    An audience (4 – 14 year olds) that was previously underserved, now has its platter full with Turner dishing out two channels (Cartoon Network and Pogo), Disney three (Disney Channel, Jetix and locally acquired Hungama TV) and Viacom beefing up Nick.

    Joining the bandwagon is Sun TV’s Tamil kids channel Chutti TV. What’s more, it will soon have three little siblings in Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam.

    To add to this, BBC has also brought forth its preschool channel CBeebies to India. It, however, remains on the direct-to-home platform and has not yet penetrated into the mass market through cable.

    As the activity in the kid’s TV space heats up, Indiantelevision.com takes an in-depth look at the disposition of this segment over the last six months from January to June 2007, with support from the ratings scorecard that clearly dissects the country into iits two core markets (HSM and Southern region).

    The analysis takes into account the implications of Tam’s extended TV universe with the addition of peoplemeters coupled with DTH expansion and Cas penetration. Now that the scenario seems to have settled down, the ratings of the last six months will weave a new story for the players in this space. What is also interesting is that this duration (summer vacations April-May) is among the busiest seasons for this genre with every broadcaster punting on his best properties.

    Turner stays ahead; Nick sees max growth in Hindi belt

    While the battle in the Hindi speaking markets has been intense between the two networks Turner and Disney oscillating between top ratings, its Viacom that is leapfrogging its way up the ladder. Nick has, in fact, been the fastest growing channel in the kid’s category as it opened the year with a relative channel share of eight per cent to close at 11 per cent in June (Tam C&S 4+ HSM 4-14 years).

    Tam relative HSM channel shares from January – June 2007 for HSM
    Channels
    Jan
    Feb
    Mar
    April
    May
    June
    Cartoon Network
    27
    26
    28
    28
    26
    23
    Disney Channel
    15
    16
    15
    16
    15
    17
    Hungama TV
    21
    24
    21
    22
    21
    25
    Nick
    8
    9
    10
    10
    11
    11
    Pogo
    22
    19
    19
    18
    21
    18
    Jetix (Toon Disney)
    7
    7
    7
    6
    5
    5
    (C&S 4+, HSM, 4-14 year olds)

    Much of Nick’s growth story can be attributed to its focused efforts to win over its TG through contests and relationship building activities conducted month on month since January.

    Explaining toIndiantelevision.com Nick India VP and GM Nina Jaipuria says, “We have made a conscious effort to do what we promised at the beginning of the year, that is to connect to our loyal audiences and to acquire new audiences via our on-air and on-ground activities. This has helped increase the affinity of kids to the channel. On the ratings front, we have witnessed 67 per cent growth in TVRs which makes us the fastest growing the category across Hindi speaking markets. We have also grown by 54 per cent in reach, while the reach of the category as a whole has stagnated at 64 per cent from January to June 2007.”
     
     
     

    Coming back to the two top networks, Disney did overthrow the long standing player at the helm Turner in February and June, but what’s intriguing is that the fortunes of Disney appear to be mostly tied into the fate of its adopted baby Hungama TV which peaked during these two months clocking a share of 24 and 25 respectively. In North India Jetix has been slipping from a share of 7 to 5, while Disney Channel has been fairly consistent with an average share of 15.5. Hungama TV has emerged as the chart topper in the Hindi markets in the month of June.

    Walt Disney Television International (India) director production and programming Aparna Bhosle said that Hungama TV did drop to the third spot in January as a result of Tam expansion. “Through a huge exercise that spanned marketing, distribution and programming changes, we have found our ground and hereon I can only see us growing upward.”

    Hungama TV is now betting on comedy to take it up on the ratings front, as earlier attempts at pre-school programming, action anime and even Bollywood blockbusters failed to work for the channel. “I would admit to the fact that 90 per cent of all experiments were a failure! Now that we have overcome that phase I don’t see any room for more. We are resting our foundation on comedy and are looking to heavily concentrate on this genre that will cut across sexes. While we cater to the 4 -14 age demographic, our core audiences are 8 – 12 year olds.”

    When queried on the pitfalls that the channel encountered, Bhosle elaborated that her attempts at a pre-school block in August 2006 did not take off well, even though she re-tried this strategy in June this year as well. Additionally, action anime and Bollywood flicks were not received well by her audiences. “Besides kid’s centric Bollywood films are too few and only provide one-off spikes. I would rather focus on building properties that will consistently deliver,” she adds.

    From an All India perspective, Cartoon Network and its sibling Pogo on continued to dominate the kid’s market across the six months.

    Turner International India VP advertising sales and networks, India and South Asia Monica Tata says, “Cartoon Network and Pogo have never looked at short-term measures or short-term results, even when it was the only kids’ channel in India. As far as ratings are concerned, we have always played fair and looked at long-term ratings rather than just a few weeks.

    “Therefore, if you look at our overall performance through the year, it has been positive and we have been number one and number two channels with Cartoon Network at 26 per cent channel share and Pogo at 22 per cent, (January-June 2007 All days, All India, 24 hours, All SEC). Moreover, during the crucial summer months, when kids’ viewing is at its peak Cartoon Network and POGO, delivered a hatrick by topping the TAM charts, three years in a row.”

    Chutti makes its mark in the South

    Steering our analysis towards South India, we find that the new Tamil kid from the Sun stable has rattled up the market, especially eating into a substantial chunk of both Cartoon Network and Pogo’s audiences.

    Chutti TV was launched on 29 April but over the next two months a clear migration of audiences can be observed. The worst hit appears to be Cartoon Network which slipped from a share of 31 per cent in April to 18 and 20 per cent in the months of May and June respectively. Meanwhile, Pogo slipped from 33 per cent in April to 25 and 21 per cent in the subsequent months.

    One reason for Chutti TV’s success is that it is a free-to-air channel. Says Tata, “As far as Chutti TV’s leadership position in the Southern region is concerned, I don’t think it is fair to compare a free to air channel, which Chutti TV is in the South, with a paid one such as Cartoon Network. The ratings would be skewed in favour of the FTA channel simply because of more reach and distribution.”

    Tam relative channel shares from January – June 2007 for Southern markets
    Channel
    Jan
    Feb
    Mar
    April
    May
    June
    Cartoon Network
    29
    32
    29
    31
    18
    20
    Disney Channel
    5
    5
    4
    4
    5
    4
    Hungama TV
    2
    2
    3
    2
    2
    3
    Nick
    5
    4
    4
    4
    3
    3
    POGO
    29
    32
    33
    33
    25
    21
    Jetix (Toon Disney)
    31
    25
    28
    23
    26
    27
    Chutti TV
    –
    –
    –
    2
    21
    21
    (C&S 4+, South, 4-14 year olds)

    Sun network also controls distribution in Tamil Nadu with its cable company SCV holding a strong grip in the market. It is also a strong brand among the southern audiences.

    Making up for its dipping numbers in the North is Walt Disney’s Jetix which held on to its position in the South. Jetix garnered a share of 26 and 27 for May and June, despite the onslaught of FTA newcomer Chutti TV that gobbled up a share of 21 for the two months after launch.

    Observers say when Sun rolls out the other three versions of its kid’s channel template to cover the regional markets of the South, the fortunes of both Turner and Disney may be toppled.

    “They are a formidable opposition in the South, but this will only mean that we will be have to work much harder to maintain our position in the region,” opines Bhosle.

    Potential threat from upcoming youth centric channels?

    While kid’s channels are still trying to attract viewers from adult general entertainment channels, separate youth centric television channels are coming to the fray.

    The kid’s space may have to brace up to a bigger challenge from the slew of upcoming youth entertainment brands that are likely to snatch a large share of the older age demographic of their TG or what’s popularly referred to as the ‘tweens.’

    Responding to this Bhosle states, “We will probably see a drift in audiences and a loss of older kids but that will also be the challenge going forward.”

    Tata says, “With increased competition, there is always fragmentation. We were expecting this at some point. Any new brand has an added advantage of novelty, newness of content and high-decibel brand visibility. It does have an impact on viewers, especially when they are of such an impressionable age.”

    Amidst the growing competition within the kids arena and the threat from upcoming youth targeted GECs, is the kid’s TV space already experiencing saturation?

    While some industry experts are of the opinion that the kid’s space has saturated and the time has come to tap into another underserved section of the populace in India’s ‘youth,’ the proponents in the kid’s TV market differ on the same.

    Bhosle believes that it’s still too early for saturation of the kid’s television market in India. “We can not stop cannibalization of the market. That’s why we as a network have charted out a clear cut positioning for each of our three channels.”

    Bracing up for the months ahead Tata concludes, “We have always led from the top and not shifted or changed our strategies in reaction to competition. Our vision is to be a major kids’ lifestyle brand in the next few years. And we have been working very hard this past year to move aggressively and rapidly towards that vision. We are no longer taking baby steps but extending the brands across various platforms to ensure that we reach out to kids at every possible access point.”

  • Nickelodeon Recreation promotes Rosenstein to SVP resorts & theatricals

    MUMBAI: Nickelodeon Recreation has elevated Stuart Rosenstein to SVP resorts and theatricals. He will continue to report to Nickelodeon Recreation senior vice president Howard Smith.


    In this new role, Rosenstein will oversee licensing operations of Nickelodeon‘s expanding hotel business. He will work closely with Marriott International and Miller Global Properties in the newly developed partnership to create 20 new Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott around the globe.


    Specifically, Rosenstein will identify sites for development, oversee the creation of, and marketing worldwide for, the Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott brand, and ensure that the resorts deliver a unique experience for traveling kids and families, states an official release.


    Rosenstein will also continue to manage and lead Nickelodeon‘s live theatrical business, overseeing show development, production, marketing, franchise support, sponsorship integration, affiliate promotion, merchandise development and finances for all live theatrical productions, both domestically and internationally. In addition, he will continue to run Nickelodeon‘s live events, Costume Character Program and theatrical licensing business.



    “Stuart has been the guiding force behind the development of Nickelodeon‘s thriving live theatrical business and knows exactly what it takes to bring quality experiential entertainment to kids and families around the world,” said Smith. “His experience and skill set are perfectly suited to guide the Nick Resorts and theatrical businesses into the next wave of innovation and growth.”


    A 17-year veteran of Nickelodeon, Rosenstein launched Nickelodeon‘s touring theatrical business in 1992, taking the TV game show Double Dare on the road to sold-out venues. Since then, he has developed more than 14 major theatrical productions domestically and internationally, generating more than 10 million in attendance with over $400 million in box office revenue, adds the release.

  • US Tennis association & Andy Roddick announce completion of kid’s tennis court

    MUMBAI: United States Tennis Association (USTA) and U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick along with Horseshoe bay resort has announced the completion of the Andy Roddick USTA Kid‘s Courts at Horseshoe Bay Resort. The tennis court is specifically designed for children up to 10 years in the United States.


    The arrival of the customized tennis courts at Horseshoe Bay Resort marks the national debut of the USTA- designed pilot program is known as Project 36/60.


    Named for the length in feet of the courts, USTA‘s Project 36/60 focuses on scaling tennis down to the size and abilities of young players. The program is based on six key specifications: court size, net height, ball speed and weight, request size and scoring. A 36-foot court is used by children ages eight and under and the 60-foot courts are for children ages 10 and under.



    The program which is a collaborative effort between the USTA Player Development and Community Tennis departments, Tennis Industry Association, US Professional Tennis Association, the Professional Tennis Registry as well as tennis equipment manufacturers. It aims to increase the number of beginning tennis players, raise the retention, and to improve the technical, tactical and physical development of athletes between the ages of five and ten.



    USTA director community development Virgil H. Christian Jr. said, “It has been a pleasure to work with the folks at Horseshoe Bay Resort and with Director of Tennis Michelle Stallard. The USTA is proud to have assisted with the design and construction of the first permanent 60-foot courts in the country. It is with great pleasure they are here at the exquisite Horseshoe Bay Resort.”

  • Disney India to air ‘Tarzan’ & ‘Sky High’ feature films on 22 July

    MUMBAI: The weekends are for movies! As children‘s channels gear up for the weekends with their own movie strategy, Disney in India has lined up two films to close the week.


    Jetix will showcase the animated feature film Tarzan on 22 July at 6 pm. While sister channel Disney Channel, which is targeted at an older age demographic, will air Sky High at 7 pm.



    Tarzan is a funny tale of an orphaned infant raised by a family of gorillas whose life changes forever when he finally meets other humans.


    Sky High tells the story of Will Stronghold who is the son of the world‘s most legendary super heroes, and people expect him to live up to the family name.


    The problem is that he has no superpowers of his own. Now he must somehow survive his freshman year while dealing with an overbearing gym coach, a bully with super speed and a dangerous rebel with a grudge (and the ability to shoot fire from his hands) – not to mention the usual angst, parental expectations and girl problems that accompany teenage life.

  • Warner Bros. ups ante for release of new ‘Potter’ film

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Pictures has opened Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 4,285 locations and over 9,000 screens in the US. As part of this opening, the film is being shown digitally on 579 screens in 325 locations, more than any Warner Bros. film to date.


    With showings in many cities starting at midnight, the film also has the largest number of day-and-date international openings of any film in the franchise, with simultaneous releases in 44 markets worldwide from 11 July. This far surpasses any of the previous Harry Potter release patterns, almost doubling the 24-market release pattern of the previous record holder Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.



    In addition, Warner Bros. has generated the greatest overall number of prints for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with over 22,000 prints going to exhibitors around the world. Internationally, it is also the largest digital cinema release to date for any Warner Bros. title with over 750 screens.


    On the Imax front the film is breaking industry records, going up on more Imax screens than any previous release. The film opened on 126 Imax screens worldwide – 91 of those in the US, with many featuring the final scenes of the film in Imax 3D.


    In the film Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to discover that much of the wizarding community has been led to believe that the story of the teenager‘s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort is a lie, putting Harry‘s integrity in question. Worse, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the duplicitous Professor Dolores Umbridge.


    But Professor Umbridge‘s “Ministry-approved” course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the Dark forces threatening them, so, at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry is convinced to take matters into his own hands.


    Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves “Dumbledore‘s Army,” Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.