Category: Kids

MUMBAI: Who can forget braces, sweaty palms and awkward school dances? Adolescence? Arrrgh! Just as tweens head into a new school year, the next installment of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: The Worst Years of My Life? Surviving Middle School, on Nickelodeon, delves into all the slings and arrows of Middle School.
 
Ellerbee listens to kids, and some Middle School survivors including Comedy Central‘s Jon Stewart, Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), Taylor Hicks (American Idol), skateboarding star Tony Hawk, and Grammy Award-winning singers Jewel and Nelly Furtado, about that speed bump on the way to adulthood called Middle School, and what it takes to live through it.

“Whether you call it Middle School or Junior High, it‘s more than a place. It‘s a time, a sometimes hilarious, often painful and always challenging time. You‘re too young to be a grownup but you‘re not quite a kid anymore. In this episode, we give kids on the Middle School frontline, and some well-known ex-kids, an opportunity to speak out, to remind all kids that when it comes to Middle School, you‘re not crazy, you‘re not alone, and this too shall pass,” said Ellerbee.

Nick News discusses issues that kids encounter during this time: the fluctuating hormones; the realities of puberty (What is it like to be you in a brand new package?); the social insecurities (I must fit in somewhere!); the necessity of keeping up with increasingly harder school work; the pitfalls of renegotiating the relationship with your parents (They used to be so normal. When did they change?); and facing the difficult choices that no one else can make for you. The simple truth is: you‘re too young for this and too old for that.

Nick News also conducted an online poll on nicknews.com, in which kids were given the opportunity to share what they think is the hardest part of adolescence. For a majority of kids physical changes are the most difficult part of growing up with 19 per cent of respondents listing body changes as the hardest part of adolescence, followed by school work (14 per cent), fitting in (12 per cent) and romance (12 per cent). Other adolescent hardships making the list were feeling embarrassed a lot (10 per cent), peer pressure (nine per cent), parents (seven per cent), pressure to succeed (seven per cent), being comfortable with themselves (six per cent) and temptation to take risks (three per cent).

MUMBAI: Nick India general manager and vice president Hema Govindan has put in her papers. An official release cites personal reasons as the reason for her departure from Nick after being at its helm for close to a year.

MTV Networks India managing director and MTV Networks Asia executive vice president Amit Jain said, “Within the short span of her tenure Hema has done a commendable job with Nick to put it on the right trajectory of growth path. Over the last eight months, Nick‘s ratings have tripled and viewership has risen by over 30 per cent. More than anything else, she is leaving behind a team that is one of the most competitive teams in this space.”

“Nick is a priority brand for MTV Networks India and we will continue to invest substantially in this business to help it attain a leadership position in this country, as it has done across the rest of the world markets, where it occupies the no. 1 or no. 2 position in every territory.”

Govindan will continue in her current assignment till a replacement is finalised and in this period Jain would work closely with the Nick team to continue to pursue Nick‘s growth objectives for the year.

MUMBAI: As Animax grows up to appeal to an older audience, the channel will be introducing four new shows with a focus to target youth and young adults between the age of 15 – 24 years.

Animax will premier the hit action series about Full Metal Alchemist as well as the series about the teenage Ghostfighter with supernatural powers on 26 July, followed by the award winning Animax series, Count of Monte Cristo, the futuristic adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas‘ classic and Samurai 7, the adaptation of the immortal classic Seven Samurai.

Ghostfighter will be aired on Wednesdays at 7 pm, whereas Full Metal Alchemist will be aired at 7.30 pm. Count of Monte Cristo will be aired on Fridays at 11 pm and Samurai 7 at 11.30 pm.

MUMBAI: Hungama TV is all set to make a splash this monsoon with the auditions of John aur Kaun (JAK) – its talent hunt for kids that will kick-start in Mumbai on 29 July.

In the first round of Oral-B JAK auditions, 50 kids will be short-listed from the applicants on 29t July in Mumbai.

In the second round on 30 July, final eight will be selected from Mumbai. There will also be ‘on-the-spot‘ auditions for those who missed out on sending their entry from 9 am to 12 noon, on a first come first serve basis on 29 July.

The Oral-B JAK auditions will travel across five cities to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad over 58 days, with the similar selection process and will culminate in August. The most talented eight contenders per city will be flown to Mumbai for the final rounds.

The auditions will be aired on Hungama TV where kids will be seen displaying their singing, acting and dancing talents.

The selected talent pool will be further groomed by industry professionals at every step of the contest. By a process of elimination, the final four candidates will be put up for a nationwide voting process via SMS / televoting, following which the final two winners will be announced at an event in Mumbai.

Finally, one boy and one girl will be chosen to act in a UTV-produced movie with Hungama TV‘s brand ambassador John Abraham and will also be presented with a cash prize of Rs 500,000 each, along with a three year contract with UTV to manage their acting careers.

Hungama TV COO Zarina Mehta says, ‘‘We are delighted to be moving into the auditions phase of Oral B John aur Kaun. We look forward to encountering some hugely talented kids, two of whom will get the chance of a lifetime to act with John in a UTV film. Excitement levels amongst kids around the country are at fever pitch, so let the show begin!”

Oral-B JAK has received an overwhelming response and UTV has announced a refund of Rs 400 to those who have applied and paid an entry fee of Rs 500.

For spot auditions, kids needs to go to the audition center with their parent/guardian and pay Rs 100 as an entry fee. UTV will get their entry forms filled and photographs taken and take the audition.

MUMBAI: Star Plus is kicking off its programming series with high advertiser participation with the kids talent hunt show Rin Mera Star Super Star. The channel has teamed up with the FMCG major Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) for the initiative. Endemol India has been roped in as the producer of the show.

Rin Mera Star Super Star is a nationwide talent hunt dedicated to unearthing talent in children aged 5-14. The programme promises to offer a national platform for talented children to showcase their potential in three categories – singing, acting and dancing. The winning contestant will get a scholarship of Rs 5,00,000 to help him/her pursue the dream of becoming an artist or to take up future education, states an official release.

Rin Mera Star Super will be aired every Friday on Star Plus at 7:30 pm beginning September 2006.

With Rin Mera Star Super Star, HLL‘s brand promotion, Rin Advanced White Star Hunt, is being taken to national television. Since June, over 1,00,000 children across 22 cities have already auditioned and the entries are still coming in. Around 2,000 schools are also participating in the audition process. The top 50 kids from across the country will compete for the coveted crown on Star Plus, the release adds.

Speaking on the initiative, says Star India ad sales & distribution president Paritosh Joshi said, “This is our first show of this scale, which has focused on strategic brand solutions. And for the first time an advertiser, with the brand, Rin, is a strategic content partner. To enliven brands in the minds of consumers through content takes our partnership with advertisers to a new level, making us a partner of our advertisers.”

HLL marketing manager Priya Nair adds, “Rin is all about making an impression and a talent hunt among kids is the perfect arena. Many children are blessed with amazing talent and Rin provides them with a great platform to make an impression.”

Says HLL media services GM Rahul Welde, “This marks a new approach to brand building with a much higher level of engagement than the more traditional forms of commercial advertising. The launch of this show is a true win-win association for Rin and Star, providing Rin a nationwide platform from which to communicate with consumers and Star, an excellent format show to entertain its audiences”.

Endemol India MD Rajesh Kamat offers, “Rin Mera Star Super Star is a combination of entertainment and branding, a concept which will be brought alive on TV in a fun and exciting show. This is one of the first local formats that we have developed and we look forward to creating many such shows for Indian television”.

Also read:
Star India to weave advertiser funded shows

MUMBAI: 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. will soon give kids instant, 24-hour access to some popular properties with the launch of the 4Kids TV VOD channel on Comcast On Demand from 7 August.

Featuring shows such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sonic X, Kirby and Winx Club, the new 4Kids TV VOD Channel will offer 10 hours of non-stop action and adventure with new episodes added every two weeks.
 
Presenting six program menus, the 4Kids TV VOD channel will premiere with over two hours of exclusive, never-before-seen episodes of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters series on Yu-Gi-Oh! Only On VOD. Capsule Monsters pits the heroes against a new crop of ancient monsters who are out to destroy them. To defeat the monsters, the kids must now work together as a team and abandon their trusty Duel Disks for different technology – Capsule Shooters.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will also premiere with a TV exclusive – five new adventures – on TMNT Only On VOD. The action continues to heat up on 4Kids’ Action menu, featuring the best episodes of G.I. Joe, Ultimate Muscle and WMAC Masters. Sonic X headlines Video Game Stars, and is joined by Kirby, Right Back at Ya!, along with other fast-moving stars of the video game world.

The Anime menu premieres with the mystical Shaman King and Japanese hit Mew Mew Power. And, the Winx Club menu features five of the most exciting Winks Club adventures ever shown on television.

“We are thrilled to be extending our most popular brands through this new agreement with Comcast, one of the true pioneers in the VOD marketplace. VOD brings a Web-like immediacy to television that gives viewers quick-and-easy access to the programming they want, when they want it. Given the platform’s ability to refresh programming without the limitations and time constraints of a fixed program schedule, viewers are certain to return to the channel often for fresh programming options, giving 4Kids a loyal audience that is primed for our programming and promotional efforts,” said 4Kids Production president Norman Grossfeld.

“Video on demand is a great platform for kids to enjoy their favourite programs. The addition of the 4Kids VOD Channel will give viewers even more great choices, including exclusive premieres of never-before-seen episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We’re excited to be working with a leader in children’s programming like 4Kids and look forward to launching their programming on Comcast On Demand,” said Comcast vice president content acquisitions Matthew Strauss.

MUMBAI: It‘s time for the third edition of the Pogo Amazing Kids Awards (PAKA) and this time the fun and frolic around the awards is set to double. Unlike its previous two editions, this time round apart from airing the awards on Pogo in December, the channel will also weave programming around it.

“We will be presenting PAKA in a serialised format this year comprising 19 episodes over a period of seven weeks, which will showcase the kids who are shortlisted in the award categories,” says Turner International India vice president advertising sales and networks (India and South Asia) Monica Tata.

What‘s more, for the first time, the show will also weave interactivity around it wherein viewers can SMS and vote in for their favourite kids in various categories. The call of voting for Paka will start from 15 September and will end of 31 October. The awards will be held in December.

The series will begin airing on 4 November. The first eight episodes will be non-category specific, profiling episodes, with the viewer getting to see five amazing kids every episode. The ninth episode will be a re-cap and episodes 10 – 17 will have the top three kids‘ pitched against each other vying for the top rung by impressing the jury, viewers and thereby getting their votes. Episode 18 will again be a re-cap and also the curtain raiser to the finals. Winners will be announced in the 19th episode.

The winners will get a child benefit policy worth Rs 500,000 and will also get a change to be on Pogo through 2007. Derek O‘Brien‘s company will manage the entire selection and search process for PAKA 2006.

The search for the 40 kids from eight categories (five kids per category) of arts, sports, music, singing, dance, genius, leadership and entertainment will begin on 1 August and end on 20 August. These 40 kids will further be shortlisted to 24 (three per category).

Tata added, “Having the distinction of being the country‘s only televised kids‘ awards, as also a unique platform that acknowledges India‘s wealth of budding talent and kids‘ choices, Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 aims to raise the benchmark for children‘s awards in the country through audience polls and a panel of illustrious judges whose combined feedback would determine which amazing Indian kid bags each of the eight coveted titles. Right from the solicitation phase up to the grand finale, every phase of Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 will truly reflect Pogo‘s promise of being a channel that Indian kids can call their own.”

PAKA is divided into two sections – Pogo Voice Awards and Pogo Kids Awards. The Pogo Kids Awards segment will recognize exceptional talent and brilliance and reward them for their extraordinary talents in multiple areas.

The channel has tied up with Bata as their on-ground partners, wherein kids can avail of the entry forms from any of the 850 Bata outlets across the country. Forms can also be downloaded from www.Pogo.tv and information can also be found by sending an SMS to 8558.

Apart from that there are two presenting sponsors (Horlicks and Parle G) and six associates sponsors (Kellogg‘s, Big Babol, Kissan, Reynolds, Munch and Ganuchi Shoes).

To promote PAKA 2006, Pogo will kick off an integrated media campaign comprising outdoor, print, internet and school contact programmes. Mailers will be sent out to 200,000 kids across India and school contact programmes will be held in approximately 3000 schools.