Category: Kids

MUMBAI: The creator of television services for digital video recorders, TiVo has unveiled TiVo KidZone. It is a new service enhancement that for the first time gives parents the ability to ensure that quality children‘s programming is always on when their children turn on their television sets.

The launch of TiVo KidZone comes at a time when there is a remarkable surge in children‘s daytime television viewing over the summer, which is also a time when TV viewing is even more unsupervised by parents and is a source of their growing concern, states an official release.

TiVo KidZone is based on TiVo‘s easy-to-use interface and provides all parents the freedom and flexibility to easily find and select the television programming they deem most appropriate for their families while also making it simple to easily block any programs and channels they do not want their children to view. Announced in March 2006, TiVo KidZone allows subscribers to:

— Choose from entire menus of shows recommended by a variety of leading non-profit organizations focused on children and media including Common Sense Media, Parents‘ Choice Foundation and the Parents Television Council and set automatic recordings based on those recommended menus — from their homes or using the internet.

— Easily add or subtract specific programs or channels to further customize what is available for children.

— Lock out all other live or recorded programming or channels that are not specified for TiVo KidZone from access by children, while making all channels and recordings available when a parent wants to watch television (after entering a four digit code, as with an ATM).

“TiVo KidZone answers the many concerns of parents revealed in this survey, by empowering them with a breakthrough new service and by also giving children a continuous array of engaging, high-quality programming to choose from whenever they turn on their television sets,” says TiVo president & CEO Tom Rogers. “TiVo KidZone is offering families a personalized TV area where parents‘ own judgments and the recommendations of widely respected national family media review organizations such as Common Sense Media are easily and safely applied to deliver the best children‘s television programming.”

“A number of parents of children under 18 say they are nervous about what their kids are watching, but 81 per cent in the survey say they do not utilize any blocking technology that prevents programming with a certain rating from coming into their homes. It is clear that parents need an easy to use service like TiVo KidZone to ensure that quality TV is always on at their house,” addsTiVo VP, sales & affiliate marketing, Joe Miller.

Parental concerns are highlighted in the release today of a new survey of 1,000 Americans, sponsored by TiVo and conducted with leading international research firm, Ipsos Research. The survey showed that 64 percent of parents of children under age 18 are concerned that their children will see television programming that does not reflect their family‘s values, especially as many of the country‘s children are beginning their summer vacation from school, adds the release.

MUMBAI:The series featuring the naughty antics Shin Chan that has garnered huge popularity in Europe, Latin America and the Far East, will now be brought to India. Come 19 June, Hungama TV will air Shin Chan every weekday, Monday to Friday at 5 pm.

Viewers can witness the hilarious histrionics of the Nohara family as they struggle to cope with the hurricane, that is, their five year old son, Shin Chan. Hungama TV COO Zarina Mehta said, “Shin Chan, like Doraemon, is one of the top 3 shows in the Asian region. Shin Chan‘s innocence and antics form a deadly mix designed to give entire families a wonderful time. We welcome Shin Chan to the Hungama Family of fabulous, memorable characters, which include Hero, Sanya, Doraemon, Kochikame & YuGiOh! “. Without even trying hard, Shin-Chan manages to be a one-kid disaster squad. Shin Chan can single-handedly turn a pleasant afternoon into a long and never-ending battle of wits. He provides all age groups with something they can relate to – his devilish charm, his care-free attitude, and his curiosity for new things. He just lets it all out and isn‘t afraid of what others think. This, unfortunately, is the very reason he always succeeds in invoking his mother Mitsy‘s short temper. Watch Shin Chan and his little sister, Daisy whose innocent looks are deceiving, along with his pet dog named Lucky, who is anything but that!

MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company has claimed that its The Chronicles of Narnia, has become the highest selling DVD in India. The DVD, released last month, acquired the feat by dethroning the Lion King DVD by over 30 per cent in sales.

The DVD sales were fueled on account of summer vacation and the unique sales promotion activities aimed at children.
The Narnia DVD has been topping the international DVD charts for continuous weeks since its release, according to an official release.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment International VP Daniel Solnicki says, “The success of the DVD has been phenomenal in India echoing its success worldwide (as the highest selling DVD of 2006). The growing hardware (DVD / VCD players) penetration and the aggressive marketing efforts by our partner in India are taking the home entertainment business to new heights.”

The Walt Disney Company (India) managing director Rajat Jain said, “Creativity and great stories traverse all boundaries and this movie has been a great Disney experience that audiences across India have embraced with equal fervor.”

Says M N Kapasi Excel Home Videos, “The DVD being a value product with its inbuilt language selection feature (English, Hindi) enabling the viewer to watch the movie in the language of his/her choice has further helped the cause. The pan India response has prompted us to add more Indian Languages to future editions. The huge success has also been attributed to the summer vacations and the unique sales promotions activities for children.”

Says Mehul Rathod, Movies and More,(India ‘s only exclusive chain for Movie DVDs).”The DVD has received a huge response, with the summer vacation and the unique sales promotion activities aimed at children. The DVD with its competitive pricing has done extremely well across the country. The product has been a best seller since its release, and has been our highest selling product in terms of its volume and value. “

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network is strengthening its licensing division Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) by entering into a a multi-year, multi-property deal with the toymaker Mattel Inc to produce toys and games based on the network‘s animated titles.

In an official statement issued, the license agreement covers original Cartoon Network properties for the 6 to 11 age group and also carries a first-look option on all newly created original series and programming.

As per the deal, Mattel will have licensing rights to multiple toy and games categories including vehicles, action figures, playsets, role-play, board games, puzzles, and youth electronics items for the Cartoon Network brand as well as shows including Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, The Powerpuff Girls, Camp Lazlo, Ed, Edd n Eddy, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, the newly launched My Gym Partner‘s a Monkey and The Life & Times of Juniper Lee. Existing relationships for other original series will remain unaffected by the deal.

Mattel has licensing deals with Viacom Inc.‘s Nickelodeon and movies studios as Warner Bros. and Disney-Pixar.

“We are pleased to be aligning the Cartoon Network brand with one of the world‘s largest and most respected toy companies, setting the stage for great success in the all important toy and games category,” Turner Entertainment sales and marketing president David Levy says. “We‘ve always had a very strong relationship with Mattel as an advertiser and now we are extending that into consumer products. This will enhance the brands of both companies by combining our assets as a leading entertainment company with their expertise in the global toy market.”

In 2007, the first product lines to come to market under the agreement will be toys based on one of Cartoon Network‘s most successful series, the Emmy-winning Foster‘s Home for Imaginary Friends, created by Craig McCracken, the visionary behind The Powerpuff Girls. Products for Ed, Edd n Eddy, Camp Lazlo and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy will also debut in 2007.

“We‘re confident that combining Cartoon Network‘s strength in creating original, quality programming with Mattel‘s expertise in developing innovative products will engage kids in new ways,” Mattel Brands president Neil Friedman says. “By leveraging the Cartoon Network brand as well as their original content, we‘re opening up a whole new type of creative and licensing partnership.

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Disney has announced that it has launched Disney Mobile www.disneymobile.com. It is a phone service specifically developed to meet the needs of parents and their kids.

The service allow US parents to directly manage their family‘s wireless experience.

Disney Mobile senior VP, GM George Grobar says, ‘Families have clearly told us that they have different needs than the average mobile phone user. We built a complete mobile experience that is specifically designed to meet their needs and is uniquely Disney from end-to-end. Disney Mobile will allow parents to manage their family‘s phone use and help teach kids responsible use.”

At the core of Disney Mobile‘s family plans are the Family CenterTM features, which allow parents to:

– set spending allowances and track usage for voice minutes, text messaging, picture messaging and downloadable content, receiving alerts when allowances have been reached.

– determine the hours of the day and days of the week when kids can use their phones.

– programme restricted and always-on phone numbers to manage with whom kids may communicate.

– prioritise important family messages

– locate kids‘ phones with GPS capabilities

Internet security and privacy lawyer, and founder of WiredSafety.org Parry Aftab says, “Parents and young people have both been looking for more control in their mobile phone service. After seeking control over such things as who can call or text them, unexpected charges and high-monthly bills, and access to content, they now have the answer in Disney Mobile, which has delivered on all of these desired features.”

Disney Mobile offers consumers individual and family plans. Individual plans start at $39.99 per month and range up to $169.99 per month. Family plans, all inclusive of two lines, start at $59.99 per month and range up to $249.99 per month. Additional lines can be added to any Family Plan for $9.99 per month.

The plan benefits apply only on the Disney Mobile network and may not be available while roaming. Beyond the Family Center features, Disney Mobile will offer wireless voice service, text and picture messaging, and a broad range of entertainment and content that will appeal to Disney fans of all ages. Handset pricing will start at $59.99, when purchased with a two-year service agreement.

Grobar adds, “Since we know that many parents may already be under contract with another carrier, we are making it easy for them to sign up their children for Disney Mobile and, as the Family Manager, use all of the Family Center features from the web at disneymobile.com.

“This enables them to enjoy the benefits and ease of use of managing their family‘s mobile phone experience online from home or office.”

As part of a phased retail roll-out, freestanding kiosks managed by authorized Disney Mobile dealers are planned to open in shopping malls across the country. Co-branded with Mobile ESPN, the first kiosks are open in several locations across the US.

The centerpiece of the Disney Mobile experience is its Family Center features, which include:

Family Monitor – This feature can help make surprise cell phone bills a thing of the past by giving parents the ability to manage their kids‘ cell phone use real-time. A parent can set monthly allowances for each kid for key aspects of cell phone use, including voice minutes, text and picture messages, and downloadable content such as ringtones, wallpapers and background themes. Summary usage for the entire family and each kid‘s individual usage can be tracked and once a monthly allowance is reached, both the parent and the kid receive an alert on their phone.

The parent can then decide whether to increase the allowance to receive an alert at a higher allowance, ignore the alert, or restrict the phone‘s functionality through Call Control. The Family Monitor feature is accessible through Disney Mobile phones and www.disneymobile.com with unlimited use included in all Disney Mobile calling plans.

Call Control – This allows the Family Manager to use an online tool to designate when kids can use their cell phones, as well as whom they can and cannot call. The Family Manager can choose the day of week or even the time of day they will allow their kids to use their phones, eliminating use at inappropriate times such as during school hours or late at night.

Call Control also gives the Family Manger the flexibility of programming “Always On” and prohibited numbers for added peace of mind. Even when phone use is restricted, kids will be able to call with family members on the same Disney Mobile family plan and “Always On” numbers and make emergency calls to 911. Unlimited use of Call Control is included in all Disney Mobile calling plans.

Family Locator – This allows parents to locate their kids‘ phones using advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Parents can access the Family Locator feature from their phones or from www.disneymobile.com by entering a PIN which each parent personally selects. Once access is authorized, parents can locate their kid‘s phone by selecting “locate” through the feature. When the phone‘s location has been found, the location and a map of the location including an indication of accuracy are available.

Parents can use this feature at those times when it is inconvenient to call or when they know the child will be unable to answer their phone – such as during school hours or sports practices. Five shared Family Locator searches are included in every Disney Mobile calling plan each month, and subscribers can upgrade to unlimited Family Locator searches for an additional fee.

Family Alert- This allows family members on the same Disney Mobile family plan to send each other prioritised messages so the messages are less likely to be missed. Family Alert! messages prominently appear on the handset screen whenever the phone is idle, causing family members to acknowledge messages before using the phone for other services. For instance, at the end of a school day, parents can send a quick alert about a change of plans that will appear as soon as kids open their phones. Family Alert! can either be sent to an individual family member or all family members concurrently

Disney Mobile has also simplified messaging for parents by offering a menu of preset, common family messages such as “Where RU?” and “Running late. Be there soon!” Of course, family members can also create their own unique messages. Unlimited intra-family messaging is included with the service.

Disney Mobile will operate as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) utilizing the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network. Family Center Features may not function when roaming or as a result of other network or system limitations. Kids can access the Family Monitor and Family Alert! features on their Disney Mobile phones. Online access by kids to these features will be available soon.

In addition to its Family Center features, Disney Mobile will also offer parents, tweens and Disney fans of all ages a wide variety of Disney and other family-appropriate content to personalise and customise their Disney Mobile phones. The “Theme-It” function will allow multiple screens of the phone to be re-themed with a selection of related content chosen by the subscriber.

Given Disney‘s rich entertainment heritage, Disney Mobile subscribers will enjoy a broad offering of Disney content. The Disney ZoneTM includes exclusive Vault DisneyTM content only available to Disney Mobile subscribers and applications that will extend many of the online and offline worlds of Disney. At launch, it will include a Radio Disney application that will allow direct interaction with Radio Disney itself as well as Trivial Pursuit Disney Mobile Edition, where players can test their Disney trivia knowledge or compete against other Disney Mobile players across the country. They can even track their progress and ranking through multiple skill levels on a real-time leader board.

There also will be a broad assortment of general entertainment content to complement the service‘s Disney offerings.

MUMBAI: Until now India was not as important a market for Sony Pictures Entertainment‘s (SPE) anime channel Animax and that reflected in its poor and negligible ratings. But now, with the repositioning of Animax Asia, which took place on 1 June, 2006, the network will be pushing it in India will renewed vigour.

Animax Asia has been repositioned as a lifestyle channel for the youth and will target the age group of 15 – 24-year-olds. One of the reasons for this shift was the fact that animation from Japan was moving towards a more youth-driven demographic. Hence, keeping with the pace of change, Animax too was repositioned.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, SPE Networks Asia vice president Animax programming and production Betty Tsui says, “In the last couple of years, we were not very focused on the Indian market because we underestimated the Indian youth‘s consumption of animation. Our focus initially was on the kids‘ but now we will be targeting the youth and the Indian market with renewed focus.”

“We are not a kids‘ channel and we‘re not competing with the likes of Cartoon Network and Pogo. Animax will be creating a category of its own. We are not followers. Animax will be charting out its own path,” she adds.

Apart from the re-positioning, Tsui also informed that Animax will also be looking at targeting the youth with the gaming and mobile platforms. “We will be connecting with the youth not only with animation but also with gaming and mobile. However, it is still too early to talk about it,” she says.

Animax is also undertaking an extensive lifestyle survey of their target audience in order to understand what‘s important to them and where they get their messages from. Once the results of the survey are out, the channel will be analyzing the responses received and accordingly bring about changes in the channel and its promotions.

Queried whether the channel was looking at going totally Hindi, unlike the Hinglish feed that it has now, Tsui says, “One of the questions in the lifestyle survey that we will be conducting will be Animax‘s language preference of our target audience. Based on the results, we will take the necessary changes. South Indian languages may also be a possibility as we are open to everything.”

The channel has streamlined its programme structure to target the youth segment and has also introduced an on-air creative campaign – Imagine Nation – to capture the minds of the youth. Imagine-Nation features popular personalities that are connected to the creative world of games, film, anime and design from the Asian region to share with viewers their success stories, aspirations and passion for their work. For starters, F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan and Indian Idol 2 winner Sandeep Acharya will be featured on this from India.

“We will be featuring people who are successful but not necessarily in the conventional sense of the term. Our aim is to inspire our viewers to pursue their dreams, whatever they may be,” says Tsui.

The programming line up will be spruced up with popular anime that have garnered massive followings in Japan and around the world. Animax features programmes of various genres, from action (Blood+, Trinity Blood) to sci-fi (Ghost in the Shell), romance (Paradise Kiss and Honey & Clover) to drama (Black Jack, Jigoku Shojo), and also favorites like (Dragon Ball).

A new integrated brand campaign in India will also be rolled out in a couple of weeks.