NEW DELHI: In order to develop strategies and partnerships that ensure Galli Galli Sim Sim – an alliance between Turner India and Sesame Workshop – delivers, Sesame Workshop will be forming a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in New Delhi. |
Galli Galli Sim Sim’s mission is to educate and engage pre-school children throughout India and is a joint effort of Workshop and Time Warner company Turner India, which has contributed corporate social responsibility funds toward the establishment of the NGO. The India office will drive Galli Galli Sim Sim’s outreach projects and manage its network of collaborative partnerships with other NGOs, funding partners, consumers, government agencies, educational institutions, broadcasters, and production team members. “Sashwati, with over 15 years of experience in creative and management positions is deeply committed to children’s and women’s rights issues,” said Rosenfeld in a statement today. “We are thrilled that she will be joining our team to lend her expertise in raising the profile of Galli Galli Sim Sim, an initiative aimed at promoting joyful learning of basic life skills for India’s young children and celebrating the diversity that is a part of their every day lives,” she added. Galli Galli Sim Sim is a broad-based, multi-platform educational Initiative for young Indian children. A television show of the same name will debut later this year (the date being bandied around is 15 August) on India’s leading kids’ channels, Cartoon Network and Pogo. Congratulating Banerjee on her appointment, Soumitra Saha, senior VP, regional advertising sales and marketing, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia and project director, Sesame India, said, “With her Experience and well-honed skill set in the niche segment of social sector, Sashwati Banerjee is well-positioned to spearhead and successfully extend Most recently, Banerjee was the programme director and communications Advisor with Abt Associates, for the private sector partnership One Project, funded globally by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Prior to this position, Banerjee worked with the leading communications agency Ogilvy & Mather, where she was instrumental in setting up their healthcare division. In her capacity as the Business Manager, she designed and led successful campaigns for her clients in the pharmaceutical Sesame Workshop is a US-based nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in the lives of children around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching. Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales, Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Pinky Dinky Doo and groundbreaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. |
Category: Kids
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Sesame Workshop to set up NGO in India
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Disney launches Power Rangers’ merchandise, new season & contest
MUMBAI: Walt Disney India has three aces up its sleeves. The company has launched the latest season of Power Rangers — Power Rangers SPD (Space Petrol Delta) coupled with an extensive range of merchandising for the franchise and a contest weaved around the show.
The merchandising around Power Rangers includes toys, books, apparel, bed linen, stationary and mobile games. The price of the products will be in the range of Rs 50 – Rs 899.
Power Rangers now has five different series namely – Power Rangers Wild Force, Power Rangers Ninja Storm, Power Rangers Dino Thunder, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and the latest one being Power Rangers SPD. Touted as the highest performing property on Disney, this franchise airs on the Jetix block on Toon Disney and has a new series with novel adventure plots releasing every season.
Disney will go all out to promote the new multi-product merchandise launch of the Power Rangers franchise with an integrated online, on-ground and on-air campaign.
Disney’s different businesses namely Disney Consumer Products (DCP), Disney Worldwide Publishing (DWP) and the Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) have tied up with various merchandisers across India for the products. DCP has partnered with New Boy, Weekender, Funskool, Milton, Frank Educational Aids and Art for All to retail the products. DWP has tied up with Sterling Publishing to launch a wide range of comics, story books, colouring and activity books, whereas the WDIG will soon be launching a new Power Rangers game on the mobile.
Additionally, the company will also make available the merchandising in Lifestyle, Shoppers’ Stop, Archies, Pantaloon and Funskool outlets across the country.
The Walt Disney Company India managing director Rajat Jain said, “Product innovation drives Disney. Our teams, in every corner of the world have a shared passion to design and develop world class products that bring stories alive. In recent years, Disney has transformed from passive to active licensing. From a deal-making focus where relationships were singularly with the licensee without much value add from Disney beyond great brands we create; the focus has shifted to consumers, retailers and product. Now, we work with licensees and retailers as partners.”
What’s more, the channel is also planning to weave a contest around this property called the SPD contest that will aim to find the biggest Power Rangers fan in India. GlaxoSmithKline’s brand Boost ChocoBlast will be the main sponsor of the contest and will give away four special Power Rangers special edition badges with every purchase of Boost ChocoBlast. Kids will have to collect seven unique badges in order to become the biggest fan. Brands like Peppy, Maggi and New Boy have been roped in as associate sponsors for the contest. The grand prize of the contest will be a trip to the NASA museum in the US.
“With the Power Rangers show, which enjoys the highest GRPs across all kid shows in India in the 4 – 14 age group, we are confident that this contest will be immensely popular and will break all records,” said Walt Disney Television International India director programming Nachiket Pantvaidya.
In March – April this year, Toon Disney had rolled out the Power Your Rangers contest and had partnered Reliance and Britannia for the same. The contest received 523,000 entries, the highest number of mobile downloads on Reliance and also stepped up Britannia Treat’s sales by 40 per cent. Disney had branded 10 million Britannia Treat packs, which alone amounted to a display value of Rs 71 million.
“The response we got for the Power Your Rangers contest was huge and we are sure that this one surpass all expectations,” Pantvaidya added.
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Hungama TV to launch new season of ‘Hero’ on 12 June
MUMBAI: Hungama TV’s popular show Hero is back in a new avatar. Starting 12 June, the channel will air an all new season of Hero at 7.30 pm.
The show will be aired from Monday to Thursday at 7.30 pm.
Hero is a live action fantasy about the heroic deeds and adventures of an ordinary boy named Joy, who is bestowed with magical powers by Goddess Durga. This UTV produced show is back by popular demand with a new look and is packed with excitement.
Hero will be sporting a new look in a new gear and will be blessed with additional powers in the new season.
Hungama TV COO Zarina Mehta said, “Children take inspiration from their super heroes and try to imitate them. Our endeavor through Hero is to spread the message among kids on how good always triumphs over evil and each and everyone of us can become a Hero in our own special way.
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Nick Jr. debuts original mini pilots on wireless carriers
MUMBAI: Nick Jr. has launched three original mini pilots across multiple platforms with the first window kicking off on wireless carriers starting 6 June.
The mini pilots, originated from Nick Jr.‘s Institute of Applied Play, premiered on wireless carriers marking the network‘s first-ever launch of original short-form content on a wireless platform.
Nick Jr. will continue the multi-platform roll-out of the mini pilots — Pass the Pinha, Jinny Starfly and All Aboard — on Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.‘s broadband video service available on Nickjr.com and on-air on Nick Jr. television. Each of the mini pilots range in length from one to three minutes.
The Institute of Applied Play is Nick Jr.‘s creative lab, where the network partners with new talent including illustrators and writers on a variety of projects. The Institute explores a fantastic array of production techniques to produce innovative interstitials for multiple platforms. On an average, Nick Jr. produces over 15 shorts per year.
“The Institute of Applied Play is Nick Jr.‘s playground for meeting new creators and artists. We‘re excited to showcase their handiwork across all of these platforms,” said Nickelodeon Preschool Television executive creative director Brown Johnson.
The multi-platform schedule for the launch of the three mini pilots is as follows:
“It‘s not magic — it‘s science!” In the live-action and animated short Jinny Starfly, produced, written and directed by Syr-Ivan Bennett, two kids patiently wait for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly. But their patience begins to wane. Is it make-believe? Nick Jr.‘s animated science expert Jinny Starfly flies in to show them how the caterpillar changes and that it‘s not magic — it‘s science!
In the animated short Pass the Pinha, created and directed by Elanna Allen, Bing the musical bird and her siblings find a Brazilian fruit called a pinha which makes a super samba Brazilian sound when shaken. But little Bing rocks out so much that she drops the pinha, which shatters. They sadly gather around the broken fruit, until Bing nibbles on a piece and sings her conga sound. The others join in, munching and dancing to their samba song.
In the animated short All Aboard, created by Nancy Wolff, a billy goat and a raccoon turn a boring morning in to a choo-choo train game. They discover that all you need are some friends and imagination to turn a seemingly boring day into an exciting ride.
The shorts that come out of The Institute of Applied Play have a history of being used as back-door pilots. Nick Jr.‘s original hit series The Wonder Pets! which premiered in March 2006 started out as a series of interstitials called Linny the Guinea Pig. Ni Hao, Kai-lan an upcoming new animated series slated to premiere in fall 2007 began as a series of shorts called Downward Doghouse. Additionally, Nick Jr.‘s short-form series Mighty Bug 5, started out as an interstitial called The Grumpy Bug. All these are available on Nickjr.com.
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Nick Jr. debuts original mini pilots on wireless carriers
MUMBAI: Nick Jr. has launched three original mini pilots across multiple platforms with the first window kicking off on wireless carriers starting 6 June.
The mini pilots, originated from Nick Jr.’s Institute of Applied Play, premiered on wireless carriers marking the network’s first-ever launch of original short-form content on a wireless platform.
Nick Jr. will continue the multi-platform roll-out of the mini pilots — Pass the Pinha, Jinny Starfly and All Aboard — on Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.’s broadband video service available on Nickjr.com and on-air on Nick Jr. television. Each of the mini pilots range in length from one to three minutes.
The Institute of Applied Play is Nick Jr.’s creative lab, where the network partners with new talent including illustrators and writers on a variety of projects. The Institute explores a fantastic array of production techniques to produce innovative interstitials for multiple platforms. On an average, Nick Jr. produces over 15 shorts per year.
“The Institute of Applied Play is Nick Jr.’s playground for meeting new creators and artists. We’re excited to showcase their handiwork across all of these platforms,” said Nickelodeon Preschool Television executive creative director Brown Johnson.
The multi-platform schedule for the launch of the three mini pilots is as follows:
“It’s not magic — it’s science!” In the live-action and animated short Jinny Starfly, produced, written and directed by Syr-Ivan Bennett, two kids patiently wait for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly. But their patience begins to wane. Is it make-believe? Nick Jr.’s animated science expert Jinny Starfly flies in to show them how the caterpillar changes and that it’s not magic — it’s science!
In the animated short Pass the Pinha, created and directed by Elanna Allen, Bing the musical bird and her siblings find a Brazilian fruit called a pinha which makes a super samba Brazilian sound when shaken. But little Bing rocks out so much that she drops the pinha, which shatters. They sadly gather around the broken fruit, until Bing nibbles on a piece and sings her conga sound. The others join in, munching and dancing to their samba song.
In the animated short All Aboard, created by Nancy Wolff, a billy goat and a raccoon turn a boring morning in to a choo-choo train game. They discover that all you need are some friends and imagination to turn a seemingly boring day into an exciting ride.
The shorts that come out of The Institute of Applied Play have a history of being used as back-door pilots. Nick Jr.’s original hit series The Wonder Pets! which premiered in March 2006 started out as a series of interstitials called Linny the Guinea Pig. Ni Hao, Kai-lan an upcoming new animated series slated to premiere in fall 2007 began as a series of shorts called Downward Doghouse. Additionally, Nick Jr.’s short-form series Mighty Bug 5, started out as an interstitial called The Grumpy Bug. All these are available on Nickjr.com.
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Cartoon Network to premiere ‘Son of Alladin’ & ‘The Legend of Buddha’
MUMBAI: Cartoon Network will premiere two Indian animation features – Son Of Alladin and The Legend of Buddha this month.
Son Of Alladin will be aired on 10 June at 2 pm and The Legend of Buddha will be telecast on 25 June at 12 noon.
The 80 minute feature, Son Of Alladin will be shown during the channel‘s Thanda Funda programming block.
The animated movie is an action adventure thriller about Mustafa, the Prince of Basra who is hunted down by an evil sorcerer. However, he meets his ladylove and also happens to rescue his long lost parents. It has been produced using motion capture technology and a photo realistic environment.
The other animation feature, The Legend of Buddha is slated to premiere during the Cartoon Network Theatre slot. This 2D animation feature is based on the journey of Prince Siddhartha of Kapilavastu, who abandons all worldly pleasures, for one of asceticism. The storyline follows the milestones that mark the path of the Prince towards Nirvana.
Produced by Pentamedia, the two feature-length animations take the tally of local animations acquired and showcased by Cartoon Network to 11, with three of these launching in 2006.
Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. MD Anshuman Misra said, “Cartoon Network is extremely proud of its pioneering role in bringing Indian folklore and historical tales to young audiences in a format that is appealing, educating and entertaining. We are also very happy that local animation has very quickly gained its rightful place of honour on the Network, right beside the ever-popular international animation shows, demonstrating that quality content, be it Indian or international, resonates with the discerning young viewers.”
“In sync with our programming strategy of offering a healthy balance between International and Indian content, we will continue to entertain our fans across the country with no less than five additional local animation products within this year itself,” he added.
Apart from airing Indian animation features on the channel, Cartoon Network is also scouting for fresh scripts from Indian animators.
“Having paved the way for Indian animation showcase on television channels in the country, we are very enthused by the success of these shows on the Network. Taking cue from the overwhelming positive response to Indian content by viewers across the country, Cartoon Network is now moving to the next level of being involved in the creative process. The Network is scouting avenues for lending its expertise on the likes and dislikes of Indian kids to partner studios from the conceptual stage to the finished product,” adds Misra.
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Cartoon Network to premiere ‘Son of Alladin’ & ‘The Legend of Buddha’
MUMBAI: Cartoon Network will premiere two Indian animation features – Son Of Alladin and The Legend of Buddha this month.
Son Of Alladin will be aired on 10 June at 2 pm and The Legend of Buddha will be telecast on 25 June at 12 noon.
The 80 minute feature, Son Of Alladin will be shown during the channel’s Thanda Funda programming block.
The animated movie is an action adventure thriller about Mustafa, the Prince of Basra who is hunted down by an evil sorcerer. However, he meets his ladylove and also happens to rescue his long lost parents. It has been produced using motion capture technology and a photo realistic environment.
The other animation feature, The Legend of Buddha is slated to premiere during the Cartoon Network Theatre slot. This 2D animation feature is based on the journey of Prince Siddhartha of Kapilavastu, who abandons all worldly pleasures, for one of asceticism. The storyline follows the milestones that mark the path of the Prince towards Nirvana.
Produced by Pentamedia, the two feature-length animations take the tally of local animations acquired and showcased by Cartoon Network to 11, with three of these launching in 2006.
Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. MD Anshuman Misra said, “Cartoon Network is extremely proud of its pioneering role in bringing Indian folklore and historical tales to young audiences in a format that is appealing, educating and entertaining. We are also very happy that local animation has very quickly gained its rightful place of honour on the Network, right beside the ever-popular international animation shows, demonstrating that quality content, be it Indian or international, resonates with the discerning young viewers.”
“In sync with our programming strategy of offering a healthy balance between International and Indian content, we will continue to entertain our fans across the country with no less than five additional local animation products within this year itself,” he added.
Apart from airing Indian animation features on the channel, Cartoon Network is also scouting for fresh scripts from Indian animators.
“Having paved the way for Indian animation showcase on television channels in the country, we are very enthused by the success of these shows on the Network. Taking cue from the overwhelming positive response to Indian content by viewers across the country, Cartoon Network is now moving to the next level of being involved in the creative process. The Network is scouting avenues for lending its expertise on the likes and dislikes of Indian kids to partner studios from the conceptual stage to the finished product,” adds Misra.
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Disney Channel Fun Zone creates rollicking time for over 15,000 kids
MUMBAI: Disney Channel brought yet another innovative opportunity for kids to experience the Disney Channel shows, win goodies and have a blast with their family. Over 15,000 kids and families had a rocking time this weekend at Disney Channel Fun Zone at the DNA YA! Station, an indoor festival for kids organised by the English daily DNA.
In response to a clear need gap for weekend activities that are fun and involving for the entire family, Disney Channel – the entertainment partner for the DNA YA! Station designed the Disney Channel Fun Zone offering kids an opportunity to enjoy themselves with involving activities along with their families.
Of the 2500 who registered at the Disney Channel Fun Zone, 40 kids got the opportunity to watch the ever best Disney movies in a specially designed Movie Theatre.
What’s more, kids tested their acting skills at a special audition booth mimicking their favorite Disney characters and two lucky winners will be featured on Disney Channel.
Walt Disney Television International (India) director marketing and communications Tushar Shah said, “We believe in providing a complete Disney brand experience every time we establish a contact with the viewer. There is a huge need gap today, of suitable content that has stickiness on-air which can also create involving on-ground-experiences. With innovative initiatives like Disney Channel Fun Zone, we aim to bridge the gap between TV content and on-ground brand experience for the viewers and enable viewers to develop a much stronger bond with Disney Channel.”
The DC Fun Zone comprised six sub-zones, each representing a key property, which include That’s So Raven, Lizzie McGuire, Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Recess, American Dragon: Jake Long and the Disney Movies.
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Disney Channel Fun Zone creates rollicking time for over 15,000 kids
MUMBAI: Disney Channel brought yet another innovative opportunity for kids to experience the Disney Channel shows, win goodies and have a blast with their family. Over 15,000 kids and families had a rocking time this weekend at Disney Channel Fun Zone at the DNA YA! Station, an indoor festival for kids organised by the English daily DNA.
In response to a clear need gap for weekend activities that are fun and involving for the entire family, Disney Channel – the entertainment partner for the DNA YA! Station designed the Disney Channel Fun Zone offering kids an opportunity to enjoy themselves with involving activities along with their families.
Of the 2500 who registered at the Disney Channel Fun Zone, 40 kids got the opportunity to watch the ever best Disney movies in a specially designed Movie Theatre.
What’s more, kids tested their acting skills at a special audition booth mimicking their favorite Disney characters and two lucky winners will be featured on Disney Channel.
Walt Disney Television International (India) director marketing and communications Tushar Shah said, “We believe in providing a complete Disney brand experience every time we establish a contact with the viewer. There is a huge need gap today, of suitable content that has stickiness on-air which can also create involving on-ground-experiences. With innovative initiatives like Disney Channel Fun Zone, we aim to bridge the gap between TV content and on-ground brand experience for the viewers and enable viewers to develop a much stronger bond with Disney Channel.”
The DC Fun Zone comprised six sub-zones, each representing a key property, which include That‘s So Raven, Lizzie McGuire, Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Recess, American Dragon: Jake Long and the Disney Movies.
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Nick US touches a ratings high in May
MUMBAI: US kids broadcaster Nickelodeon has managed its best peformance for last month since 2002.
It managed a 3.8 rating and got 1.2 million viewers among the 2-11 age bracket. This marks a rise of seven per cent in rating and an eight per cent growth in impressions above May 2005.
Nick adds that it dominated among kid-targeted networks among the core 2-11 demo, besting Disney (2.3 kid 2-11 rating/742,000 viewers) by 65 per cent and Cartoon (1.9 kid 2-11 rating/628,000 viewers) by 97 per cent within Nick Total Day.
Online Nick.com recorded its second most visited month ever to the site, logging nearly 14.5 million monthly unique visitors in May. This marked an increase of 86 per cent compared to May 2005 and a nine per cent rise from April 2006. TurboNick, Nickelodeon’s broadband video service on Nick.com, had its best month ever with over 21 million video streams, beating the previous highest month, March by 23 per cent.
The number one stream for the month was vignettes for The Fairly Odd Parents’ special Fairy Idol, which captured nearly 2 million streams. In addition, the Fairly Idol – Fast Fame! game was the number one game on Nick.com with over 5.1 game plays, contributing to the nearly 77 million total game plays on Nick.com in May.
In addition, the Workshop has named Sashwati Banerjee to become Executive director of the NGO once it is established, while Shari Rosenfeld, vice-president, developing and emerging markets, Sesame Workshop, will oversee it.