ITV

Category: Kids

  • Celebrate Republic Day with Motu Patlu’s 18th made-for-television movie – ‘Motu Patlu the Superheroes – Super Villains from Mars’

    Celebrate Republic Day with Motu Patlu’s 18th made-for-television movie – ‘Motu Patlu the Superheroes – Super Villains from Mars’

    MUMBAI: This Republic Day, Motu-Patlu will embark on a all-new adventure, fighting evil to protect the citizens of Furfurinagar and Modern city in their upcoming TV movie ‘Motu Patlu the Superheroes – Super Villains from Mars’ premiering on Sunday, 26th January at 12:30 pm only on Nickelodeon. India’s favorite duo have always won over evil in any shape, size or form and has made us believe in the power of unity and the motto of “Good always triumphs over evil”. On the 70th Republic day, with its 18th made-for-television movie, witness Motu Patlu on their rollercoaster space tour to fight the villains from the planet Mars.

    This exciting new adventure ‘Motu Patlu the Superheroes – Super Villains from Mars’ will see Motu Patlu fighting three high-tech robbers – Pinky, Panky and Ponky who have come to rob Furfurinagar and Modern City from spaceship. While Motu- Patlu are trying to save the city, they get caught in a cosmic collusion. Though Motu Patlu manage to save themselves and in the process villains get superpowers and decide to take revenge from Motu Patlu and rob the entire world.

  • Star Movies Kids is the new kid on the block

    Star Movies Kids is the new kid on the block

    MUMBAI: A few years ago Star India decided to hive off some bits of its repertoire and focus exclusively on its main GEC Star Plus and the emerging sports scenario. Surprisingly, the channel is now taking a new turn by targeting the youngest viewers. As per industry sources, the Uday Shankar-led network is all set to launch both SD and HD versions of Star Movies Kids.

    Going by the name, the channel is likely to showcase animated movies at first, which are currently broadcast on the main Star Movies channel. It will also help star in targeting kids advertisers to maximise its investment in the cost of acquisition of the movies.

    The broadcaster already had a channel Baby TV, catering to toddlers, that was owned by parent company Fox Networks. Given the digital environment, Star not only has challengers in the broadcast space such as Nick, CN, Pogo, Hungama, Disney, Discovery Kids, etc, who have fortified their bastions over the years but also OTT players that have become the second screen for a considerable amount of kids.

    Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data suggests that 29 per cent of kids like watching Hindi GECs, followed by 18 per cent for Hindi movies and only 11 per cent kids consume kids channels. The high viewership for GEC indicates parallel viewing that kids do along with parents.

    When it comes to the film based animated content, it gives better ROI with higher per minute impressions. According to the BARC data week 1 to week 32 of 2018, film-based animated content garnered 472 impressions, followed by cartoons/animation with 158 impressions and game/talk/quiz with 46 impressions.

    Kids form a big section of TV audience. Kids’ viewership is also expected to spike as broadcasters are looking to invest more in home-grown content.

    Talking about the year 2019, as per the BARC data week 2, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Hungama, Pogo TV and Cartoon Network stood at first, second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively with 141953 impressions '000s, 140548 impressions '000s, 106963 impressions '000s, 73646 impressions '000s and 64072 impressions '000s.

  • Zapak and Cartoon Network India partner to launch ‘Ben 10 – Alien Run’ mobile game

    Zapak and Cartoon Network India partner to launch ‘Ben 10 – Alien Run’ mobile game

    MUMBAI: Anil D. Ambani led Reliance Entertainment’s Zapak, India’s leading Gaming Destination, in association with Cartoon Network India, rings in the New Year with an epic launch for fans and gamers alike, with Ben 10 – Alien Run Mobile Game. It is the first game for this year to be released in partnership with kids’ favourite channel, with more in the pipeline for enthusiastic fans and gaming buffs.

    The game features Ben – a superhero kid on a pursuit to take on powerful villains with the help of his mysterious watch called Omnitrix. Drawing from what kids love i.e. Super Powers; Ben 10 – Alien Run promises to capture kids’ imagination through multiple characters, their super abilities and provide edge of the seat gameplay experience.

    “Conquering inter-galactic quests, transforming into powerful aliens and saving the earth from malicious forces, is the very DNA of the popular franchise. We are delighted to launch ‘Ben 10 – Alien Run’, which combines all of the show’s adventure and fun with Zapak’s capabilities to give fans a great immersive gaming experience,” said Amit Khanduja, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Entertainment- Digital.

    Fans and gamers can explore exciting adventures, playing as their favourite superhero Ben! Transforming into aliens with extraordinary powers, here’s what players get to do –

    • Collect Coins on the run, which can be used to upgrade the duration of power-ups and transform into various aliens

    • Collect power-ups like Magnets Shield and Double Coins, and Mystery Boxes that have character Tokens to unlock all the Alien Transformations

    • Participate in daily challenges and complete various missions for extra rewards

    • Collect single-use items like Hoverboard and Rustbucket to boost sprint or even claim FREE Mystery Boxes every few hours, to win exciting prizes and giveaways

    Fans don’t just get to go on exciting adventures as Ben, but also challenge themselves to beat their highest scores as well – with every run.

    It’s Hero Time!

  • Disney’s Marvel HQ to offer fresh content

    Disney’s Marvel HQ to offer fresh content

    MUMBAI:The Walt Disney Company India is making some changes to its newly renamed channel Marvel HQ. To attract viewers, the chanel will undergo a content change. 

    The channel aims to transport viewers into the world of epic storytelling told through inspiring characters and will reach out to kids 9+ (boys and girls) introducing them to the world of Marvel and also bring in youth and audiences who are fans of Marvel animation and the movies.

    The Walt Disney Company (India) executive director and head of product media networks Devika Prabhu said that the content will be available in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu and the cluster will look at animation, live action, action adventure genre. “For series, the channel has Hulk and the agents of smash, Avengers Assemble, Avengers BlackPanther’s Quest, Guardians of the galaxy, Rising secret warriors and among others.”

    Apart from Marvel collection, the channel will also offer shows like Pokemon, Digimon, Beyblade and along others. The fresh new offering is expected to be rolled out on 20 Jan, while having the programs throughout the day.

    When asked whether coming up with Marvel HQ was because of the tariff regime, Prabhu refuted, “If you want to plan a channel, it has to be much in advance. We believed that it is the right time and within our portfolio we want to cater to all of our consumers and viewers. In Disney Junior we managed our pre-school space well, with Disney channel we have the whole family and kids and with Marvel we get the opportunity to tap into the whole action adventure space.”

    When asked about the strategy for refreshing the content at such an early time when kids get their summer vacations during the month of April or May, Prabhu replied that the strategy was to create a base in advance. “So we will build up a viewer base over the next few months and in summer it will be there already, so that they don’t have to look for it and that they will be habituated to it.”

  • Disney XD to be rebranded Marvel HQ

    Disney XD to be rebranded Marvel HQ

    MUMBAI: Disney XD, the action, adventure and comedy channel for boys from The Walt Disney Company (India) umbrella brand is all set to rebrand as Marvel HQ.

    According to broadcaster’s RIO published by the TRAI website, Marvel HQ will be an SD channel and priced at Rs 4. As per the new tariff regime that was supposed to be implemented by all the broadcasters, the MRP and the price of the bouquets were reworked in order to ensure wide adoption of the channels by the consumers. Similarly, if you buy the company’s four kids channels — Disney Junior, Hungama, Disney XD (Marvel HQ) and Disney Channel — it will cost Rs 12 per month.

    The channel runs shows like The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Marvel's Avengers Assemble, Phineas and Ferb and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S and among others. Apart from English and Hindi, it also has Tamil and Telugu audio feeds. 

  • The verdict is out – Google declares Motu Patlu the most popular Indian TV show in the world

    The verdict is out – Google declares Motu Patlu the most popular Indian TV show in the world

    MUMBAI: Cosmos-Maya’s massively popular IP, Motu Patlu has been declared the 9th most searched keyword in India for the year 2018 by Google Trends. It is the only kids' animation show to feature in the top 10 search trends. This development comes on the back of consistent top television ratings for the show in the country. It stayed at the top of the rankings every week of 2018.

    Motu Patlu was also the 4th most searched TV show in the world for the year 2018. Beating heavily marketed American shows like ‘Lost in Space’ and ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ from the Netflix portfolio, Motu Patlu has emerged as the most searched Indian TV show in the world.

    If that was not all, Motu Patlu ended 2018 with more than 3 billion views on WowKidz, Cosmos-Maya’s YouTube channel, despite the fact that Motu Patlu is geo-blocked on YouTube in India.

    As of date, Cosmos-Maya has produced more than 400 half-hour episodes of the show along with 18 TV movies and one theatrical feature film.

    Speaking on the development, Anish Mehta, CEO Cosmos-Maya said, “Motu Patlu is our biggest property. Our IP creation journey began with Motu Patlu and to see it continuing its golden run is a great feeling. 2019 will be even bigger”

    Link to the Google Trend Report 2018 Most Searched Keyword in India -https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2018/IN/

    Link to the Google Trend Report 2018 Most Searched TV Show in the World – https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2018/GLOBAL/

  • Slapstick is back in India with Eena Meena Deeka

    Slapstick is back in India with Eena Meena Deeka

    Mumbai: Cosmos-Maya’s non-dialogue slapstick comedy show Eena Meena Deeka was recently launched on the Disney Channel. The ratings coming in have been very encouraging. For the show to do well in a genre which is exciting, inventive, and witty and requires great skill to produce, the creators have a lot to cheer about.  

    According to recent BARC data, average impressions for the show are significantly higher than those for category toppers like Motu Patlu and Chhota Bheem for the month of December, 2018. There is no other non-dialogue show in the Top 10 in the kids’ animation category for this period.

    The show, having been syndicated to more than 100 countries worldwide, is also doing exceedingly well digitally on Cosmos-Maya’s YouTube channels, WowKidz and Wow Toons and has garnered around 300 million views cumulatively owing to the internationally recognized genre it falls into. It is also available for viewing on Netflix.

    Eena Meena Deeka essentially tells the story of the constant chase between a cunning hungry fox and three chicks, Eena, Meena and Deeka. The show borrows from the archetypal battle between malevolence and innocence, which was immortalized by the likes of Tom & Jerry and Oggy and the Cockroaches.

    Dheeraj Berry, the show’s creator and SVP- Development & Current Projects, Cosmos Maya, himself a Walt Disney fan, feels there may be another reason for the success of Eena Meena Deeka. “The relationship between the characters in Eena Meena Deeka is such that they can’t live without each other. Young viewers vicariously experience sibling bonding in the show”  

    Anish Mehta, CEO, Cosmos-Maya adds, “People love to laugh. Slapstick comedy has the ability to engage audiences of all age groups. That perhaps is the reason why Eena Meena Deeka airs in more than 100 countries today. In the Indian sphere, we are in an era where kids can access content on their mobile phones without having to care about high data charges. The time is right for the short format, non-dialogue slapstick comedy to make a comeback.”

  • Celebrate the New year with the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2018, Powered by Parle Hide & Seek Crème Sandwiches

    Celebrate the New year with the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2018, Powered by Parle Hide & Seek Crème Sandwiches

    MUMBAI: The New Year is all set to bring in a high decibel and exhilarating entertainment experience with India’s only award show by the kids, for the kids and of the kids – Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2018 Powered by Parle Hide & Seek Crème Sandwiches. The pioneering awards that recognizes and celebrates the best in the world of entertainment across film, television, mobile gaming amongst many others is all set to roll out its orange carpet on your television screens on 6th January 2019 at 6.30 PM on Nickelodeon.

    The internationally acclaimed Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2018 is the only award show in India that celebrates kids and their choices. The latest edition of the star-studded awards saw kids favorites like Varun Dhawan, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Kartik Aaryan, Sonakshi Sinha, Huma Qureshi and Ishaan Khattar walk the renowned Orange Carpet. Kartik Aaryan who has emerged as a phenomenon amongst kids and adults alike also charmed the audience as the host and performer, while the gorgeous Alia Bhat, Varun Dhawan and Sonakshi Sinha owned the stage with their fun, unique and spectacular performances. Alia Bhatt took a trip down memory lane and relived her school days along with our Nicktoons Shiva, Motu Patlu and others, mesmerizing the audience with her performance. Sonakshi Sinha took the entire stage down with her foot tapping and energetic performance to popular punjabi medley peppered with dhols and nagadas. The uber cool and suave Varun Dhawan enthralled the audiences through an exciting act where he made an entry on a plane which left the audience spell-bound.

    The prestigious Nickelodeon Orange Blimp this year was bestowed upon actors like Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt for Favourite Movie Actor (Male) and Favorite Movie Actor (Female) respectively. Tiger Zinda Hai won in the Favourite Film category.  Ishaan Khatter won a special award and Swag Se Swagat that had the nation dance to its tunes was voted as the Favourite Bollywood Movie Song by kids. Motu and Shin Chan won the Favorite Indian toon Character and Favorite Show of the year award respectively.

     The night also saw epic slime mania, as a part of Nickelodeon’s coveted tradition, where Kartik Aaryan and Varun Dhawan drenched Alia Bhatt and Sonakshi Sinha in the Nickelodeon’s signature Green slime.

    In addition to Nickelodeon, Sonic and Nick HD+ would also telecast the award show in the month of January.  Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2018 will also see the entire Viacom18 network come together to telecast the much awaited awards across network channels- Colors, Rishtey, Colors Bangla, Colors Marathi, Colors Gujarati and Viacom18’s OTT platform VOOT.

    To engage with kids across the country, a larger than life marketing campaign has been framed which includes high decibel promos on the franchise, print, high visibility outdoor campaign across key cities viz Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad, mall activations in Mumbai & Delhi & van activations in approximately 30 cities across Maharashtra & Gujarat . Over and above this, there has been a digital storm by populating content of various and varied influencers and 25 bloggers grooving to the #KCA anthem. This has been populated across Nickelodeon social media pages on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to reach out to a wide audience. In addition to this – Twitter trends with live tweets and updates, the UGC on the #KCAShake, #BehindTheScreen access to our users. Not only this, the KCA fever has also gripped Bollywood and even the celebrities shook a leg on the #KCAShake.

  • How engagement works in the kids’ space

    How engagement works in the kids’ space

    MUMBAI: Kids make our world go around! Quite literally, for channels focused on children as audience, observing their growing influence on choices, preferences and consumption habits of families in India, is a revelation! In this season of holidays when families gather around a TV set, it’s the children who call the shots.

    In 2018, we have witnessed an upward spurt in viewership in the kid’s category, with numbers rising by 10 per cent (from average GRP 499 to 550 GRP)*. The newer entrants in a competitive space of children’ TV programming has actually helped in growing the audience which indicates that more children are opting to watch new programming. Keeping this insight in mind, Sony YAY! is committed to adapting and developing kids’ programming suited to their preferences and such trends help further validate our approach. The consumption patterns that have significantly grown this year further ensures our focus on homegrown toon characters. 

    The 2018 emerging trends clearly reflect that flagship shows and localising content in regional languages pay dividends. Kids’ entertainment channels prosper on the dominance of marquee/flagship shows. 70 per cent of airtime and 80 per cent of GRP for leading channels in India comes from one leading show. Thus reiterating the fact that building a long-term relationship with toon characters, around whom shows, merchandise, and digital engagement are built, being the most effective manner to engage with kiddie audiences.

    While kids treat their favourite characters as their best friends, they prefer watching them on multiple platforms – digital platforms help us fulfil every kid's demand, where we focus on curating content especially for our YouTube channel. Kids are engaged on all the digital platforms through games, shows, contests on social media, etc. thus creating a strong affinity towards their favourite toons. Building upon toon characters and developing them as digital properties have had our audience respond enthusiastically. Using social media also helps in strengthening this relationship. Kids have the world at their feet; we’ve got to keep them engrossed by offering them the best of everything.

    We always sensed that regional language programming for children has potential and outreach. Hence, Sony YAY! produced content in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages, of which we are leading in Kerala and West Bengal since we have the first mover advantage in these two markets. We have adapted to regionalisation effectively and swiftly. 

    Another trend is telefilms and programming with longer duration, keeps kids engaged for a longer time. We’ve produced over 12 films this year at Sony YAY! with each film was well received by the kids. It’s a space that’s waiting to explode and is evolving quickly. 

    The author is business head Sony Pictures Network India, Kids Genre (Sony YAY!). The views expressed here are  her own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.

  • Christmas at Star – inspiring imaginations by spreading joy and touching hearts!

    Christmas at Star – inspiring imaginations by spreading joy and touching hearts!

    MUMBAI: On the wintry morning of 20th December 2018, as the first kid stepped through the gates of Star, a canopy of gifts greeted him. The glee of excitement on his face couldn’t be contained as he saw what waited for him inside – a Christmas miracle that went beyond the stars! 

    For Star India’s annual ‘Bring your kids to Star’ event, a space-themed wonderland was created. More than 600 kids accompanied their parents to work. 

    The brilliant amalgamation of Christmas and Space mesmerized the kids as well as the adults witnessing it. Offices across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Kolkata decked themselves up for the grand event, waiting for the kids to walk in. The enchanting décor cast a spell on whoever walked by, stopping them in their tracks to pose for pictures at every corner!

    “My kid refused to leave the premise at the end of the day. He is looking forward to the next year already!”, says the mother of a 2-year-old bundle of joy. 

    The celebrations didn’t end there. The true spirit of Christmas is the spirit of giving. And that’s where the celebrations headed next. On day two, Star opened its gates for the wonderful kids from NGOs like Ashadeep from Mumbai, Sparsha Trust from Bengaluru, CINI from Kolkata and SaarthakPrayaas from Gurugram. Work took a backseat as the employees left no stone unturned for these kids and poured in their hearts to make it a memorable day for them. They were not only entertained with the fun activities and games but also given something meaningful to take back – the inspiration to dream. “Sapne dekho. Aur sapno ko pura karna hai toh poori immandari se mehnat karo”, said Amita Maheshwari, President  & Head, Human Resources – Star India in a special session addressing the kids.

    “The event reiterated the value that drives Star – because family comes first” says Amita. “It speaks of our responsibility to do the right thing and to inspire kids to dream and build their future.”