Gaming

Tooning on the worldwide web

Published

20 years ago

November 23, 2005

‘Come on girls, queue up in a single file and head to the computer lab,’ was a line my school teacher used once a fortnight.

In the not-so-long-ago school days, kids had the ‘privilege’ to access the computer (minus the internet connection of course) for just an hour a week or sometimes a fortnight.

Today, it’s a world away from all that. Tech-savvy kids are now in abundance and many a tween probably knows the whole kit and caboodle surrounding the worldwide web (WWW) far more than their parents.

This is an opportunity that kids’ channels are logging on to big time.

Kids are now extending their enjoyment of TV viewing by finding their favourite characters and games on the channels’ websites. No children’s TV channel is without its corresponding web world brimming with games, contests and the paraphernalia that kids are interested in.

While from the leaders in the space, Cartoon Network, to the homegrown Hungama TV, everyone is vying for maximum eyeballs on television; they are also doing so for mouse-clicks!

Website features

Oftentimes, the URL of the website is flashed on the channels during commercials or during a contest promotion. taking it even further, Nick’s on-air channel ID has its website URL as a permanent fixture.

Downloadable games, wallpapers, interactivity, contests, blogs and what not! It’s all there. Affiliated websites also provide additional information relating to favorite TV shows with special microsites dedicated to characters and shows.

Turner’s two channels Cartoon Network and Pogo have separate websites – www.cartoonnetworkindia.com and www.pogotv.com; Disney India’s website www.disneyin.com has microsites for the Disney Channel and Toon Disney. Hungama TV’s website is called www.hungamatv.com. Animax and Nick are the two channels that don’t have an India-specific website. These channel’s websites – www.animax-asia.com and www.nicksplat.com – cater to the Asian region.

Says Cartoon Network and Pogo India marketing director Vivek Krishnani, “Our channel website provides a fully interactive experience for Cartoon Network fans featuring on-line games, contests, information on network shows and the toon stars, e-cards and downloadable goodies and programming information and schedules.”

According to Hungama TV programming head Zarina Mehta, “The site aims to create a parallel medium to reach kids. This means that the content has to be more broadbased and has to move a few steps beyond the scope of the Hungama brand. The critical factor in executing the above is to ensure that the integration between online and on air content is seamless. All our on-air and on-ground event sponsors automatically get a online presence. We are also looking at developing specific properties to cater to certain advertiser requirements. All priority one shows will have an online add-on component and this would be promoted through the website.”

“Animax’ website has TV schedules, synopses of shows, as well as cool online activities like trailers of upcoming shows, celebrity interviews, streaming of music videos (either Animax’s own music videos or soundtracks from the current anime titles on the channel), as well as contests,” says Animax Asia vice president programming Betty Tsui.

Unique Nick Quotient
Nicksplat.com was launched in July 2004. Since then, some significant trends are:
1)	Unique visitors increase by an average of 60 per cent every month. Advertisement
2)	Page views increases by an average of 18 per cent every month.
3)	Membership has grown by an average of 15 per cent every month since we started.
4)	Average length per visit is 13 minutes!

Nicksplat.com hosts at least two contests every month where kids win special Nick premiums, movie tickets and videogames under the section “Win Nick Loot.”

Walt Disney Television International (India) director marketing and communications Tushar Shah opines, “Since launch, all the contests that we had on both our channels have been linked back to the websites. The websites have been used as one of the entry mechanisms for all contests. In fact, for the Kim Possible Code Tod contest, we had more than 57,000 entries through the Disney Channel India website alone.”

Birthdays are a major hit with kids and hence it is very much on the kids’ channels radar. Cartoon Network too has a property called Cartoon Network Birthday Blast, which is promoted on the website.

Nick also has its birthday special. “We allow kids to enter their birthdates on SpongeBob Birthday Bop page and SpongeBob will wish them a happy birthday on-air during their birthday month,” said Tan.

Disney makes it a point to integrate the website in all their marketing endeavors. “Birthday Bhoot, our on-air birthday property, has a website leg as well, as did the Tarzan Jungle Josh Contest and so on,” points out Shah.

Related Topics:Cartoon Network Hungama TV Nick Toon TV URL Vivek Krishnani worldwide web WWW Zarina Mehta

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Gaming

Checkmate Goes Digital as Chess Joins Esports Nations Cup 2026

From boards to bytes, chess readies for a nation-first showdown in Riyadh.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When pawns meet power plays, the game changes. Chess, the world’s oldest mind sport, is officially stepping deeper into the digital arena after the Esports World Cup Foundation confirmed it as one of 16 titles at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026, set to unfold in Riyadh from 2 to 29 November.

For a game synonymous with quiet halls and ticking clocks, this is a bold move. Chess at ENC 2026 promises scale, spectacle and serious competition, fielding an unprecedented 128 players and opening the board to fresh talent and underrepresented nations as the sport’s esports evolution gathers pace.

The chess competition will run from November 2 to November 8, culminating in a playoff final. The opening phase features 128 players split into 16 round-robin groups of eight, with the top four from each group advancing.

That leaves 64 players battling it out in a single-elimination playoff bracket. Early rounds will be best-of-two, while the quarterfinals onward step up to best-of-four encounters. Deadlocks will be settled via Armageddon tie-breakers, and all matches will be played in a Rapid 10+0 format, designed for speed, tension and drama.

National pride is front and centre. Of the 128 slots, 64 players will receive direct invitations based on Champions Chess Tour rankings, limited to one per nation. Another 56 players will qualify through regional online qualifiers, while eight wildcard spots round out the field.

Qualifiers will be hosted by Chess.com across seven regions, including Middle East + India + Central Asia, with two qualifier windows in June 2026. Each country can field a maximum of two players, ensuring both depth and diversity across the draw.

Chess already tasted esports stardom at the 2025 Esports World Cup, where 20 nations were represented and the intensity surprised even purists. The event ended with Magnus Carlsen lifting the title for Team Liquid, sealing chess’s credentials as a natural fit for high-stakes digital competition.

India’s top-ranked player Arjun Erigaisi called the experience “unlike any chess tournament I’ve played before”, adding that the energy of the esports stage is drawing new audiences into the game.

For commentators and fans alike, the shift to a nation-based format raises the stakes. Chessbase India co-founder Sagar Shah likened the moment to the excitement of the Chess Olympiad, while grandmaster and broadcaster Tania Sachdev said the national format adds “pride, pressure and passion” that pulls viewers in deeper.

From silent calculation to roaring crowds, chess at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 is less about moving pieces and more about moving perceptions. Checkmate, it seems, has gone fully digital.

Gaming

Road to EWC unites 230 tournaments worldwide ahead of Esports World Cup 2026

Published

4 weeks ago

February 5, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation has launched Road to EWC, a worldwide qualification programme for the Esports World Cup 2026, stitching together more than 230 tournaments across major esports regions into a single global competitive season.

Running from grassroots qualifiers to elite international leagues, the initiative creates a unified pathway for players and clubs to reach the Esports World Cup finals in Riyadh from 6 July to 23 August, 2026. The season integrates publisher-led ecosystems and major circuits into one calendar, offering year-round visibility for fans and structured progression for competitors.

“Road to EWC brings together the journeys that shape competitive esports,” said Esports World Cup Foundation chief product officer Faisal Bin Homran. “It gives players, clubs, publishers and fans a defined season to plan around, building a sustainable and global competitive ecosystem.”

The qualification network spans leading events including the Apex Legends Global Series, Capcom Cup, Chess.com Global Championship, EVO, Free Fire World Series, EA Sports FC Pro, Pubg Global Series, Rocket League Championship Series, Overwatch Champions Series, Tekken World Tour Finals, and official circuits for Call of Duty, League of Legends, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, Trackmania and Valorant.

Open online qualifiers will also run for titles such as Dota 2, Teamfight Tactics, Call of Duty: Warzone and Chess, widening access for emerging talent.

In 2025, more than 2,500 players from over 100 countries qualified through the Road to EWC programme. Highlights included 15-year-old Free Fire player Rasyah Rasyid becoming the youngest champion in event history, EA FC star Manuel Bachoore claiming gold, and Street Fighter icon Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun securing another major title. Team Falcons captured their second club championship following a dramatic Overwatch 2 victory.

A dedicated Road to EWC hub will track qualification events, schedules and viewing options throughout the season. Ticket sales for the Esports World Cup 2026 are now live, with international partners across the US, Europe, Middle East, India and China.

The Esports World Cup returns to Riyadh next summer, bringing together the world’s top clubs across multiple game titles to compete for the largest prize pool in esports history.

Gaming

Nintendo shares slide 10 per cent despite profit jump, hit by chip shortages

Published

4 weeks ago

February 4, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

KYOTO: Nintendo shares slid more than 10 per cent on Wednesday, a day after the gaming giant missed market forecasts for quarterly revenue and warned of mounting pressure from a global memory chip shortage, as per media reports.

The company beat profit expectations, posting a 24 per cent year-on-year rise, driven by strong sales of the Nintendo Switch franchise. Revenue surged 86 per cent, with the original Switch now the firm’s best-selling console since its launch in 2017.

Yet rising component costs are weighing on investor sentiment. Nintendo relies heavily on dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a segment grappling with acute shortages as artificial intelligence and data centre demand soak up supply.

Ortus Advisors head of Japanese equity strategy Andrew Jackson, said markets remain uneasy about the impact of higher memory prices on Nintendo’s margins.

President Shuntaro Furukawa acknowledged that while soaring memory costs have not yet dented results for the current financial year, prolonged price pressures could squeeze profitability.

TrendForce estimates that contract prices for conventional Dram chips in the first quarter could jump between 90 and 95 per cent from the previous quarter. A senior semiconductor industry executive recently told CNBC the shortage may last until 2027.

Kantan Games chief executive of consultancy Serkan Toto, said sustained cost inflation could force Nintendo to raise console prices: a risky move for its largely casual user base.

The company’s newest device, Switch 2, launched in June last year and already dominates its console sales mix. But analysts warn that momentum in the first year is critical for any new platform.

Concerns persist over whether Switch 2 can match the runaway success of its predecessor, despite Nintendo holding firm on its full-year sales forecast.

The outlook hinges on upcoming blockbuster releases, including Mario Tennis Fever in February and Pokémon Pokopia in March. Nintendo is also banking on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, due in April, to replicate the sales boost sparked by its 2023 hit film.

Omdia senior analyst James McWhirter, said 2026 would be a “make-or-break” year as Nintendo seeks broader mass-market appeal for Switch 2.

Nintendo shares are down more than 15 per cent so far this year.