ITV

Tag: Discovery Kids

  • Animation industry anticipating OTT revolution by 2020

    Animation industry anticipating OTT revolution by 2020

    MUMBAI:  As 2018 kick-started its journey with a bang, the question contemplated by broadcasters and the animation production segment was whether or not the media and entertainment industry was in the favour of animation. Animationxpress.com’s Spark Connect event saw a session on ‘2018, an animated year for the Indian Industry?’ with panellists—Toonz Media Group national head of marketing Kishor Srivastav, Green Gold Animation chief strategy officer Srinivas Chilakalapudi, Cosmos-Maya syndication, marketing and sales VP Devdatta Potnis, Discovery Kids India head of content Uttam Pal Singh and Vaibhav More Films founder and director Vaibhav More. The panel was moderated by Indiantelevision.com and Animationxpress.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.

    Potnis said that the rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms had enabled content to reach tier II and III cities via smartphone penetration. Online was a dominant factor in 2017 and was likely to turn the tables in the next two to three years.  Srivastav added that in 2011, the average consumption of a common Indian was 450 hours a year, which shot up to 6050 hours in 2017, aided by online videos in which animation had a big role to play.

    Potnis also pointed out that kids were demanding regional animation content. He added that this was being driven by OTT and the local market. His company is soon to launch a spinoff of Motu Patlu soon. Discovery’s Singh highlighted that new IP creation is definitely on the cards but one needs to figure out the right stories and characters. He admitted that Discovery Kids wasn’t among the top brands and that the channel is going through a reinvention. Though creating an IP is difficult, he said that there isn’t any fatigue setting in.

    Srivastav touched upon the facets that make Korean animation content work in India. “We need to create IPs for young adults and kids. The storytelling needs to be simple,” he said. He predicts that there will be more IP creation happening in India by 2018-2020. Creating one takes at least two to three years and not benefitting it is the lack of finance due to the low trust in the industry. He said that a creator needs at least Rs 4-5 crore to produce a series, as well as government incentives. Working with foreign companies doesn’t entail a tax but local production is stamped with a 15 per cent GST. He spoke of countries that provide up to 40 per cent subsidies with Singapore establishing it at 25 per cent and Malaysia creating a fund for animation producers. Such initiatives are what India lacks.

    The advertising industry has also become judicious in its spending. Clients today are cautious in the areas they spend. They are also aware of the impact of the animation industry and are willing to shell out a higher amount if the quality is good.

    OTT is surely the focus of even animation producers today. Knowing its power and potential and the reach it has to India and the world’s youth, the players are anticipating the boom in the next few years.

    Also Read :

    Kids prefer entertainment over edutainment on TV

    Japanese kids’ content going strong despite home-grown onslaught

  • Not relying on movies to garner Jeet’s viewership: Karan Bajaj

    Not relying on movies to garner Jeet’s viewership: Karan Bajaj

    MUMBAI: After entertaining the Indian audience for over 20 years with world-class documentaries on food, science, survival and more, Discovery Communications India (DCIN) is all set to entertain Indians with its general entertainment channel (GEC) Jeet. Slated to launch on 12 February 2018, Jeet’s differentiated content philosophy has enabled the channel to get various brands on board as advertisers and achieve its pre-launch inventory sales targets. The channel has sold out its entire Q1 inventory for advertisers.

    Brands such as Reckitt Benckiser, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Marico, Mondelez International, Johnson and Johnson, Yellow Diamond and Quickheal have come on board.

    DCIN, which will launch the channel with distribution to more than 100 million households in the country, has already signed Netflix as the exclusive global OTT platform. The shows on Jeet will be available on Netflix one month after the first airing.

    Jeet is aiming to break the clutter in the Hindi GEC arena riding on purpose-driven entertainment content. The channel will launch with five hours of programming band daily out of which three hours will be bespoke, ground-up original programming built on the thesis of underdog winning.  With an aim to be India’s first national GEC, Discovery Jeet will be available in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The channel does not intend to add more regional languages anytime soon.

    Discovery Communications India senior VP and GM (South Asia) Karan Bajaj said that although the channel would initially have only two hours of original weekend programming, the network would look at increasing or decreasing the library depending on the audience reception.

    At a press briefing in DCIN’s offices in Mumbai yesterday, Bajaj mentioned that the channel did not plan on premiering movies as they didn’t feel the need to bank on films to get viewership. The team is optimistic about its strong line-up of shows.

    The network has been doing a test run for Jeet from 1 February on DTH platform Tata Sky. The channel is available for viewers on channel number 155.

    The uplinking of the channel is done from Singapore. All the content feed is sent there before the show is finally telecasted across India.

    Discovery Jeet will be made available for viewers in Standard and High Definition feed. During the launch, almost 120 million households will be able to see Discovery Jeet as a part of their Discovery Communication network pack on DTH platforms.

    Bajaj emphasised that there would be more content and less ads in Q1 in order to build a following for the content before deciding to increase the ad inventory.

    DCIN’s business model has changed from foreign content to now local mass targeted content. The network that aired international documentaries and shows on Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, TLC, etc will now focus majorly on Indian originated content for the masses.

    The channel has taken a very unique marketing approach in order to promote the shows. The marketing for all show on the channel will be very regional and will vary geographically. For instance, a show that is based in Punjab will be majorly advertised in the region as opposed to another show on the channel where the story is based on Tamilians.

    With Discovery Kids all set to air Little Singham starting March and Jeet in its last leg of launch, Bajaj is highly optimistic about both the channels. He believes that Discovery Kids and Discovery Jeet will become prime properties of the network that will drive maximum viewership and ratings for the network.

    Also Read :

    Discovery Jeet gears up for Feb 12 launch

    Discovery India ties-up with Reliance Animation to produce kids IP

    Discovery Jeet signs content deal with Netflix

    Discovery launching Hindi GEC in Q4, re-brands ID as Discovery Jeet

  • Kids genre grows on TV despite digital onslaught

    Kids genre grows on TV despite digital onslaught

    MUMBAI: There was no dearth of excitement in the kids’ entertainment space in 2017. Despite the digital onslaught, original content producers grew from strength to strength, keeping children enthralled on television. TV viewership grew during the year even as doomsayers predicted that the end of the good old box was nigh.

    Among the major events of the year, Toonz India Media Group struck a deal with ReachMe.TV in the US to enable streaming of Toonz TV through the latter’s mobile web platform. Green Gold Animation signed a deal with Netflix for creating a spinoff of popular character Chhota Bheem for snippets of Mighty Little Bheem.

    Here’s a look at what each channel did this year.

    Disney

    A favourite among young adults, the Disney channel is known for television programming for children through original series, movies and third-party programming. This year witnessed top-level corporate reshuffling. The company promoted Amit Malhotra as the country head for Singapore and Malaysia. Earlier, Malhotra was the general manager for media networks, responsible for businesses across all functions in the media networks in Southeast Asia (SEA). Abhishek Maheshwari was elevated to country head (India).

    There were reports that Doordarshan was in talks with Disney for kiddy content in evening slots. Disney also launched a three-week campaign for merchandise, celebrating the spirit of sisterhood, featuring two young daughters and how the Frozen sisters inspired them in their day-to-day lives.

    Furthermore, Disney’s sister channel—Hungama—came up with Chacha Bhatija who go on a new adventure in the second movie.

    Turner

    Turner India creates and manages the sales, distribution and marketing of entertainment brands in India and South Asia, including CNN International, Cartoon Network, Pogo, Toonami, HBO and WB.

    It turned out to be a fruitful year with great deals and partnerships. Turner India was successful in imparting a larger-than-life feel to its characters through a tie-up with Amaazia, an upcoming amusement park in Surat. The park is owned and operated by Gujarat-based Rajgreen group. Scheduled to open in 2019, the park will serve as a medium for Turner’s kids channel Cartoon Network (CN) to launch new products and conduct ‘meet and greets’ with its animated characters. Out of the four sections in Amaazia, only the theme park is branded by CN. The rest are a water park, family recreational hub, and serviced apartments and retail shopping area.

    Apart from having a chase comedy in the bouquet, Pogo came up with another indigenous slapstick comedy show for its fans. Focussing more on home-grown content, Tik Tak Tail was the chase comedy that it experimented with in September and then came the slapstick show Andy Pirki. It also announced the launch of a brand-new show, Grizzy and the Lemmings. Moreover, Cartoon Network came up with the fifth and sixth parts of Oggy and the Cockroaches.

    Discovery Kids

    The channel announced a deal with IM Incorporated, a London-based content distribution company, to premiere Sunny Bunnies in India. Angry Birds Sing the Blues came up for the first time in Indian television in a series format.

    Nickelodeon

    This year, Nickelodeon came up with the Halo Movement—a new year-round pro-social initiative celebrating kids who are helping and leading others. In terms of viewership, too, the channel has done pretty well for itself. In week 50 of Barc data, the channel was ranked number one with 127600 impressions (000s) sum. Another important event was the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2017, which honoured the best in the world of entertainment across film and television.

    Sony Yay

    On 18 April 2017, Animax Asia was replaced by Sony Yay. While the former focussed on serving young adults, Yay concentrated on children of all ages. Animax was handed over to SonyLiv.

    The channel is building local characters to monetise and launched four original shows Guru AurBhole, Sab Jholmaal Hai, Prince Jai aur DumdaarViru, and Paap-o-Meter and it holds the IP rights for all of them. The channel also associated with ‘animals matter to me’ to make Diwali ‘pawsome.’

    Although 2017 wasn’t an eventful year, there were plenty of nuggets of action with the latest entrant, Sony Yay, throwing its hat into the ring and fighting it out with the existing players in the kids genre. We will have to wait and see how channels gear up to take on the growing trend of digital in 2018 and whether OTT adds significant value for kids.

  • Kids prefer entertainment over edutainment on TV

    Kids prefer entertainment over edutainment on TV

    MUMBAI:  Broadcasters’ various attempts at creating content that can get children hooked has repeatedly turned up one result – animation entertainment is what each child comes for.

    The OTTV Kids and Animation Summit 2017’s saw a session on ‘the content and storytelling strategies for kids’ with panelists-Hungama Kids Artist Aloud original content VP Soumini Paul, animation screenwriter Vivek Shukla, Discovery Kids Network head of content Uttam Pal Singh, Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle group creative director Neel Debdutt Paul and Avant Garde Films founder, CEO and content creator Sohini Mitra. The panel was moderated by Dveo Media CEO Deepak Ramsurrun.

    Discovery’s Singh highlighted that it is exploring more entertainment content for kids aged 2-14. Instead of forcing them to watch particular content, the channel is internally conducting research to understand their tastes.

    Mitra said that apart from rhyming kids content, which is a rage on her channel catering to 3-year-old kids, kids are guzzling humour and action-based series. She added that parents play a key role to get kids to watch content at a specific time.

    Whether one should mix education with this content was the question of the day. S Paul drives home the point by saying, “According to me, educational content, by itself, is boring. The topics we take up, which could be generic, educational or even learn-the-basics kind, are done in a fun and simple manner.”

    Adding more to the context, N Paul said that children don’t want to be bogged down with educational content on screens after they’ve had a heavy dose of the same in school and tuition.

    Agreeing to Neel’s point, Singh said that obviously, parents must be worried and concerned about what their kids are watching. However, when it comes to watching their favourite content, children do not like it when they see the shadow of their parents or teachers in their favourite cartoon characters. Questions like ‘Did you have your milk?’ will only turn them off.

    Ramsurrun asked whether content is selected on the basis of market trends or new ones are experimented with. To which, Mitra said that both things go hand in hand. “Originality is very important. However, at the same time, market trends are also important. As a mother I observe that my son gets tired of seeing the same content repeatedly, so this a market trend for me as an animator. We do a lot of research and then find new content.” Shukla also reiterated the need for original content. “We can have mythological shows but I do not favour copied content,” he said.

    Giving an alternative viewpoint, Singh said that cartoons like Doraemon or Chhota Bheem are always repeated but children are still hooked. “They do look out for original content, but they take time to know these new characters,” he added.

    S Paul brought in economics into the discussion by saying that local content production needs high budgets. “We have a small team but if we have basic resources, we can get into producing local content. If we talk about acquiring the content, the budget is certainly a consideration.”

    Singh added that children don’t bother to know where content has been acquired from or whether it is original or not. They just need to see their favourites on screen and be entertained by them.

    With umpteen numbers of foreign shows available at their disposal such as Doraemon, children will not prefer to watch the likes of Kaali Gufa ka Jaadu. The superior quality of animation is something India is still catching up to.

    Concluding the panel discussion, Shukla emphasised the need for improving the quality and content of originals. He said, “What made Chhota Bheem work? The story and the content were good, but what next? We need to move ahead and get more local original content for kids.”

  • Discovery Kids to launch ‘Sunny Bunnies’ in India

    Discovery Kids to launch ‘Sunny Bunnies’ in India

    MUMBAI: Discovery Kids has announced a deal with Media I.M Incorporated, a London-based content distribution company, to premiere the hit animation series Sunny Bunnies in India.

    Under the three-year deal, which covers the pay-TV, simulcast and catch-up rights, Discovery Kids will air the first and second seasons of the short format non-dialogue comedy starting this November. Discovery Kids is the first Indian broadcaster to take Sunny Bunnies, bringing the total number of territories across the world to air the series to more than 160.

    Discovery Kids head Uttam Pal Singh said, ‘’We are delighted to offer differentiated content like Sunny Bunnies and be a part of the world premiere of this unique comedy series. This fascinatingly crafted short format series and the mischievous characters, has all the elements to captivate and engage with the kids in India.”

    Media IM co-founder Maria Ufland said: “Introducing Sunny Bunnies to Indian kids has long been an ambition, and Discovery Kids is the dream partner to launch our little friends on their Indian adventure. India is not only one of the biggest, most vibrant and exciting markets in the world but it’s also an extremely challenging one to break into, which makes this deal a genuine milestone for Media I.M. And we know Indian children will love this show as much as their counterparts around the world”

    The Sunny Bunnies are five beaming balls that can appear anywhere there is a source of light, from sunshine to moonlight. In each episode, the cheeky creatures bring their fun and games to a different location — a circus, a sports stadium, a park — embarking on mischievous adventures and spreading laughter and happiness. And at the end of every episode, the fun continues with a collection of bloopers.

  • Kids’ channels to see laid-back Children’s Day celebration

    Kids’ channels to see laid-back Children’s Day celebration

    MUMBAI: With Children’s Day coming up next week, kids’ channels have lined up special programmes to entertain the little ones on 14 November.

    The latest kid on the block, Sony Yay, is all set to woo kids for the entire month. A new logo will be placed on the channel depicting the month-long celebration. There are also activities such as submitting your imitation of Guru aur Bhole and winners are awarded prizes. Fans can also see new episodes of Paap-o-Meter.

    Even though the day may call for more eyeballs, channels aren’t hiking their ad rates. Sony Pictures Network kids’ genre business head Leena Lele Dutta says, “Diwali was actually the week where we went out with differential prices. We are not planning for any differential prices on this occasion; it will be standard prices and standard rates.”

    When asked if ad rates were hiked on Children’s Day, Brand-Building.com brand strategist and founder Ambi M G Parameswaran said that the ad rates do not get hiked for just a particular day. “At best, discounts are reduced but you may call it a rate increase and this happens at all peak seasons, Diwali and Dussera, among others,” he adds.

    Stratagem Media founder director Sundeep Nagpal affirms Parameswaran’s statement. “Certain kids’ brands may have to pay more for that day (up to about 20 per cent more) only because of the demand-supply equation for such brands otherwise there is no significant difference.”

    Delving into other channel’s pockets, there’s another channel- Discovery Kids-that will telecast specials of Sheikh Chilli – Ek Se Bhale Do and Sheikh Chilli and Gama – Khub Hoga Hungama. There will be cross-channel promotion for the occasion. Discovery Kids head Uttam Pal Singh says, “We are more network focused. We do not intend anything special because the occasion happens to be on the weekday. So we will completely focus on our channel.”

    Turner India will be celebrating Kris’s birthday on Cartoon Network. This includes a party with Kris (from Roll No. 21) from 5-15 November, when kids can participate in a contest and win a chance to party with him at their homes. The channel also has a brand new movie, Roll No. 21 – Kris Aur Ande Ka Funda lined up on his birthday, 14 November, at 11 am. Market leader Nickelodeon is organising a contest to win iPhoneX handsets.

    Not attaching a lot of importance to the day, young adult’s all-time favourite–Disney channel that believes everyday is Children’s day. The channel hence will not have any special program or campaign around 14 November.

    Whether or not brands pay heed to Chacha Nehru’s birthday, children do love the day they are pampered at home and by their favourite cartoon characters.

  • Angry Birds sing the Blues on Discovery Kids

    Angry Birds sing the Blues on Discovery Kids

    MUMBAI: Discovery Kids is all set to roll out its new series featuring kids’ beloved birds in the Indian television premiere of Angry Birds Blues. The series will air from Monday to Friday at 6 pm with a repeat at 12 noon as part of continued festivities for kids.

    Discovery Kids head Uttam Pal Singh said, “This festive season, we bring kids favourite series to Discovery Kids – Angry Birds Blues. It is our endeavour to bring to our young audience best-in-class entertainment and engagement with their favourite characters.”

    The series features new birds and their hilarious escapades. Meet the Blues Jake, Jay and Jim – rambunctious bluebird triplets with big ideas that wildly succeed or hilariously fail. But no matter what happens, this fun feathered trio always bounces back except when the Hatchlings show up. Unfazed, the brothers simply shake their smouldering tail feathers and try again. Whether it’s building a clubhouse ordered from the Mighty Eagle Express, or getting a kite to fly, the Blues’ crazy antics become unbelievable comic disasters you can’t resist.

  • Discovery Kids to showcase mythological movies during Diwali

    Discovery Kids to showcase mythological movies during Diwali

    MUMBAI: Discovery Kids will celebrate Diwali with a line-up of animated classics like Ramayan, Mahabharat, Hanuman Immortal 2, Pandavas, Little Krishna and Krishna aur Kans starting 19 October 2017. All the animated movies are being showcased as a part of Diwali celebration campaign called Diwali Dhamaka.

    Discovery Communications India’s Discovery Kids head Uttam Pal Singh said, “We have put together a line-up of timeless classics with an aim to ensure that kids enjoy India’s rich mythological heritage along with their parents on the auspicious occasion of Diwali.”

    Discovery Kids will witness the victory of good over evil with shows such as Ramayan (11:00 am, 19th October) Hanuman Immortal 2 (19th October at 1.30 pm), and Pandavas (20th October at 1:30 pm). Mahabharata, India’s biggest multi starrer animation film, will air on Friday, 20th October at 11 am. The voice-over in this mythological epic have been given by renowned Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan (Bheeshma), Vidya Balan (Draupadi), Ajay Devgn (Arjun), Sunny Deol (Bheem), Anil Kapoor (Karna) and Jackie Shroff (Duryodhan).

    Krishna aur Kans, a stereoscopic animated feature film, will air on Saturday, 21 October 2017 at 11 am. Bollywood celebrities such as Manoj Bajpayee, Juhi Chawla, Mukesh Khanna and Anupam Kher and Om Puri have given their voice for various characters in this movie.

  • Discovery Kids to beef up movie line-up in 2017

    Discovery Kids to beef up movie line-up in 2017

    MUMBAI: In its endeavor to offer finest entertainment to children, Discovery Kids has announced to premiere movies every weekend all through 2017.

    Discovery Kids has signed exclusive deals with leading studios including NBCUniversal, Reliance Media, Cosmos Entertainment and Toonz Animation for the same.

    The movie extravaganza will features kids’ favourite characters from India and round the world, including Shaktimaan, Kisna, Luv Kushh, Hanuman, Sheikh Chilli, Barbie amongst many others. Demonstrating its drive to up the local content on the channel, it will also produce movies in India. Offering a brand new look to its iconic local character Kisna, Discovery Kids will air the first from its Kisna movie franchise – Mahayoddha Kisna – on New Year Eve.

    Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific entertainment products VP Rajiv Bakshi said, “While our programme series offers daily dose of differentiated entertainment during the weekdays; the movies will provide an incremental attraction and build the weekend viewership. With this we continue to be ahead of the curve by offering the most exciting variety of content to kids across all formats in English, Hindi and Tamil languages.”

    To drive the channel as the biggest movie destination for kids, Discovery Kids will commence the offering with a Movie Megathon , starting 26 December to 8 January, wherein it will air Mahayoddha Kisna, Luv Kushh & The Serpent King, Barbie In A Christmas Carol, Hanuman Immortal 2 and many more.

  • Discovery Kids to beef up movie line-up in 2017

    Discovery Kids to beef up movie line-up in 2017

    MUMBAI: In its endeavor to offer finest entertainment to children, Discovery Kids has announced to premiere movies every weekend all through 2017.

    Discovery Kids has signed exclusive deals with leading studios including NBCUniversal, Reliance Media, Cosmos Entertainment and Toonz Animation for the same.

    The movie extravaganza will features kids’ favourite characters from India and round the world, including Shaktimaan, Kisna, Luv Kushh, Hanuman, Sheikh Chilli, Barbie amongst many others. Demonstrating its drive to up the local content on the channel, it will also produce movies in India. Offering a brand new look to its iconic local character Kisna, Discovery Kids will air the first from its Kisna movie franchise – Mahayoddha Kisna – on New Year Eve.

    Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific entertainment products VP Rajiv Bakshi said, “While our programme series offers daily dose of differentiated entertainment during the weekdays; the movies will provide an incremental attraction and build the weekend viewership. With this we continue to be ahead of the curve by offering the most exciting variety of content to kids across all formats in English, Hindi and Tamil languages.”

    To drive the channel as the biggest movie destination for kids, Discovery Kids will commence the offering with a Movie Megathon , starting 26 December to 8 January, wherein it will air Mahayoddha Kisna, Luv Kushh & The Serpent King, Barbie In A Christmas Carol, Hanuman Immortal 2 and many more.