ITV

Tag: Hungama Machaya Kya

  • Makeover helps Hungama hike ad rates by 25%

    Makeover helps Hungama hike ad rates by 25%

    MUMBAI: A little over two months since its makeover and Hungama TV has already upped ad rates by 25 per cent on the back of an estimated 25 per cent growth in viewership.

     

    It was in October this year that Disney UTV’s kids’ channel underwent a reboot, wherein a local flavour was imparted while keeping its ‘unapologetically fun loving, mischievous and boisterous’ character intact.

     

    The three-pronged revamp saw a new tagline Hungama Machaya Kya?, a new on-air look and packaging as well as a fresh interactive feel.

     

    The strategy seems to have worked for ever since, the channel has registered a 25 per cent growth in viewership as per TAM ratings (CS: 4-14; Mkt: HSM; Data period: Wk 1-48’13 All Days; 0700-2300 HRS, Basic TVTs, Kids Genre).

     

    Elaborating on what tipped the scales in Hungama’s favour, Disney UTV kids’ network programming director Devika Prabhu says: “Apart from the refreshed look, we now have new shows like VIR: The Robot Boy and Ninja Warriors (dubbed by Javed Jaffery). New episodes of popular shows as well as new movie titles are also in the pipeline. Hence, apart from the new look and feel, children have new and exciting things to look forward to.”

     

    Buoyed by the growth in viewership, the channel has hiked ad rates by 25 per cent and roped in advertisers the likes of Hero Honda.

     

    Says Disney UTV media network ad sales executive director Nikhil Gandhi: “Our confidence has only grown and we see ourselves in the top position very soon. And our clients too believe in it and hence have come on board even after a hike in ad rates.”

     

    “Today, the kids’ genre isn’t about kids anymore. It is all about co-viewing and hence, advertisers feel that they can target the whole family through this genre as well,” he adds.

     

    Going further, Hungama will be focusing on home-grown content. “Vir has got an excellent response from the viewers and we would like to explore and expand Indian content,” signs off Prabhu.

  • Hungama TV to Launch Vir, the Story of A Robot Kid on November 9th

    Hungama TV to Launch Vir, the Story of A Robot Kid on November 9th

    MUMBAI: In line with its new look and proposition of Hungama Machaya Kya, Hungama TV will premiere a brand new series, VIR: The Robot Boy. A weekly animated comedy/adventure series set in the desi heartland of India. The channelhas associated with Maya Digital to bring this show weekly starting November 9th, 2013 at 11.30 am.

    Vir is a heartwarming story of a robot with human like qualities and a unique blend of emotions and superhuman abilities. The series follows his humorous escapades as he manages to save the day with his quick thinking and a wide array of robotic abilities, along with his closest friends – Chulbul the pet Donkey, 8 year old Imli and Gintu, his magical Djinn. Vir is naughty yet intelligent, funny yet compassionate, playful yet helpful and street smart yet has a golden heart, all of which define the kids of today.

    “We recently launched a fresh new look for Hungama TV, which embodies the spirit of friendly mischief and spontaneous laughter which is our core proposition for the channel. VIR: The Robot Boy truly celebrates the spirit of childhood and personifies what the channel represents. We are confident that kids will develop a great affinity to the local narrative, humour and situations that Vir and his friends find themselves in” said Devika Prabhu, Director, Programming, Kids Network, Disney UTV.

    According to Ketan Mehta, CMD, Maya Digital Studios,times are changing for the Indian animation industry. “We already have Indian animated shows on air which has become immensely popular. With Vir, we are expanding more. The channels, till now, were basically thriving on recycling of American or Japanese shows. But slowly, they are opening up to the idea of home-grown shows. To penetrate the Indian market, it is important to come up with Indian content that is relatable to the audience,” he says.

  • Hungama TV rebooted

    Hungama TV rebooted

    MUMBAI: Disney UTV’s kids’ channel – Hungama TV – has had a makeover of sorts. The new avatar imparts a more local flavour while retaining the ‘unapologetically fun loving, mischievous and boisterous’ character of the channel.

    The redesigned page was launched on 1 October and it took the in-house team at Disney Interactive a little less than two months for the conceptualisation, direction and execution.

    Of the reboot, Disney UTV Media Networks director – creative services Prashant Madan says: “We have taken the traditional values of Hungama TV, and what it stood for, and just given it a new voice. And we wanted to reach out and put out a message as to what the new voice would be.”

    It's more like a challenge rather than a question explains Madan speaking about the new tagline – Hungama Machaya Kya?

    The brand refresh has been three-pronged; replete with a new tagline – Hungama Machaya Kya?, a new on-air look and package, and a fresh interactive feel.

    “So when we are talking about fun, we just don’t want to show it but make our users feel it, so our live action would really place our brand in a unique place as other kids’ brands don’t do that and it’s a very stand-out thing that we intend on doing. For our positioning, we used real kids to portray what we are trying to say. Like in adults, we have thought leaders, in kids, we have action leaders. So we wanted to inspire other kids and that is where the live action animation comes into play. And that kind of feeling can only be portrayed in true light with the right use of animation and graphics,” elaborates Madan.

    Supplementing the new look for the channel is a music video featuring kids in a colourful, playful mood, bringing alive emotions they experience in everyday life.

    “We have gone a step further with the graphic packaging as well, by adding a lot of things that kids find attractive and love to do. Like flying kites, latoos or playing marbles. So we have drawn inspiration from these small things that kids love to do at that age and converted them into something far more fun and engaging.”

    Incidentally, this is just the first phase of the revamp and the second phase will happen over the course of the year and will be more marketing and content-led.

    Madan says the new tagline is based on a recent survey by the channel where it emerged that there are always a few kids in every group who dictate the action and activities of the flock. Hungama decided to highlight these kids through its tagline while inspiring other children to follow their example and live life to the fullest. “So it’s more like a challenge rather than a question… so go out there and live life is what we are trying to say,” explains Madan.

    Additionally, the channel plans to go more local through its shows like Veer – The Robot, Luv Kush, King Vikram, and Suryaputra Karan.

    The brand refresh has been three-pronged; replete with a new tagline – Hungama Machaya Kya?, a new on-air look and package, and a fresh interactive feel

    So what’s the response so far? “It’s a bit too early to put numbers on the results of the revamp but with time, we will surely be studying them, as it’s something that our users need to acclimatise to,” says Madan.

    Of Disney UTV’s four youth-centric channels – Disney, Hungama, Disney XD and Disney Junior – Hungama is the only channel that is truly home-grown in nature. “We are a channel that is very Indian at heart, and extremely driven by Indian values and visuals, we drew our inspiration for this from the funfair that happens, because we wanted to imbibe the colours, the energy and the vibrancy that is in abundance in these melas, and so we have used those colours and also made ample use of symbols like the kite, latoo, see-saw or the marble contest to make the packaging very vibrant and Indian in nature,” rounds off Madan.