Kids TV is poised for expansion in India with Reliance ADAG‘s Big Broadcasting set to debut this fiscal.
Anticipating an increase in competition, the existing broadcasters in the kids‘ segment – Disney, Turner and Viacom 18 – have left no stone unturned to woo their loyal audiences.
Indiantelevision.com takes a look at what kept the kids channels busy in the first half of 2008.
With six players fighting it out, there has been no major change in the ratings ladder. Hungama continues to lead in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM) while Cartoon Network stays second, according to Tam data (C&S 4-14 years).
The southern region, however, has seen a change with Cartoon Network ousting Chutti TV to take the leadership slot.
HUNGAMA CONTINUES TO RULE
Hungama TV leads the pack with an average channel share of 28 per cent. This is followed by Cartoon Network, capturing a 23.3 share.
| Channel | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
| Hungama TV | 25 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 28 |
| Cartoon Network | 25 | 27 | 23 | 20 | 24 | 21 |
| Nickelodeon | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 |
| Pogo | 17 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 |
| Disney Channel | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| Jetix | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Source: TAM Peoplemeter System Mkt: HSM TG: CS 4-14 YRS Period: 1st Jan to 30th June ‘08 | ||||||
Hungama TV has held on to its leadership status with the help of its ‘mad positioning‘ and ‘fun programming‘. The channel did not change its popular content much and mixed it with innovative ideas such as a search for ‘Sabse Bada Pyjama‘, to engage children.
Doraemon and Shin Chan remained popular programmes on Hungama TV. During the on ground activation to promote the search of ‘Sabse Bada Pyjama‘, the two favourite characters toured the key cities across India to urge participation from kids.
Cartoon Network, the oldest channel in the genre, maintained its second position. It displayed an impressive lineup of movies as a part its summer programming, but its channel share dipped in April and June (See table).
Pogo, the sister channel from Turner, has seen a dip in February. However, it recovered quickly and ended the first six months of the year with an average channel share of 17.5 per cent.
“In the summer period (mid-April to mid-June), Cartoon Network and Pogo‘s combined shares grew by 14 per cent (from 6 to 6.9 in absolute terms),” says Turner International India vice president and entertainment networks South Asia deputy general manager Monica Tata.
Turner has long gone the localisation route and tied up with local production houses to churn out Indian shows like CIA, MAD, Sunaina and movies on weekend. It has also acquired a bunch of local Indian animated movies to air on both its channels. The titles include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Gulliver‘s Travels and action-packed Trouble in Tokyo, as well as Ninja Turtles III and Bal Ganesh.
“As far as ratings are concerned, we have always played fair and looked at long-term ratings rather than just a few weeks. Therefore, if you look at our overall performance through the year, it has been positive and we have been number one and number two channels right from January-June 2008, all India, all SECs, 4-14. Cartoon Network and Pogo‘s combined shares in 1 Jan 1 – 30 Jun 2008 stood at 43 per cent in All India;41 per cent in HSM and 48 per cent in South India,” explains Tata.
Nick, which has grown consistently since the last one year, has settled with the third spot. The channel‘s average share in the HSM is 18.3 per cent, benefitting from its “Indianised” marketing initiatives.
“Our shows are extremely filtered and suitable for kids and family watching. Children can connect to the characters readily. Importantly, we carry out monthly initiatives. Even during exams we had ‘Exam Popat‘ which has kept the TG engaged to our channel,” says Nick India VP and GM Nina Elavia Jaipuria.
‘Kaun Banega Valentoon‘, ‘April Fool is School‘, ‘Mother‘s day‘, ‘Masti Ki Pathshala‘ and ‘Nick Fundoo Superstar with Mandira Bedi and Saroj Khan‘ are some of the initiatives that Nick undertook in these six months.
Movies like Stuart Little and Dinotopia augmented the growth.
Kids viewing seems to have been marginally affected during the period when the IPL (Indian Premier League) matches were being telecast live. “IPL must have affected us marginally but not as much as the examinations have done,” says Jaipuria.
Voicing similar sentiments, Tata says, “Cartoon Network and Pogo witnessed a 10 per cent growth during the IPL.”
The next two players in the performance chart are Disney and Jetix. While the former stands at an average channel share of 8 per cent, the later has managed a share of 5 per cent.
CATOON NETWORK BECOMES NUMBER ONE IN SOUTH
The story in the Southern market, however, looks drastically different from what it was in 2007.
| Channel | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
| Cartoon Network | 23 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 30 | 32 |
| Jetix | 26 | 26 | 24 | 26 | 24 | 25 |
| Pogo | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 22 |
| Chutti TV | 25 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 13 |
| Nickelodeon | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Hungama TV | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Disney Channel | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Source: TAM Peoplemeter System Mkt: South Mkt TG: CS 4-14 YRS Period: 1st Jan to 30th June ‘08 | ||||||
Chutti TV has dropped its share every month, ending with an average of 19 per cent in the first half of this year, down from 25.83 per cent in the year-ago period.
Surpassing everyone, Cartoon Network has gone ahead to claim the numero uno position with an average channel share of 26.84 per cent.
In the critical southern market, language plays an important role. Local feed of the channel in Tamil and Telugu has helped Cartoon Network to grow phenomenally.
“We are specifically catering to the southern markets with Tamil and Telugu language feeds and the active viewing day-part of Cartoon Network is already available in these two languages, apart from English in the other two Southern states. This has helped us build strong bonds with kids in South India and provides us with an opportunity to showcase their favourite programming in their preferred language,” explains Tata.
Cartoon Network‘s sister channel Pogo has also remained consistent throughout these xmonths. Its average market share stands at 21.6 per cent.
“Of the top 100 transmissions for the first half of the year 2008, 73 have been from Cartoon Network and 4 from Pogo. Our top shows and characters include Tom & Jerry Cat and Mouse Full House, Ben 10 and from POGO the movie Krrish, Chhota Bheem and Mr Bean,” says Tata.
Chutti TV, which ruled the market ever since its launch in April 2007, has declined to the fourth spot.
Explains Chutti TV business head Kavitha Zubin, “We are still experimenting with shows. We will soon secure our position in the top slot.”
The channel is banking on shows like Gloria‘s House, Me and Mow. It has also acquired movie titles from Southern Star, Sony Pictures which will be aired soon.
“None of our shows are action-based. They are all educational and apt for family viewing. We have a variety of shows like puppets, 2D, 3D and clay cartoons and these are all educational and for family viewing,” says Zubin.
Meanwhile Jetix, the action channel from Disney, has stayed consistent throughout the six-month period with an average channel share of 25.1 per cent.
The channel, which also runs its feed in Telugu and Tamil, remained unmoved from the second spot.
Perhaps, language disconnect is the reason why Nick, Disney Channel and Hungama TV feature in the bottom three.
“We definitely have plans for the southern market but we first want to consolidate our position in HSM,” says Jaipuria.
Turner and Disney went toe-to-toe in the HSM and Viacom‘s Nick saw a consistent growth by “practically re-launching the channel”.
Walt Disney International (India) SVP and MD Antoine Villeneuve said, “Hungama TV is all about madness. It has done well due to three reasons. Our positioning ‘Mad Fun‘ is clear, second our programming is relevant to our positioning and third, with the help of that, we have established a strong connect with our TG.”
The prize for most improved performance, however goes to Viacom‘s Nick, which a year ago was way behind the rest with a lowly 8 per cent share. In the second half of 2007, it‘s been a completely different story though. Nick, with an average relative share of 16.33 per cent, holds the overall third position ahead of Pogo‘s 15.83 per cent.
Turner infused a range of locally produced content in both its channels. “Localisation has been a critical mandate for us and Cartoon Network was the first to acquire Indian animation and to date offers the largest bouquet of Indian animation. We have acquired 16 home grown animations and all have been a huge hit with Indian kids. These include Pandavas – The Five Warriors, Sinbad – Beyond the Veil of Mists, Ramayan the Legend of Prince Ram, Alibaba & Forty Thieves, The Adventures of Tenali Raman, The Adventures of Chhota Birbal, Jungle Tales, Vikram Betaal, The four part Krishna series, Akbar-Birbal, The Legend Of Buddha, and Bal Hanuman,” adds Tata.
Nick India VP and GM Nina Elavia Jaipuria says, “This year we have practically relaunched the channel. We have seen a phenomenal growth in the last year. We are the fastest growing channel in the genre.”
On being queried on the top performing properties on the channel Jaipuria says, “Nick Home Cinema, Keystone, Sponge Bob have been the channel drivers. Apart from that, the 360 degree promotions across 38 major cities in HSM has helped us to get connected with these kids.”
That was not all, Disney‘s High School Musical 2 was exploited to its maximum. There were local songs composed and a nationwide dance contest conducted to establish this ‘Connect‘. However, on the performance charts, Disney came down from 16 per cent in July to 10 per cent in December.
The southern data saw a continuous zig zag fight among two channels Jetix, which is still going strong, and Chutti TV which directly jumped to the relative share of 26 in December from a single 2 per cent in the month of April.
Explaining toIndiantelevision.com Nick India VP and GM Nina Jaipuria says, “We have made a conscious effort to do what we promised at the beginning of the year, that is to connect to our loyal audiences and to acquire new audiences via our on-air and on-ground activities. This has helped increase the affinity of kids to the channel. On the ratings front, we have witnessed 67 per cent growth in TVRs which makes us the fastest growing the category across Hindi speaking markets. We have also grown by 54 per cent in reach, while the reach of the category as a whole has stagnated at 64 per cent from January to June 2007.”
Coming back to the two top networks, Disney did overthrow the long standing player at the helm Turner in February and June, but what’s intriguing is that the fortunes of Disney appear to be mostly tied into the fate of its adopted baby Hungama TV which peaked during these two months clocking a share of 24 and 25 respectively. In North India Jetix has been slipping from a share of 7 to 5, while Disney Channel has been fairly consistent with an average share of 15.5. Hungama TV has emerged as the chart topper in the Hindi markets in the month of June.
When queried on the pitfalls that the channel encountered, Bhosle elaborated that her attempts at a pre-school block in August 2006 did not take off well, even though she re-tried this strategy in June this year as well. Additionally, action anime and Bollywood flicks were not received well by her audiences. “Besides kid’s centric Bollywood films are too few and only provide one-off spikes. I would rather focus on building properties that will consistently deliver,” she adds.
Turner International India VP advertising sales and networks, India and South Asia Monica Tata says, “Cartoon Network and Pogo have never looked at short-term measures or short-term results, even when it was the only kids’ channel in India. As far as ratings are concerned, we have always played fair and looked at long-term ratings rather than just a few weeks.
Steering our analysis towards South India, we find that the new Tamil kid from the Sun stable has rattled up the market, especially eating into a substantial chunk of both Cartoon Network and Pogo’s audiences.
Making up for its dipping numbers in the North is Walt Disney’s Jetix which held on to its position in the South. Jetix garnered a share of 26 and 27 for May and June, despite the onslaught of FTA newcomer Chutti TV that gobbled up a share of 21 for the two months after launch.
Bracing up for the months ahead Tata concludes, “We have always led from the top and not shifted or changed our strategies in reaction to competition. Our vision is to be a major kids’ lifestyle brand in the next few years. And we have been working very hard this past year to move aggressively and rapidly towards that vision. We are no longer taking baby steps but extending the brands across various platforms to ensure that we reach out to kids at every possible access point.”
