ITV

Tag: Kermit

  • Kermit goes off the air; Hallmark, Modi Entertainment may launch family channel

    Kermit goes off the air; Hallmark, Modi Entertainment may launch family channel

    Kermit Channel has ceased transmission in India, the only market where the children’s channel was still distributed in Asia.

     

    Crown Media Holdings, the Los Angeles-based company which transmits Kermit, had been in discussions with Modi Entertainment Network (MEN) for pay TV signals throughout India, about a possible joint venture to leverage Kermit’s subscriber base for additional distribution and advertising revenue.

     

    Both companies have now taken a mutual decision not to proceed further.

     

    Following this development, MEN is in active talks with Hallmark Entertainment Network for the possible launch of a new channel targeting family audiences.

     

    If that doesn’t work out, some sort of an alliance is definitely on the cards, according to sources.

     

    Crown ceased broadcasting Kermit in all other Asian markets in November. Instead, six hours of dedicated programming for kids was added daily to the Hallmark feed. Three hours midmorning and three in the afternoon. The company now will take the same approach in India.

     

    The decision to pull out Kermit from India was apparently taken by EM TV of Germany. EM holds the controlling stake in the channel after it bought out Kermit creator Jim Henson’s 50% holding.

  • Crown Media talks with Modi Entertainment on Kermit; merges service with Hallmark in Asia

    Crown Media talks with Modi Entertainment on Kermit; merges service with Hallmark in Asia

    US-based Crown Media Holdings, parent of Crown Media International, is in talks with the Modi Entertainment Network (MEN) to set up an Indian joint venture for kid’s channel, Kermit. Crown is exploring whether a relationship of this kind will help increase its distribution and advertising revenue.

    Kermit has been distributed by MEN in India over the past year or so and more than 5,000 IRDs have been placed with cable operators to enable them to receive the encrypted service. The channel charges cable operators a carriage fee of around Re 1 per subscriber. Indian cable ops have also paid up advances for the IRDs.

    Elsewhere in Asia, Crown has taken the decision to relaunch Kermit as a day part service on Hallmark, which is also being recast and reintroduced with a snazzier look and better packaging. Kermit will cease to be telecast as a separate 24 hour feed over Asia from 1 November.

  • Kid Power!

    Kid Power!

    January 18-19 saw a major seminar happening in Mumbai. Indian and international marketing gurus met and discussed how to make children watch more TV and spend more on consumer goods.

    Aptly called “Kid Power-India 2000,” and co-sponsored by the three major children’s services in India -Kermit, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon – the seminar had all the big names in the television industry as well as those from advertising agencies and consumer goods companies, addressing the children’s market, discussing strategies and ideas on how kids can be one of the biggest and most powerful consumers grouping of them all.

    Statistics show that children between the age group of 4-13 years constitute almost 30% of India’s population which roughly translates into a population of 400 million. It is also a known fact that children influence the family-decision making process.

    In the light of these facts the big brains sat together, made presentations and studied the psyche of their potential consumers, discussed strategies such as cross-promotion, outdoor marketing, online marketing, special programmes for the children in the rural areas and many more such innovative and interesting concepts to reach out to this huge market segment.