ITV

Tag: kids channel

  • BARC week 23: Nick continues to lead the kids genre with Motu Patlu

    BARC week 23: Nick continues to lead the kids genre with Motu Patlu

    MUMBAI: Week 23 saw Viacom 18’s Nick staying strong in its top position as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India’s all India (U+R) data in NCCS All 4-14 Individuals category.

    The channel has bagged a 95275 (000s sums) ratings, followed by Hungama with 71679 (000s sums) and Disney Channel on the third spot with 70307 (000s sums) ratings.

    Turner International’s Pogo TV was on the fourth spot with a viewership rating of 55133(000s sums), while its sister channel Cartoon network came last amongst the five most watched channels in the genre with a rating of 33996 (000s sums).

    When it comes to top five programs in the kids genre, Nick’s Motu Patlu was the uncontested ruler with all the top five positions taken by Nick’s flagship characters, and the trend seems to have continued for the past couple of weeks.

    While Motu Patlu In Alien World – Part I secured top spot with 1101( 000s sums) ratings, Motu Patlu In Carnival Island was second in the list with 1000(000s sums), followed by Motu Patlu 36 Ghantey Race Against Time with 934(000s sums) viewership ratings.

    Motu Patlu Mission Moon and Motu Patlu Deep Sea Adventure were fourth and fifth in the list with 929 (000s sums) and 807 (000s sums) respectively.

  • BARC week 23: Nick continues to lead the kids genre with Motu Patlu

    BARC week 23: Nick continues to lead the kids genre with Motu Patlu

    MUMBAI: Week 23 saw Viacom 18’s Nick staying strong in its top position as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India’s all India (U+R) data in NCCS All 4-14 Individuals category.

    The channel has bagged a 95275 (000s sums) ratings, followed by Hungama with 71679 (000s sums) and Disney Channel on the third spot with 70307 (000s sums) ratings.

    Turner International’s Pogo TV was on the fourth spot with a viewership rating of 55133(000s sums), while its sister channel Cartoon network came last amongst the five most watched channels in the genre with a rating of 33996 (000s sums).

    When it comes to top five programs in the kids genre, Nick’s Motu Patlu was the uncontested ruler with all the top five positions taken by Nick’s flagship characters, and the trend seems to have continued for the past couple of weeks.

    While Motu Patlu In Alien World – Part I secured top spot with 1101( 000s sums) ratings, Motu Patlu In Carnival Island was second in the list with 1000(000s sums), followed by Motu Patlu 36 Ghantey Race Against Time with 934(000s sums) viewership ratings.

    Motu Patlu Mission Moon and Motu Patlu Deep Sea Adventure were fourth and fifth in the list with 929 (000s sums) and 807 (000s sums) respectively.

  • Kids channels bring alive superheroes with experiential marketing

    Kids channels bring alive superheroes with experiential marketing

    MUMBAI: Kids have a special bond with their fictional superheroes that often calls for a reel to real life interaction. There is a certain charm about a Motu and Patlu surprising kids in a mall or a Chhota Bheem paying a special visit at a child’s home to celebrate its birthday. This is a bond, a charm that on-air promotions can seldom create.

    Channels understand this well, and over the last few years have been very proactive in making their flagship characters larger than life and iconic for their fans. Activities can range from a simple meet and greet, retail activities, costume parades, to creation of entire fantasy lands to be enjoyed by the tiny tots at the channel’s expense.

    “With our constant experiential marketing initiatives we have taken our characters out of television screens, thus making them a part of every child’s daily life.  A significant part of our marketing initiatives through school contact programmes, meet and greets, retail activities etc., are focused  at creating  memorable experience on ground for children with our toons,” shared Viacom18’s kids cluster EVP & and business head Nina Elavia Jaipuria.

    Not too long ago, Nickelodeon and ABP came together with plans to give kids in Kolkata a chance to not only meet Motu Patlu but also engage at the carnival with loads of games. The entire City Centre mall was converted to get the look of Furfuri Nagar and kids got a chance to win super cool Motu Patlu merchandise as well.

    Turner International, that owns popular children’s channels Cartoon Network and Pogo, has been known to reinvent the wheel for connecting with their audience through innovative on ground activations. In 2014, Cartoon Network organized the first ever CN Super Toons award in Mumbai, it was a spectacle to witness performances, cartoon characters and an audience of over 9,000 kids and parents.

    For Pogo, last year the network had engaged the consumers through Bheem ka Fitness Formula and Mighty Raju Ka Space Station. Both the activities were based on highly relevant themes and proved to be very engaging.

    The network also makes it a point to have regular touch points at schools and education centres or School Contact Programs (SCPs).  “Over the past decade, Cartoon Network and Pogo have been conducting annual SCPs that target students across the country with innovative and socially relevant concepts packaged around the brands. SCPs by both these channels reach out to over 1 million students across 11 cities — Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ludhiana; (CN only): Coimbatore, Amritsar; (Pogo only): Chennai,” revealed Turner International, executive director and kids network head, Krishna Desai.

    For a very long time kids have grown up watching reading and playing with international super stars. Therefore it was a challenge for kids channels to have their home grown characters inspire the same awe that their international characters did. Solidifying the connect that kids shared with these onscreen characters and making them aware of the ease to relate with them was a fine way to do it.

    In fact Discovery Kids revved up its experiential marketing in 2015 and heavily promoted its home grown character Kisna through it. In December 2015, the network launched the Discovery Kids Joy Express in partnership with Rapid Metro Gurgaon and so far over 3000 kids and their parents have so far come on board and enjoyed the DiscoveryKids Joy Express.

    “The initiative includes many activities such as exciting games, art and craft, puppet shows, magic shows and a chance for kids to meet their favourite character Kisna. The Discovery Kids Joy Express is operational every weekend from 12noon to 4pm from the Sikanderpur Rapid Metro Station. In addition to this, Kisna has visited several cities across the country to celebrate festivals and other occasions with kids in that city. Kisna visited Jaipur in January to celebrate Makar Sankranti and joined kids in kite-flying,” shared a Discovery Kids spokesperson.  Kisna also regularly visits malls, amusement parks in various cities to connect with young audiences. The aim of these activities is to bring alive the on-screen experience and get children to meet their favourite character Kisna, face-to-face.

    As per Disney India Content and Communications, Media Networks – head and VP Vijay Subramaniam, it is not enough to engage with the character but it should be within the world that the story is set in. “The affinity loop is very straight forward for us at Disney India. We are constantly researching awareness, likeability and favourites. Experiential is critical when it comes to driving likeability of characters as well as shows. We have proprietary research that we constantly carry out to measure these three attributes, which have shown that it is important to give an opportunity to engage with their favourite characters once that is established,” Subramaniam explained.

    Disney took the third season of Arjun, its first home grown show, to the kids by having engaging mall greets that also included performance and kids were allowed to interact with their superhero Arjun in an immersive and fictional environment.

    While no amount of marketing spends can earn an eight-year-old’s loyalty towards a favourite star, channels are increasingly considering setting aside a part of their marketing budget annually for outdoor activities. “Though the plans are pretty dynamic depending on the need of the hour or our focus point, approximately 40 to 50 per cent of our marketing budget goes into creating experiential engagements for our target audience for both Disney Kids and Hungama,” Subramaniam shared.

    On the other hand Nick usually sets aside 20 to 25 per cent of its marketing budget for on ground and experiential marketing efforts as per Jaipuria.

    However creating an amazing on ground experience alone isn’t enough for the kids’ channels.  Without backing it up with a well strategized social media and digital follow up, some of these events could turn into missed opportunities. Therefore each one the players keeps a ready social feed to take its experiential interaction online and create more impressions on its characters and shows.

     

  • Kids channels bring alive superheroes with experiential marketing

    Kids channels bring alive superheroes with experiential marketing

    MUMBAI: Kids have a special bond with their fictional superheroes that often calls for a reel to real life interaction. There is a certain charm about a Motu and Patlu surprising kids in a mall or a Chhota Bheem paying a special visit at a child’s home to celebrate its birthday. This is a bond, a charm that on-air promotions can seldom create.

    Channels understand this well, and over the last few years have been very proactive in making their flagship characters larger than life and iconic for their fans. Activities can range from a simple meet and greet, retail activities, costume parades, to creation of entire fantasy lands to be enjoyed by the tiny tots at the channel’s expense.

    “With our constant experiential marketing initiatives we have taken our characters out of television screens, thus making them a part of every child’s daily life.  A significant part of our marketing initiatives through school contact programmes, meet and greets, retail activities etc., are focused  at creating  memorable experience on ground for children with our toons,” shared Viacom18’s kids cluster EVP & and business head Nina Elavia Jaipuria.

    Not too long ago, Nickelodeon and ABP came together with plans to give kids in Kolkata a chance to not only meet Motu Patlu but also engage at the carnival with loads of games. The entire City Centre mall was converted to get the look of Furfuri Nagar and kids got a chance to win super cool Motu Patlu merchandise as well.

    Turner International, that owns popular children’s channels Cartoon Network and Pogo, has been known to reinvent the wheel for connecting with their audience through innovative on ground activations. In 2014, Cartoon Network organized the first ever CN Super Toons award in Mumbai, it was a spectacle to witness performances, cartoon characters and an audience of over 9,000 kids and parents.

    For Pogo, last year the network had engaged the consumers through Bheem ka Fitness Formula and Mighty Raju Ka Space Station. Both the activities were based on highly relevant themes and proved to be very engaging.

    The network also makes it a point to have regular touch points at schools and education centres or School Contact Programs (SCPs).  “Over the past decade, Cartoon Network and Pogo have been conducting annual SCPs that target students across the country with innovative and socially relevant concepts packaged around the brands. SCPs by both these channels reach out to over 1 million students across 11 cities — Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ludhiana; (CN only): Coimbatore, Amritsar; (Pogo only): Chennai,” revealed Turner International, executive director and kids network head, Krishna Desai.

    For a very long time kids have grown up watching reading and playing with international super stars. Therefore it was a challenge for kids channels to have their home grown characters inspire the same awe that their international characters did. Solidifying the connect that kids shared with these onscreen characters and making them aware of the ease to relate with them was a fine way to do it.

    In fact Discovery Kids revved up its experiential marketing in 2015 and heavily promoted its home grown character Kisna through it. In December 2015, the network launched the Discovery Kids Joy Express in partnership with Rapid Metro Gurgaon and so far over 3000 kids and their parents have so far come on board and enjoyed the DiscoveryKids Joy Express.

    “The initiative includes many activities such as exciting games, art and craft, puppet shows, magic shows and a chance for kids to meet their favourite character Kisna. The Discovery Kids Joy Express is operational every weekend from 12noon to 4pm from the Sikanderpur Rapid Metro Station. In addition to this, Kisna has visited several cities across the country to celebrate festivals and other occasions with kids in that city. Kisna visited Jaipur in January to celebrate Makar Sankranti and joined kids in kite-flying,” shared a Discovery Kids spokesperson.  Kisna also regularly visits malls, amusement parks in various cities to connect with young audiences. The aim of these activities is to bring alive the on-screen experience and get children to meet their favourite character Kisna, face-to-face.

    As per Disney India Content and Communications, Media Networks – head and VP Vijay Subramaniam, it is not enough to engage with the character but it should be within the world that the story is set in. “The affinity loop is very straight forward for us at Disney India. We are constantly researching awareness, likeability and favourites. Experiential is critical when it comes to driving likeability of characters as well as shows. We have proprietary research that we constantly carry out to measure these three attributes, which have shown that it is important to give an opportunity to engage with their favourite characters once that is established,” Subramaniam explained.

    Disney took the third season of Arjun, its first home grown show, to the kids by having engaging mall greets that also included performance and kids were allowed to interact with their superhero Arjun in an immersive and fictional environment.

    While no amount of marketing spends can earn an eight-year-old’s loyalty towards a favourite star, channels are increasingly considering setting aside a part of their marketing budget annually for outdoor activities. “Though the plans are pretty dynamic depending on the need of the hour or our focus point, approximately 40 to 50 per cent of our marketing budget goes into creating experiential engagements for our target audience for both Disney Kids and Hungama,” Subramaniam shared.

    On the other hand Nick usually sets aside 20 to 25 per cent of its marketing budget for on ground and experiential marketing efforts as per Jaipuria.

    However creating an amazing on ground experience alone isn’t enough for the kids’ channels.  Without backing it up with a well strategized social media and digital follow up, some of these events could turn into missed opportunities. Therefore each one the players keeps a ready social feed to take its experiential interaction online and create more impressions on its characters and shows.

     

  • Cartoon Network voted ‘Superbrand’ for second consecutive year

    Cartoon Network voted ‘Superbrand’ for second consecutive year

    MUMBAI: Turner International India’s kids channel Cartoon Network has been named a ‘Superbrand,’ second time in a row by consumers and the independent Superbrands Council Members of India.

     

    Cartoon Network emerged as the leading brand in the category ‘Satellite Channel – Children’ for the year 2015 – 2016 after having won the accolade in the same category in 2014 – 2015.

     

    Turner International India managing director – South Asia Siddharth Jain said, “We are delighted to know that Cartoon Network continues its award winning spree. Turner Brands have been at the forefront in providing quality content and have been the leaders in not only kid’s entertainment but also in News and English entertainment. Being awarded by Superbrands for the second time in a row is truly an honour and a proof that our content resonates strongly with our viewers and partners.”

  • Cartoon Network voted ‘Superbrand’ for second consecutive year

    Cartoon Network voted ‘Superbrand’ for second consecutive year

    MUMBAI: Turner International India’s kids channel Cartoon Network has been named a ‘Superbrand,’ second time in a row by consumers and the independent Superbrands Council Members of India.

     

    Cartoon Network emerged as the leading brand in the category ‘Satellite Channel – Children’ for the year 2015 – 2016 after having won the accolade in the same category in 2014 – 2015.

     

    Turner International India managing director – South Asia Siddharth Jain said, “We are delighted to know that Cartoon Network continues its award winning spree. Turner Brands have been at the forefront in providing quality content and have been the leaders in not only kid’s entertainment but also in News and English entertainment. Being awarded by Superbrands for the second time in a row is truly an honour and a proof that our content resonates strongly with our viewers and partners.”

  • Kids’ genre is highly dependent on library content: Turner’s Ravindranath

    Kids’ genre is highly dependent on library content: Turner’s Ravindranath

    MUMBAI: The kids’ genre is the third largest genre in the country in terms of viewership. Turner commanded 36.3 per cent Relative Share in 2014 with Cartoon Network at No. 1 and POGO No. 2.

     

    Turner International India vice president ad sales South Asia Juhi Ravindranath spoke to Indiantelevision.com at length about the changes in scope of advertising on kids’ channels and changes that the industry has seen over the last decade.

     

    While a large chunk of advertisers on kids channels are traditionally kids’ brands, the genre has recently witnessed a spurt in non-traditional brands that have come on board to tap the potential that kids offer as audiences. Kids today play a key role as influencers in the family’s decision making.

     

    Ravindranath said, “If you see the total television viewership pie, the kids’ genre commands about seven per cent of the ratings. However, it is highly under monetized as the revenue it rakes in is only three per cent. But with growing influence of children in household decisions and increase in co-viewing, advertisers are beginning to understand the importance of the kids’ genre. Thus, there has been a surge in unconventional categories that come on the channel to engage kids and parents.”

     

    She added, “Since kids’ brands form only five to six per cent of all brands, the growth for this genre is also being driven by non-kids brand categories. Till now largely driven by FMCGs targeting mothers through co viewing in the household, of late we have seen unconventional categories such as automobiles, e- commerce, insurance, etc. Last year, non- traditional advertisers formed about fifty to sixty per cent of all the advertisers on our channels.”

     

    Turner via its kids’ channels – Cartoon Network and POGO, has been driving innovation in terms of ad sales solutions provided to its clients.

     

    Talking about the innovations with brands, Ravindranath said, “Over the years, we have done many innovations on Cartoon Network and POGO. For instance, with Honda we not only did customized spots in which Chhota Bheem promoted road safety but also developed a meet and greet opportunity with Chhota Bheem across the country to gratify winners. Last year, Kellogg’s Chocos partnered with POGO to create a four-part series featuring the Kellogg’s mascot Coco and Chhota Bheem. This not only made for compelling content but also integrated the brand messaging in a subtle and unusual manner. We also partnered with clients like Perfetti and Jungle Magic on Adventures of Sholay.  Going forward, we will continue to focus on offering our clients such unique opportunities to interact with our characters.”

     

    On-ground activities are also a part of Turner’s strategy to entertain and engage its audience and provide a platform to brands to advertise. Turner has been conducting School Contact Programs for Cartoon Network and POGO since the past decade. Every year, through unique concepts, they reach over a million kids across 1000 school throughout India. The annual quarter four events undertaken in November/December also provide brands an opportunity to engage with thousands of kids and parents.

     

    On the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) order on ad cap, Ravindranath said, “The TRAI inventory cap has definitely helped channels grow rates and balance inventory across dayparts and months in a more planned manner.

  • Chrome Data: Sport scores a goal in week 25

    Chrome Data: Sport scores a goal in week 25

    MUMBAI: The week 25 belonged to Sports channels. In the data collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media for opportunity to see (OTS), the genre gained 2.4 per cent.

     

    Ten Sports across the nation scored the highest with 76.2 per cent OTS.

     

    It was followed by Infortainment channels, pan nation, with a minor jump of 0.5 per cent. In the genre, National Geographic Channel topped the list with 85.7 per cent OTS.

     

    Next came, the Hindi Movie channels and Music channel in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM). Both gained 0.4 per cent.

     

    Star Gold with 95.7 per cent and MTV with 88.0 per cent OTS reined their respective genres.

     

    As for the bottom genres, Business News channels saw a drop of 2.0 per cent in the eight metros. Zee Business with 76.8 per cent OTS gained the most.

     

    English Movie channels in the eight metros fell by 1.6 per cent. Movies Now continued its supremacy in the genre with 74.8 per cent OTS.

     

    Hindi News in the HSM and Kids channels across India both saw a fall of 0.3 per cent. ABP News with 94.6 per cent and Cartoon Network with 83.7 per cent OTS topped their respective genres.

  • Doordarshan should run a kids channel

    Doordarshan should run a kids channel

    MUMBAI: Like its counterparts in UK and Australia, why doesn‘t India boast of a channel targeted at kids? That was the theme of a panel discussion at Ficci Frames 2013.

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, who was expected to take part in the panel discussion, was conspicuous by his absence. The session that was supposed to discuss and deliberate upon the importance of a public kids‘ broadcaster went without government representation.

    The panelists comprised CFSI chairman Amol Gupte, Graphiti Multimedia chairman Ram Mohan, and International Advertising Association-India Chapter (IAA-IC) Secretary at Monica Tata. Graphiti Multimedia COO Munjal Shroff was moderator of the session.

    Tata, who was earlier with Turner International and was managing kids channels Cartoon Network and Pogo, said it was imperative for the government to enter the kids broadcasting space as part of its larger social responsibility.

    According to Tata, Doordarshan, the television arm of Prasar Bharati, with its huge reach through terestrial cable will go a long way in reaching kids who don‘t have access to quality content.

    Graphiti Multimedia chairman Ram Mohan, also known as father of Indian animation, felt a public-private partnership would go a long way in making this initiative a success.

    He also felt that a public-owned kids broadcaster would also give a fillip to Indian animation industry besides serving the larger social good – that of helping kids to develop life skills.

    The panelists agreed that the first step was to convince the government to launch such a channel. The content of the channel can be decided later.

    Tata believes that the channel should have content that is educating but also entertaining at the same time.

    CFSI chairman Amol Gupte feels that the time has come for the government to put its foot down and get working on the channel.

    Children, he noted, are exposed to all sorts of crass content that is having a negative impact on them. A DD kids channel would go a long way in plugging that need gap.

    Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) Director AP Parigi feels the government should provide the highway to create centres of excellence in kids‘ broadcasting.

    He also reckoned that the government should have a incubation period of at least five years for the channel before it becomes viable. The curriculum of government-run schools should have synergy with the kids channel.

    While saying that the public kids channel should be a viable option, Tata felt that viability is a subjective term when it comes to a public enterprise.

    Graphiti‘s Munjal Shroff pointed out that the Ficci Media & Entertainment committee has been lobbying for the last four years with the Prasar Bharati to launch a kids channel without much success.

    Shroff also revealed that Sircar has promised to look into the issue. The plan, he further revealed, was to have a dedicated slot on DD which would later be spun-off into a full-fledged channel.

    The panelists urged the small gathering to take the issue up with the government to get them to fast-track the process of launching a children-centric channel.

    Gupte said, "We need advocacy groups to tell the government that this kind of a channel is the need of the hour as part of its larger social responsibility."

    The panelists also felt that a Sesame Street kind of an initiative to give children from under-privileged background a platform to learn skills should be replicated in India. Sesame Street is a long-running American children‘s television series. In India it airs on Cartoon Network as well as on DD.

  • ‘India is the only market where we pay carriage’ : Bruce Dover – Australia Network CEO

    ‘India is the only market where we pay carriage’ : Bruce Dover – Australia Network CEO

    Australia Network, the international channel from the stable of Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), has a hybrid mix of news, drama, lifestyle and kids programming.

     

    The state-funded channel, which has an international presence in over 44 countries across Asia, the Pacific and Indian subcontinent, is planning to launch a kids channel for the pre-school and the 8-14-year-olds.

     

    The expansion plan in India also includes introduction of subtitles in English and Hindi. Co-production deals are part of the agenda to keep in line with India as a focus area for growth.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, Australia Network CEO Bruce Dover talks about how the hybrid programming model has worked in many markets. An old hand at media, Dover was Rupert Murdoch’s right hand man in Beijing. He went on to write a book titled Rupert Murdoch’s Adventures in China.

     

    Excerpts:

    Being a single channel broadcaster is a tough proposition. Are you planning to launch more channels in India?
    The ABC is looking at an Australian kids channel. This would cover both pre-school and the 8-14-year-olds. The idea is to roll the channel out early next year. But this would depend on the funding that we get from the Australian government.

    The BBC made an entry into India after syndicating their content to the pubcaster. Do you have any such plans?
    We have to be careful not to cannibalise our content. Otherwise you might want to start a kids channel, but find that you have already sold your content to other channels.

    How do you plan to grow in India?
    We are planning to introduce subtitles in the fourth quarter of this year. Perhaps, this is necessary because of the Australian accent that our coverage would have. We are also looking at Hindi subtitling for our movies, dramas and documentaries.We already do subtitling in Vietnam. Indonesian subtitles have been introduced this week.

    India is flooded with strong English international channels. How would Australia Network make a mark in India?
    Our speciality is that we are a hybrid channel with a varied programming mix. We have news and current affairs which make up 25 per cent. Then there is lifestyle and dramas, documentaries and children’s programming.

    Earlier the thinking was that TV channels fit single genres the best. International channels like NHK, though, are now following our model.

     

    The lifestyle content is in terms of travel shows and what it is like to be an Indian student in Australia and vice versa. We have a show called Student Postcard where one learns about the good, the bad and the ugly of studying in an Australian university. Can you go out? Can you meet girls? You want to know if certain areas are safe to go out at night.

     

    Our aim is to give Indians more insight into Australia. We do English language learning which is popular in India. This is for students who want to study overseas. We have programming as well as a site which helps you learn and become more proficient in English. Also, there is the cricket link. This helps drive interest in our channel.

    India is a difficult market to get such a niche channel like yours distributed. How much is Australia Network spending on carriage?
    India is the only market where we pay carriage fees. I can’t get into the specifics of that, but we are working with the Setpro team and they have good relations with the operators. We have a five-year deal with them.

     

    Almost 70 per cent of our viewership comes from the South. We are on the Sun Direct DTH platform. We are also available on several cable networks across the country. We have identified 15 towns where we want a sizeable presence.
    ‘Though the government funds us, the people of Australia support us. We fill up a void left by the commercial broadcasters in kids programming. Our news and current affairs content also does not carry ads‘

    Are you looking at co-productions in India?
    It is one of the areas we are looking at. We feel there is a big opportunity here. You could get an Australian cricketer and an Indian cricketer coming together for a show. Factual content around interesting issues would be our area of focus.

     

    We are also looking at doing co-productions around children’s content. We have some IP software. We do kids science programming in other countries. The software and the textbooks can be recreated.

    How many feeds does Australia Network have?
    We have three. One is for the Pacific region, which is important as there are not many channels carrying independent news in this belt. Then there is one for North and Southeast Asia. A third feed is for South Asia. We are now looking to have a feed for the Middle East.

    Which are your key markets?
    Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong are key markets for us. We recently launched in Indonesia and Malaysia and are satisfied with the progress we have made.

     

    India is also an important market for us. We just went through a re-branding process with the tagline ‘From Our World to Yours.’ It is about introducing Australia to India.

    What was the aim of the rebranding?
    We wanted to make it more relevant. We did work with Saatchi and Saatchi as they had the Tourism Australia advertising contract. They spent half a million dollars on research and focus groups as the contract was worth $40 million. We went to them to find out how brand Australia is being perceived in the market.

    How difficult is it to be a public service broadcaster when you have to depend on government for funding?
    We only earn 10 per cent of our costs. The government funds us. The ABC gets its budget every three years. But the people in Australia have no problem with that. The ABC has a long history of producing world class children’s programming. There is an educational bent to it and we have shows like Wiggles. Besides, we do not carry ads, something which parents love. We fill in a void left by the commercial broadcasters.

    Our news and current affairs content also does not carry ads.

    How has the global downturn affected ABC?
    The current economic situation provides an opportunity for us as private networks scale back on their expensive dramas, news and current affairs. They are forced to focus more on studio-based cheap reality shows.

    Do you have plans for the digital space?
    We will take this up as our focus area next year. We are looking at English learning applications. We will also provide news and current affairs video content on the mobile platform.