ITV

Tag: Sony YAY

  • Kids today watch more animated content than ever

    Kids today watch more animated content than ever

    MUMBAI: Despite the advent of interesting live action and feature films for kids, data suggests that animated content still rules the roost. According to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data, consumption of non-animated content has decreased considerably in 2017 from 2012.

    During 2012, although the animation genre garnered a majority of the viewership, the eyeballs that were grabbed by feature films and live action programmes for kids was not insignificant. The animation genre garnered 71 per cent of traction, whereas feature films gained 18 per cent of viewers and 11 per cent of viewership was observed in the live action programmes genre.

    For analysis, 2012 and 2017’s viewership for animation, live action programmes and feature films in the urban markets in India were compared by BARC. The viewership data was analysed for the 4-14 years of age group in the year 2012, whereas kids in the age group of 2-14 years were analysed during the year 2017.

    ”I believe ‘building a connect’ is the key when it comes to our audience. While doing extensive research for our channel, Sony Yay, we discovered kids have a larger-than-life imagination and relate to characters basis affinity for them,” says Sony Pictures Network kids genre business head Leena Lele Dutta. “We feel continuous innovations in TV content and offering audiences with endearing characters and compelling stories, which also appeal to their imagination, help in creating a win-win scenario for both.”

    In 2017, the viewership of animation increased to 89 per cent. Feature films dipped from 18 per cent in 2012 to 8 per cent in 2017. Talking about the live action programmes, the viewership in 2017 drastically decreased in the last five years. Live action was left with just 2 per cent.

    The trend observed clearly shows that kids’ channels are betting more on animation driven by international content dubbed in local languages and even locally produced content. Doraemon, Chhota Bheem and Motu Patlu are among the most watched shows.

    Although 60 per cent of the total kids’ viewership on TV in 2012 was by the 9-14 years age bracket, it contributes only 48 per cent viewership of kids’ channels in this year.

    Talking about the kids’ viewership prime time slots, kids viewership starts rising from early morning hours and peaks in the early afternoon. Viewership does not witness any substantial increase post 6 pm, as kids lose control of remote to parents. This potentially reflects co-viewing.

  • 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.

  • Sony Yay builds local characters to monetise

    Sony Yay builds local characters to monetise

    MUMBAI: The Indian arm of the Sony Network had it all – GEC, music, film, sports, you name it. What lacked was a brand for the children of the country. That gap was filled when it launched Sony Yay in April this year.

    It’s not as if Sony was devoid of kids content. It launched Animax in 2004, a pure anime destination, but branded it as ‘animation for everyone – not just for kids’. In two years time, it dropped kids and plugged into the youth audience of 15-24 year olds and in 2006, it introduced live action.

    Over time, the channel lost its lustre and the channel decided to convert it to Yay  in 2017 and grab a share of the 2-14 age group. “Technically we didn’t replace Animax but it sort of gave way to our intention of launching into the kids space, which was the only missing genre for the network. Animax is still available for interested audiences online on SonyLiv,” says Sony Pictures Network India kids genre business head Leena Lele Dutta.

    It was early 2016 when the network started researching on what Indian kids love to watch on TV and data pointed to three areas. “Firstly, they like to see funny, happy and laugh-out-loud animation; second they don’t want both animation and live action on the same channel and last was that local characters, local names, ‘takiya qalam’ words strike and instil a chord with children,” she shares. This led to picking 100 per cent animation over live action for Sony Yay.

    Sticking to its principle, the channel tied up with local creators for four original animation series – Guru aur Bhole, Sab Jholmaal Hai, Paap-O-Meter and Prince Jai aur Dumdaar Viru, 52 episodes per show. A fifth show, The Fab 5 – Initial Tango, will release during Christmas and the sixth original will be launched next year. “Slowly we will build new stories and characters to resonate with kids of today,” says an excited Lele. Soon it will build a movie bank for the Sab Jholmaal Hai franchise, similar to what Nick does with Motu Patlu and Pogo with Chhota Bheem.

    Kids tuning into the channel have become addicted to Sab Jholmaal Hai and Guru aur Bhole. Wasting no time, the channel has started displaying back-to-back episodes now so they can binge watch and connect with the characters. “Once kids start watching these existing shows, you will yourself see the movement of the channel,” she adds. Paap-o-Meter is a novel concept and the channel doesn’t expect it to shoot up instantly. Indeed, data from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) indicates that for week 39-42 the two shows did top the channel with average Impressions (000s) of 115 and 110 respectively.

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    Sony owns the intellectual property (IP) rights for all the shows to squeeze out all the benefits, which cannot be done in acquisitions. Though Sony was ready to shed some bucks for dubbed or acquired content, they could not find one with a large repertoire of episodes (more than 100) and neither did any content fit the channel’s bill.

    BARC data also shows that in its first four weeks of launch (week 20-23), the channel had 25,011 average Impressions (000s) sum while the number changed to 22,100 Impressions (000s) sum in week 39-42 for all India age 2-14. Despite the decline, it shows that the initial impression hasn’t faded away.

    Keeping in mind the demographics, the channel abstained from keeping it English-centric. “We wanted to remain indigenous, home-grown and local,” she adds. Thus, the main Hindi channel is dubbed into languages of Tamil and Telugu too.

    Speaking of advertisers, Dabur Red Paste, Hershey’s, Domino’s Pizza and Lifebuoy are some of the brands associated with the channel. Datta mentions they had 7-8 brands coming on board every week, from FMCG and even those targeting kids.

    It will soon look at minting money through other areas and not depend solely on on-air advertising. “Once we make our characters popular, it opens up all avenues for us such as product licencing and digital distribution because we own the IPs,” she says.

    Very soon there will be canter activations for kids in 50 cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

    With big ambitions, it remains to be seen if the channel can fight the crowded kids market and see a significant jump in its claim.

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  • Sony Yay! associates with ‘Animals Matter To Me’ to make this Diwali ‘Pawesome’

    Sony Yay! associates with ‘Animals Matter To Me’ to make this Diwali ‘Pawesome’

    MUMBAI: Animals play an integral role in our lives, always showering us with love no matter what. However, in return we humans rarely reciprocate their love. It is imperative today that children understand that animals too have feelings and need to be loved and cared for, the same way they do to us. This Diwali, in order to light up the lives of our furry friends, Sony Yay! has partnered with Animals Matter To Me – an NGO and rescue foundation in Mumbai, to encourage children in India to love and care for animals.

    With this initiative, Sony YAY! has taken it upon itself to re-ignite the eternal bond of love and friendship that naturally exists between animals and humans. With the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we rarely find time to play with our furry friends. To make this Diwali a memorable and ‘pawesome’ one Guru and Bhole from Sony Yay! along with children, will visit the Animals Matter To Me center in Mumbai to spread some cheer and share some love and affection to the animals there. Through this the channel and the NGO aim to spread awareness about caring for animals, this Diwali, on their digital platforms. Both will extensively promote different ways to protect animals from cruelty, the effects of our actions on them, the concerns pertaining to their wellness as well as interesting trivia. A special helpline number, exclusively created for Diwali, will also be shared and promoted for people to be able to report any cruelty.

    Through this initiative, Sony Yay! aims at creating new and responsible standards for festive celebrations, while setting an example to all their little fans to celebrate a happy and safe Diwali with everyone.

    SPN kids genre business head Leena Lele Dutta said: “We believe a partnership of this kind is truly unique as it gives us an opportunity to positively influence and impact the lives of our audiences. Being an animal lover, a campaign like this has always been in mind. And now with a platform like Sony Yay!, reaching out to thousands of kids is possible. As a channel, we aim to lead by example and spread awareness to our children that love, happiness and joy should be extended to our four-legged friends as well. There couldn’t have been a more appropriate time than Diwali to kick start this association, as it is during this time of the year that animals suffer the most. We are delighted to have Animals Matter To Me as our partners, as they are truly dedicated to this worthy cause.”

    Animals matter to me founder Ganesh Nayak said: “Animals M​atter T​o M​e, Mumbai is an NGO working for the welfare of strays animals & abandoned pets. All species are accepted for emergencies and care. AMTM caters to all forms of speechless forms be it an animal, bird or a reptile. Let’s light up lives of less-​fortunate stray animals, abandoned pets and​ ​the homeless​ on ​streets with sweets and lights instead of polluting the environment and the lives around us. Let’s go for a cracker-​free Diwali!”

  • Sony YAY! ushers in festival with ‘Jholmaal Bhari Diwali’

    Sony YAY! ushers in festival with ‘Jholmaal Bhari Diwali’

    MUMBAI: This festive season, Sony YAY! the kids’ entertainment channel from Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), is all geared up for a massive Diwali celebration.

    The channel is bringing a bag full of YAY! this Diwali, with its campaign ‘Jholmaal Bhari Diwali’. This campaign includes various fun-filled offerings from new episodes to on-ground activations, reinforcing its promise of providing unlimited entertainment to its viewers.

    Encouraged by the success of the channel’s series Sab Jholmaal Hai – Bank Robbery’, it is presenting an extension to the series. It captures the story of four best friends who come together to help their neighbour to retain his job by solving a bank robbery.

    SPN kids genre business head Leena Lele Dutta said, “Sony YAY! will be celebrating its first ever Diwali with its little fans all over the country. Diwali is a happy time for all of us and with the holidays and celebrations, kids are the most excited. To add on to this cheer, we are going all out to amplify the YAY! quotient for children this festive season with our Diwali campaign. We want to ensure that their holidays are full of happiness and entertainment, therefore we are bringing them exciting offerings this festive season with a complete fun package of fresh content of our shows and on ground activities.”

    Adding another layer of YAY! ness, the channel will have actor and brand ambassador Tiger Shroff turns professor on television. Titled ‘Tiger Ki Jholmaal Paatshalla’, the segment will have Tiger teaching lessons to the toons of Sab Jholmaal Hai who being equally outrageous in return, promise to have you in engaged in rib-tickling laughter.

    An exciting extension to the campaign, the channel will also give a special treat to kids on-air by launching new episodes of its flagship shows, ‘Sab Jholmaal Hai’ and ‘Guru aur Bhole’, only adding to the festivities of their mega Diwali celebration.

    Taking the festive cheer and fun beyond television, the channel will also be undertaking Jholmaal Bhari Sawari – a road show activity tapping close to 50 cities giving them an immersive brand experience, where the channel will engage with children through exciting contests, giveaways, workshops and a lot more! Sony YAY! will also be engaging with children through activities at various venues through the length and breadth of the country.

  • Disney, Sony YAY!, Green Gold support Kids Karnival

    Disney, Sony YAY!, Green Gold support Kids Karnival

    MUMBAI: Krazy Kids Karnival, a kids’ event with innovative fun and engagement activities for toddlers-to-teens, has been planned on 14 and 15 October at City Park, near MMRDA Office, Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

    Skechers Kids are the title sponsors. Disney Channel, Sony YAY!, Green Gold Animations, Pillsbury, Kidzania, Fru2go, Jungle Magic, and JAMMS are their other partners.

    The carnival is organised and conceptualised by Meltwater Events and KFORKIDS. At the event, 10-15 workshops will be held on storytelling, science lab, art and craft zone, adventure camping.

    Meltwater Events director Navin Todi said, “We realised there is need of a place where the family could spend quality time with their kids in a safe environment. This event will provide opportunities to combine entertainment with knowledge for kids.” Meltwater director Niphul Jain, “It is not only about having fun but also about learning and development.”

  • Sony YAY! honours role models – Kher, Phogat, Shiamak and Birju Maharaj on Teacher’s Day

    Sony YAY! honours role models – Kher, Phogat, Shiamak and Birju Maharaj on Teacher’s Day

    MUMBAI: A mentor, a guide, a confidante, a friend — a teacher plays a significant roles in shaping a child’s identity and helping him realise their dreams. Though we celebrate every Teacher’s Day with our mentors, recognising and thanking the people who are key in helping our country grow is imperative too. Without them, we wouldn’t be celebrated for our achievements worldwide, neither would we have people we now consider as our heroes.

    So, this Teacher’s Day, Sony Pictures Networks India’s (SPN) kid’s entertainment channel – Sony YAY! has taken upon itself the onus to commemorate the energy and efforts of our teachers as they shape the biggest role models of this country.

    The channel’s most loved characters, Prince Jai and Dumdaar Viru, honoured the real heroes for their effort and for giving the country some of their most revered champions.

    One of the people acknowledged by Sony YAY! was Mahavir Singh Phogat, the man of steel behind the heroic success of his daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat who have become India’s most renowned female wrestlers, bringing India unprecedented glory.

    Ace choreographer, Shiamak Davar, who trained over a million of students since he started his journey over two decades back has given the country dancing stars like Shahid Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Sushant Singh Rajput and many more. Shiamak has led his students to represent India at prestigious platforms like the Commonwealth Games amongst others making him the finest dance guru the country has seen till date.

    Amongst these heroes, Shaheen Mistri was recognized as well. An Indian social activist and educator, she is the founder of the Akanksha Foundation, an Indian educational initiative in Mumbai and Pune, and is also the CEO of Teach For India, helping children of the country grow and helping them follow their dreams.

    Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee Anupam Kher, credited with leading one of India’s biggest acting schools, was commemorated for mentoring and honing the talent of some of India’s biggest superstars including Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan to name a few.

    One of the most revered Indian classical dancer and teacher, Pandit Birju Maharaj was also felicitated as the part of the campaign for his unfaltering efforts for over six decades in teaching the classical dance form of Kathak to students in the country and across the world including celebrities like Madhuri Dixit, Deepika Padukone and others.

    SPN kids genre business head Leena Lele Dutta said, “We, at Sony YAY!, want to be the ultimate happiness destination for kids, on television and beyond. The idea of ‘Heroes behind the Heroes’ stemmed from this thought of spreading joy not only to kids but encourage them to pass it on to people who shape their lives. Through this unique initiative, we want to thank all teachers, who are the true backbone of the nation, for all the time and effort they have put in to bring out the greatness in all their students. On this Teacher’s Day, we’re thanking the teachers who have helped make our favorite people who they are today.”

    Davar said: “I thank Sony YAY! for this lovely award that’s been given to me and I’m very happy to be honoured with this because as a teacher, I’m so happy that Shahid, Sushant, Boman, Aishwarya and everybody who has been with me for so many years has really gone forward in their careers. So for me, it’s a very big honour and I’m very grateful. Thank you, Sony!”

    Kher said: “I’m very honoured to be presented this award, “Heroes Behind The Heroes” by Sony YAY!. It’s on a teacher’s day, I felt happy when Jai and Viru decided to give me this award. Teachers in any form are actual heroes because they produce so many heroes and it’s a thankless job because they need to create more and more stars or heroes and they remain there. This is a very fine award that Sony YAY! has given me.”

    Mistri says, “I was just feeling very inspired that we got an opportunity to receive this award. I think that the real hard work that goes into Teach for India is by our students and our kids and they have such big challenges and they work so hard so I think it is really beautiful recognition of that and also thank you as it’s just fun to meet the characters and they are so lovely. But I think for me the award or any award is more than anything else it’s just a reminder that we need to do so much more that’s such a long way ahead for our kids.”

    Pandit Birju Maharaj says, “Thank you so much and I felt really nice because I have spent my whole life teaching. It doesn’t matter what field you are in, according to me the position of a teacher is that of God. Since the start, I am teaching kids and I will always keep teaching them. I’m really happy to receive this award from Sony YAY! Channel.”

  • Sony Yay! partners with India Kids Fashion Week

    MUMBAI: Sony Yay!, the newest offering from Sony Pictures Networks India, has partnered with the latest edition of the India Kids Fashion Week as the official kids channel partner.

    The channel promises to be the ultimate happiness destination for kids and with its association with IKFW will bring another opportunity to spread smiles and inspiration in their young audiences’ life. As the official kids channel partner, Sony Yay! will air the Mumbai & Delhi shows that are scheduled for 29 and 30 July at Radisson Blu, Dwarka, New Delhi, and 12 and 13 August at the Lalit, Mumbai.

    In addition, the toons from the channel’s original offerings – Guru AurBhole will also engage and walk the ramp with the kids at the fashion show.

    Since its inception, Sony Yay! has been trying to connect with its target audience (age group 2-14 years) through various initiatives. The channel aims to give the kids a good laugh and huge doses of unadulterated entertainment in an environment that allows them to be themselves without any worry, which is in line with the objective of India Kids Fashion Week as well. The platform seeks to create a significant mark on the international kids fashion industry while providing a platform for nurturing individual identities of young designers with the potential to be future leaders and role models.

    IKFW, an initiative of Event Capital (A Laqshya Media Group Company) and Craftworld Events, has made a glorious impact on the nation’s fashion week calendar and aims to be bigger and better, fostering qualitative opportunities for both designers to showcase their creativity and kids to showcase their innate awesomeness in its 5th edition.

    Craftworld Events director Manoj Mahla said, “We are glad to partner with Sony Yay!. The channel came as a natural fit for India Kids Fashion Week. Together we aim to make IKFW bigger and better this year.”

    Sony Yay! business head Leena Lele Dutta added, “India Kids Fashion Week is the biggest platform for kids fashion industry. We are glad to be associated with them. Our constant endeavour has been to reach out to kids all across the nation and we are always on the lookout for partners who can help us achieve this. Our aim is to be the unlimited happiness destination for kids and together, with India Kids Fashion Week, we want to give the kids an opportunity for them to be themselves.”

  • Sony Yay! launches interactive campaign ‘Finding Funny’

    MUMBAI: Sony Yay! has launched an interactive campaign named Finding Funny Challenge in association with Act II. The campaign is presented by Johnson’s Active Kids Shampoo.

    Aimed to harness children’s adventurous & playful spirit, this two-month long campaign will add a fun and amazement quotient by setting children up for a treasure hunt to find ‘Funny’ – a crazy fun character that pops onto the screen to every kid’s surprise. Children will be able to find ‘Funny’ on their home screens between 1-3 pm during their favorite shows Guru Aur Bhole, Sab Jholmaal Hai and win some exciting gadgets.

    With this campaign, Sony Yay! aims to set a new benchmark of interactivity and engagement with children in the back-to-school season.

    As a part of this campaign, the channel introduces its first ever School Contact Programme across the country. Tapping 800 schools nationally, the programme plans to be the widest reach initiative undertaken by any kids’ channel. The programme will cover 26 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and key cities from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat, to name a few.

    The campaign started on 10 July. Sony YAY’s School Contact Program will add huge doses of excitement to the children’s everyday school life by bringing them a host of interactive games, trivia, competitions, and prizes.

    Sony Yay business head Leena Lele Dutta said, “We all know that children’s imagination is unbounded and adventurous, exploration and play is what they thrive on. We wanted to encourage this very spirit amongst our little fans and that became the genesis of the Finding Funny campaign. To extend this campaign on- ground, we are also embarking upon the largest ever School Contact Program. We aim to make Sony Yay! the go-to destination of entertainment and engagement for children, and the Finding Funny campaign and School Contact Program are a strong step forward in that direction.”

    “We believe happy, playful children show more keenness to learning. By bringing entertainment and engagement to their schools, we want to reach 800 schools. We are excited to begin this interactive journey with the little ones. Through each initiative we take, we aim to strengthen our position as the ultimate destination of happiness for kids.”

  • 61 board Spider-Man brand-wagon, TN resolution expected

    MUMBAI: Ranking as one of the highest brand associations for a Hollywood movie released in India, around 61 companies have joined the Spider-Man brand-wagon for themed and promotional consumer products with seven promotion/media partners.

    Sony Yay! ambassador Tiger Shroff said that Spider-Man was etched in his memory since he was a kid, and had been his superhero. Sony Pictures Entertainment India is aiming for a wide release, scheduled to take over around 1400 screens in India on Friday. The channel is hopeful about the film’s release in 110-120 screens in Tamil Nadu following GST protests there.

    Collaborating with around 61 brands across categories, Disney India’s consumer products business hopes to encash the euphoria over Spider-Man.

    Some the brands associated with Spider-Man are — Mattel, VIP, Titan, Bata, Crocs, Funskool, Scholastic, Max, Lifestyle, Bioworld, Welspun and D’décor, etc. e-commerce and retail partnerships have been struck with Hamleys, Flipkart, Amazon and Landmark. The promotional and media partners are Cinepolis, BookMyShow, Oppo, Amul, Dell and HDFC Bank, etc.

    Besides English, the film is slated to release in additional three languages – Hindi, Telugu and Tamil although the trailer was released in 10 Indian languages.