Kiddie watch

They started with bringing in their international programming in the English language for a limited kiddie audience. Till they started dubbing their programming first in Hindi and then in other languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Kiddie and teen television channels such as Cartoon Network and Animax realised that if they wanted to attract more kids and youngsters, they had to reach out to them in local languages.

While this did help increase viewership enough to attract more broadcasters to launch kiddie channels, two major developments have followed: one, with more children looking for programming (and channels) specifically meant for them, children’s channels have started seeking out more locally relevant programming sourced from within India, to increase their appeal. Two, the channels are finding the highest viewership appeal among the four-14 years age band. A report by Deloitte India on animation, broadcasting and gaming in the country, says that there is a growing demand for kids’ shows and the number of TV channels dedicated to kids are increasing. In 2009 itself, three channels for kids were launched. This trend is expected to continue.

Pogo, the report said, has increased its original Indian content from 50 hours in 2004 to more than 200 hours in 2009. Nickelodeon too, inspired by the success of Little Krishna, is expanding its local content. Walt Disney’s Disney Channel, Jetix and Hungama are showing around 40 per cent original Indian programmes and cartoons. Overall, across the kiddie channels, the average share of original Indian content is around 20 per cent (published reports), with mostly animation-based shows.

Read more at: Hindustantimes.com