Child’s play becomes serious TV business

As things stand, there are six kids’ channels — Cartoon Network, Pogo, Disney (two from the stable), Hungama, Nickelodeon and Animax — in almost all the Indian languages. English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu lead the way.

The size of the children’s TV market is growing at a sprightly 20 per cent, according to Walt Disney India Managing Director Rajat Jain. And the potential is huge. ‘‘Till last year, kids spent 10 minutes on these channels and the remaining time on general entertainment channels. This just goes to show the scope for appropriate programming for children in the country,” says Jain.

And advertisers are licking their chops. There’s very little niche advertising aimed at children, for now, which reflects on the enormous power they wield in adult purchasing decisions.

Ask Purnendu Bose of Hungama TV — the only kids channel with a Made-in-India tag — and he says the ad pie is set to boom in India. “If one-third of the country’s population is children and 7 out of 10 commercials have kids to have that emotional connect, the ad pie for kids TV cannot remain what it’s today.’’ The channel is aiming at older children.

That’s why the channels are looking at widening the kid market. The Disney channel, for instance, is strictly not just for kids. It is family-with-kids in tow that is the target, underlines Jain. So, throw in popular movies from the Disney studios and lots of how-to-do programmes.

Most channels do not look at kids as a general block. POGO, for instance, has age brackets spread through the day — in the 4-14 age group, the programmes through the day are targeted at pre-schoolers, 3-6 age group, as well as children and family categories. “Access to information and influence of TV has made kids sharper and smarter in making their own purchase decisions as well as influence their elders,” says Bose.

Localisation is the key. For the Disney channels launched less than a month ago, its most bankable star Mickey Mouse has not only got an Indian passport, he’s speaking Indian languages as well.

Says Monica Tata, Vice-President, All India India Advertising Sales, Turner International, ‘‘Localisation is extremely important for both Cartoon Network and POGO.’’ Most channels have become highly localised with live action shows, comedy and animation. And up next: Promotional licensing, and innovative marketing events for children, backed by comprehensive surveys, are guiding the broadcasters to their goal of achieving absolute viewership.