Nickelodeon is set to add two new original IPs this summer to the existing 11 – ‘Abhimanyu Ki Alien Family’ and ‘Kanha – Morpankh Samrat’.
During the unveiling of the two new shows, Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Head – Hindi Mass Entertainment & Kids TV Network, Viacom18, said, “It’s not just being number one in terms of viewership but it is also being number one in terms of having the highest reach in the category. With Nick and Sonic at No. 1 and 2 respectively, as a franchise we deliver 44mn. Turner with Discovery included now, has 37mn. So we are by far the highest reach drivers and therefore we also believe that advertisers love us.”
She added that in the Jan to March 2023 quarter, the reach has grown with March also registering 10pc higher than the rest of the year. The network has also been successful in monetising its reach, she explained.
“We are over 35 to 36 pc of the ad sales pie as well. It is a very profitable business, we continue to deliver profits to Viacom18 over the past many years. Our margins are very robust. In spite of the merger of Turner and Discovery, we have been higher than them on viewership as well as on ad sales,” Jaipuria said.
While in FY 23 FCT dropped by 4pc across genres, the kids genre saw a growth of 3 to 4 percent, she noted.
“Kids genre continues to attract advertisers which are kid and non-kid advertisers for obvious reasons because we have a whole lot of co-viewing on the channel. It’s heartening to see that there are new ads, clients and categories that have come on board as well to sample the kids genre this year,” added the executive.
She attributed the kids channels’ success to research it does with Ormax and Kantar on the brand equity, exploratory research with Third Eye and also consistent concept testing.
“We are constantly in touch with children because we believe that they enter and exit age groups fast and their trends change. We have launched 11 ‘Made in India, made by Nickelodeon’ IPs in 11 years and now about to launch two more. We have a very large library of 1100 hours of local content and we are adding to it every single year,” Jaipuria explained.
Speaking with Medianews4u, Anu Sikka, Head – Creative, Content & Research, Kids TV Network, Viacom18, said that the share of the kids genre in the Indian television space has been consistent at 6 to 7 percent.
In the kids genre, Nick Jr. caters to two to six-year-olds, with shows like Dora, Diego and Peppa Pig, in Hindi and English. Nick HD is for early teens, with content from Nick international in English. Nick, the mother brand, caters to the two to 14 age group, in seven languages and a majority of the content is produced locally in India, explained Sikka. Shows include Motu Patlu, Chikoo aur Bunty, Rudra and now, Abhimanyu Ki Alien Family. Sonic is a channel where Viacom18 is trying to bring shows for the entire kids TG, also in seven languages, with a mix of dubbed international and domestic shows.
“This quarter is always the most crucial for the kids category because they have the vacation period, they are sitting at home without homework, so it is a perfect time. It’s a very cluttered quarter for the kids category and that’s why we have to really stand out to be seen and heard because today things are being bombarded to children virtually from every front. To keep kids glued on you have to keep offering something new to them throughout the year and we do that by offering new episodes of some of the most famous, successful shows that we have. This is perhaps the first time when we have launched two properties in one summer. Usually if we have to launch two properties in a year we stagger it – we launch one in summer and one during the festival time which is October to December. These are typically the quarters that we go after. The viewership is at its highest and so is the revenue,” surmised Sikka.
