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Nithya Subramanian

At least three new channels for kids are eyeing the Indian market place and are likely to go on air in the next few months.

If you are worried that television is turning your little ones into couch potatoes, then brace yourself for some more news. At least three new channels for kids are eyeing the Indian marketplace and are likely to go on air in the forthcoming months.

While Turner International launched sister channel POGO exclusively for India, the Star Group is working on a channel similar to Fox Kids. Sony Entertainment Television has announced that it would bring in Animax later this year and the Walt Disney Company is also in talks with distributors for its Disney Channel.

Advertising industry officials say that this is a segment that is set to witness growth. Sandip Tarkas, President, MPG India, part of Havas Advertising, says, "Currently, Cartoon Network has been dominating the children's space, while Viacom Inc's Nickelodeon, which is the leader internationally, has not done very well in India. Other channels air children's programming on specific time-bands, such as Fox Kids on Star Plus or Cartoon Network on Zee, and these have done well. There is an opportunity in that segment."

According to the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)-Ernst & Young Entertainment Report, the total television market in 2003 was an estimated Rs 12,900 crore, with advertising revenues about Rs 4,200 crore. Of this, children's and infotainment channels have just two per cent share. Media planners say that the kids' market is estimated to be much larger because a lot of advertisements targeted towards children are aired on general entertainment channels. "Hence there is potential akin to sports or news channels," they add.

The advertising industry officials point out that both the news and sports channels have witnessed tremendous growth. "The biggest gainer has been the sports genre whose share increased from 3 per cent in 2002 to 13 per cent in 2003," says the report.

Action is also hotting up among niche segments. Apart from the 100-odd existing channels, more are likely to go on air soon. The Times Group is aggressively eyeing the television space with the proposed launch of several channels in the general entertainment, business, lifestyle and spiritual genres. The company has been going on a hiring spree and has recruited professionals who have previously worked in advertising agencies as well as broadcasting companies such as Zee and Sony.

The industry buzz is that Zee has also been scouting for niche channels, and that Animal Planet from the Discovery-BBC joint venture may be re-launched under a new global strategy.

Industry sources say that the launch of niche channels is indicative of the maturing market. Currently, niche channels comprising English and Hindi movie channels and music channels account for close to 20 per cent of the total television advertising revenues. The sources also add that these channels will be important when competition among the various direct-to-home (DTH) platform providers hots up.

DTH battleground

India could, perhaps, be the only country where there would be competition in DTH broadcasting. The Subhash Chandra-promoted ASC Enterprises' Dish TV is trying to offer several more specialised channels and has also only recently changed its logo. The Tata-Star Group venture called Space TV, targeting a Diwali launch, is in the process of getting regulatory approvals. Officials in the venture claim that the content on the DTH platform would be the main attraction. "We will offer some excellent choices to the consumers," says a spokesman. Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati is also planning to launch its services shortly for the North-East and hilly regions where terrestrial service is not available.

Officials in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry say that the launch of some DTH services would help tame the cable industry.

"If DTH is available cheap, then the monopoly of the cable industry would also come to an end," they add. All the players are looking at gaining a huge subscriber base by keeping the price of the DTH services low.

Response can be sent to life@thehindu.co.in

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