Indian children spend more time entertaining themselves on digital media than ever, a trend that the leading streaming platforms, hungry for new audiences, are keen to exploit.
Earlier this month, IndianTelevision.com reported, Netflix made what was only its third purchase ever – of StoryBots, a children’s media brand.
Aram Yacoubian, Netflix’s original animation director, describes kids and family content as important for the company globally. The focus, he says, as with other sectors, is on strong stortytelling. Referencing the example of Mighty Little Bheem, he told Indiantelevision.com that the company’s vision for children’s content is all about teaming up with great storytellers.
“Great storytellers come from all over the world and cut across genres, formats and animation styles. We are focused on creating content for every kid to connect with and see themselves in as well as content and stories from far away,” he said.
“We want to give audiences in India the best of our kids content from all over the world and also invest in stories from India or about Indian culture, tradition, families, kids,” he added, “We know that when kids find the content amazing, so do their older siblings and parents.”
Linear TV remains the number one choice for 97% of children in India, according to a 2018 KPMG report, but second screens for children are fast gaining in popularity.
Elara Capital vice president Karan Taurani says the sector – which runs from toddlers to teens – is still largely untapped by streaming services and calls it as the “next big thing”.
Viacom18’s digital off-shoot Voot was one of the earliest digital players into the sector, signing a deal with Turner for rights to popular children’s content when other companies were busy building their brands via sports or proven English-language content. It is now set to launch a dedicated children’s content subscription service.
SonyLIV, Sony Pictures Network’s OTT service, also sees the sector as a key area for development. “We have started expanding the footprint in kids’ content area,” SPN India’s head of digital business, Uday Sodhi, told Indiantelevision.com.
“We are continuously adding more and more content. We should be able to have more than a thousand hours of content on kids alone. We are also partnering and acquiring content from both international and domestic partners.”
Earlier this month, IndianTelevision.com reported, Netflix made what was only its third purchase ever – of StoryBots, a children’s media brand.
Aram Yacoubian, Netflix’s original animation director, describes kids and family content as important for the company globally. The focus, he says, as with other sectors, is on strong stortytelling. Referencing the example of Mighty Little Bheem, he told Indiantelevision.com that the company’s vision for children’s content is all about teaming up with great storytellers.
“Great storytellers come from all over the world and cut across genres, formats and animation styles. We are focused on creating content for every kid to connect with and see themselves in as well as content and stories from far away,” he said.
“We want to give audiences in India the best of our kids content from all over the world and also invest in stories from India or about Indian culture, tradition, families, kids,” he added, “We know that when kids find the content amazing, so do their older siblings and parents.”
Linear TV remains the number one choice for 97% of children in India, according to a 2018 KPMG report, but second screens for children are fast gaining in popularity.
Elara Capital vice president Karan Taurani says the sector – which runs from toddlers to teens – is still largely untapped by streaming services and calls it as the “next big thing”.
Viacom18’s digital off-shoot Voot was one of the earliest digital players into the sector, signing a deal with Turner for rights to popular children’s content when other companies were busy building their brands via sports or proven English-language content. It is now set to launch a dedicated children’s content subscription service.
SonyLIV, Sony Pictures Network’s OTT service, also sees the sector as a key area for development. “We have started expanding the footprint in kids’ content area,” SPN India’s head of digital business, Uday Sodhi, told Indiantelevision.com.
“We are continuously adding more and more content. We should be able to have more than a thousand hours of content on kids alone. We are also partnering and acquiring content from both international and domestic partners.”
Sourced from IndianTelevision.com; additional content by WARC staff
