Afaqs: Nick, the kids channel from Viacom 18 has entered into the South market. The channel will also air some of its shows in Tamil and Telugu. The channel is being distributed in Tamil Nadu through Sumangli Cable Vision.
Talking about why the South is a key market for kids’ channels, Nina Elavia Jaipuria, senior vice-president and general manager, Nick India says, “Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are two states, where the primary languages are Tamil and Telugu, respectively. There is no secondary language here. So, it’s important to connect with them in their own languages.”
To begin with, Nick will air three of its flagship shows — Dora the Explorer, Ninja Hattori and Perman – in the two states. “We want to first understand the psyche of the viewers there; see what is working and what is not. Based on the viewership garnered, we will look at dubbing more shows,” Jaipuria adds.
In future, kids’ channels may look at other regional languages too, such as Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali. However, since Hindi is the secondary language in all these markets, going regional there is not high on their agenda.