Kids’ content should be much more than animation: Monomita Mukhopadhyay

Da Vinci Learning recently launched its OTT platform in India to better engage children. The educational TV channel has been working towards encouraging a more active and engaged way of TV viewing by its audience so that kids get inspired to be more and learn soft skills that otherwise are not addressed by TV content.

Curated with the entire family in mind, the Da Vinci Learning channel offers something for everyone: mornings are dedicated to children, while families can enjoy afternoon programming together and parents and adults can experience documentaries in the evening. Through its innovative and interesting content, the channel aims to bridge the gap between entertainment and education. The channel is available on Tata Sky.

In conversation with AdGully, Monomita Mukhopadhyay, Marketing Director, Da Vinci Media India, speaks about the OTT play, spurt in growth of the kids’ genre, both in terms of viewership and reach post digitisation, engaging with its audience through initiatives such as mall activation, parent bloggers meet and more. Excerpts:

What has Da Vinci been up to in India and how has this journey been so far?
We launched last year in November 2015 and the journey has been nothing but exciting. This year has been full of action as Da Vinci Learning became available on Tata Sky. Also, we launched our OTT service and have been engaging with our audience through a number of marketing led campaigns and activities. We believe in making our viewers sample our content, be it through associations with parent bloggers or mall activation programs across cities to name a few. We want to turn TV watching from a passive observation into a meaningful experience, helping children develop various skills early on, encouraging older viewers to keep asking questions and inviting families to take their learning journeys together.

What made you choose The Quint for partnership?
The Quint is a brand renowned for its strong digital media presence. Our partnership with them has helped the channel to effectively increase and strengthen our foothold in the country by offering meaningful and creative content that is platform agnostic.

What are your strategies for the digital platform?
We have entered in a partnership with a multi-media specialist and we are consciously working towards offering our content across multiple platforms. Considering the advent of technology, viewers access shows and programmes on multiple platforms, Da Vinci Learning launched its OTT service. The platform provides on the go access to the programming and content of the channel and allows users to choose from a wide range of content including Math, Science, Space, Wildlife, Food etc. After logging in, the kid can watch full episodes on all their favourite topics and can also keep a track of the show timings on-air. The OTT service has been launched as a web based service accessible through www.davinci-learning.in and will be soon available via an app as well.

Today, viewers’ consumption patterns are changing dynamically; kids no more stick to the flat screen and wait for programmes. Rather, they access content anytime, anywhere and on multiple devices of their choice. OTT is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, and India will be the second-largest market in Asia Pacific according to the Media Partners Asia report. Being in the TV broadcast industry, we are committed to keeping pace with the dynamically changing scenario of the industry.

Apart from OTT, where are you looking forward to expand in digital media?
We have just announced the availability of OTT services. More such exciting announcements will be made in the near future.

What are the four main points that content creators need to keep in mind while creating content for children?
Today, the line between content for children and adults is blurring, therefore, content providers must be extremely responsible. It is critical to understand the difference between edutainment and infotainment. Following are some points that I feel are important:

• Content for children must be non-violent - showing violence on television to kids impacts the way they respond and react to things in future and it is too much of a risk for us to take for our future. At Da Vinci Learning, we are very careful about the content and ensure that we have a soft skills and knowledge based programming.
• Engaging Content – we feel this is one of the most important criteria when creating content for children - one must be able to hold a child’s interest as long as possible. If the content is not engaging enough, a child will lose interest and content providers lose a valuable viewer
• Help them learn – kids love watching television and this is one of the best ways to educate them as well. Creators should look at creating content which involves learning about different things around them and must put that in an interesting format else all research and hard work goes unnoticed. This becomes more of an involuntarily action by the kids and is a benefit to the parents as well
• Offer something for the whole family – An entire family ecosystem must be involved in the TV experience and hence, it is also important for content providers to offer content that is relevant for the entire family too. Learning should be a group experience and not a standalone, single’s job. We have consciously created slots that are relevant for the entire family just keeping this in mind.

How do you see the kids’ genre performing in India? Where do you see this genre in coming years?
The kids’ genre is the third most viewed genre in India. Content creators need to understand the difference between kids’ genre and entertainment and provide kids with a wholesome experience where parents don’t consider time spent watching TV as a waste. Content that provides entertainment and at the same time is educational is the need of the hour for the kids today. As a genre, there is tremendous scope and we need to make the most of it. When we entered India, we acknowledged that kids’ entertainment should not be limited to animation only, it should be much more than that.

Could you share your expected break-even point?
We are here for the long term and our objective is to build our product, have a direct consumer connect, interact with our audience and create a brand that is well regarded, loved and trusted by parents and children alike. Once we achieve this, we believe the numbers will follow.

How has Da Vinci customised itself for Indian kids? Also, how does it cater to different age groups and languages?
Da Vinci Learning has dedicated itself to transforming learning into a thrilling experience for the entire family, through on-air programming and engaging educational tools. Da Vinci Learning attracts millions of subscribers around the world through innovative and unique educational television programming that aims to bring curious minds of all ages together to celebrate the lifelong journey of learning. Da Vinci Learning philosophy is centered around the idea of seamless learning, the belief that learning is a lifelong journey that hinges on participation, engagement, and most importantly, fun!

Parents control kids’ viewing habits, how are you also engaging the parents?
Through our interesting and innovative content, we not only engage with the kids but also with parents. While parents control kids viewing habits, they can be sure of the content available on Da Vinci Learning. Our content is safe and can be viewed by kids without the supervision of parents. Curated with the entire family in mind, the Da Vinci Learning channel offers something for everyone.

You have recently launched an OTT platform. Considering availability of a wide range of similar content by various creators, what will be Da Vinci’s marketing strategy in this competitive environment? Also, because a wide range is available for free on YouTube…
The OTT environment is a new and exciting development for the industry. There will be many learnings and insights into viewer preferences and choices that will emerge over time. The OTT business is more at a stage of exploration and discovery for consumers. We believe that with our proprietary content we stand apart with a unique offering, which delivers wholesome educational content that is fun and interactive for kids and families alike.

What is the subscription cost?
As part of the launch, Da Vinci Learning is offering a limited period free subscription to the portal.