Exclusive | Weekends are a primetime for kids across the day: Turner's Desai

Cartoon Network known for showcasing its universal lineage and iconic partnerships, recently  launched two new shows - Lego Mixels and Steven Universe, which  treats kids to the best international animation series making weekends special for the  little viewers. Bringing more mischief and magic for kids, the channel launched the animated shorts ‘Lego Mixels’ and the popular American series ‘Steven Universe’. The mischievous shorts Mixels premiered at 8 am on Saturday, 15th February while the magical adventures of Steven Universe premiered at 10:30 am on Sunday 16th February 2014.

Mixels are an original global franchise made by the powerhouse partnership of two of the largest forces in kids’ entertainment Cartoon Network and the LEGO Group. The series has been created by John Fang of Ben 10 fame along with Dave Smith of the Powerpuff Girls. The show’s website Mixels.com has been developed by Emmy nominated studio Cartoon Network Digital. It is centered on a world of colorful animals that can mix and combine with one another leading to hilarious and surprising outcomes.

Steven Universe is the most recent original animated comedy series from Cartoon Network Studios. It is about the misadventures of a boy named Steven, the ultimate “little brother” to a team of magical guardians of humanity the Crystal Gems. Steven may not be as powerful as the Crystal Gems or as savvy.  But that doesn't stop him from joining his sisters - Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl on their magical adventures and somehow finding a way to save the day! It is created by Emmy® and Annie Award-nominated writer and storyboard artist Rebecca Sugar (Adventure Time).

In conversation with Adgully, Krishna Desai, Sr. Director & Network Head - Kids, South Asia, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. shared about the new shows that have recently premiered on the channel, the popularity he foresees for the  shows  in India, the latest trends in the kids genre, the channels expansion plans and much more.

Talking about the launch of the respective shows, he said, "We are thrilled to launch Lego Mixels and Steven Universe in India that represent Cartoon Network's illustrious and trans-global portfolio. The partnership with Lego is the next step in the evolution of Cartoon Network Studios and the way we co-develop original IPs. Steven Universe is our latest and biggest original series, that has been creating waves across the world. Kids in India can look forward to all this new excitement, entertainment, humour, adventure and wackiness on Cartoon Network."

After having taken America by storm came the thought of telecasting the shows on Indian shores. Explaining the reasons for the same he said, “Steven Universe and Mixels are the most recent additions to Cartoon Network’s illustrious global portfolio. While Steven Universe is a Cartoon Network Original series, Mixels has been co-produced with The Lego Group, and both are sure to entertain kids” said Desai.

“Steven Universe was launched on November 4, 2013 in USA and Mixels made its US debut on February 12, 2014. Steven Universe’s premier was approximately thrice as viewed as the Network average viewership. The show also did better than competition (Disney XD & Nick). Thus, while both shows are relatively new, we have high expectations from both. As a global brand, we aim to showcase best of our international shows to Indian kids. We feel Steven Universe and Mixels will engage children and enrich our offerings to them,” added Desai.

Steven Universe is the story of a young, podgy and curly-haired boy who is a part of a team of magical guardians—the Crystal Gems. Steven may not be as powerful as his sisters or as savvy but that doesn’t stop him from joining them on their magical adventures and somehow, through all the goof-ups, finding a way to save the day! The story not only brings fantasy, adventure, superheroes and humour to kids but also connects with them through Steven.

On the other hand, Mixels is a series of “shorts” that are simply hilarious and ingenious. They are comical, mischievous creatures that live in tribes of three and each tribe is based around a unique natural element. The Infernites are fiery and short tempered, but handy for a barbeque. The Cragsters are the industrious mining tribe and the Electroids are a quirky bunch with enough nervous energy to light up the whole world. Nixels, annoying and destructive little creatures, wreak havoc over the Mixel land trying to tear down and break apart the tribes

It has also been observed that earlier other popular shows aired on American television screens have done well in India. Elaborating on the same Deasi said, “As the oldest kids’ channel in India, for almost two decades Cartoon Network has been entertaining children across the country. Drawing from the world’s largest cartoon library of Warner Bros., MGM and Hanna-Barbera titles, the Network also showcases original series including the Ben 10 franchise, The Powerpuff Girls, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, Steven Universe and many others that have done well in India.”

The new shows have been slotted for the morning time band so does he think these slots would work for the channel and their TG? To this he replied, “Weekends are a prime time for children across the day. Sunday mornings have always been top raters hence it made sense to schedule Steven Universe, a weekly show, on that day. Although Mixels is aired on Saturday morning, they play as interstitials throughout the week.”

Commenting on the genre preferred by Indian kids in comparison to their counterparts abroad Desai stated that humour has always been a top favourite amongst kids across the world. But he went on to add, “However, the overarching factor is the story and characters that need to strike a chord with kids.”

When it comes to programming and executing a show in the kid’s genre different kinds of trends have been noticeable of late. Shedding light on the trend he said, “A recent but dominant trend that has swept this genre is that kids now-a-days prefer to watch more of fewer number of their favourite shows on a particular channel as opposed to a large bouquet of shows. Across Cartoon Network and POGO, we have reflected this demand in our programming schedules. Thus, the idea is to give kids more of what they like in all possible formats.” 

This includes creating movies based on popular shows such as Roll No. 21 and Chhota Bheem, spin-offs such as Mighty Raju (that is based on Raju, a popular character from the Chhota Bheem series) and scheduling long marathons of kids’ favourite shows throughout the day.

“Another change in kids’ content consumption has been the growth in demand for local content. At Turner, we realized this trend over a decade ago and by establishing the ‘DesiToons’ strategy, we began to emphasize on showcasing locally relevant content that resonates with kids. As a part of this strategy, we continue to deliver local content be it more of international shows in local languages, to acquiring content locally conceived, to now creating original productions,” he avers.

Distributed in over 194 countries, Cartoon Network is the oldest and largest kids’ channel across the globe. Cartoon Network is currently leading the kids’ genre in India (2014-YTD).

With regard to the growth of the channel witnessed last year and what he foresees in year 2014 Desai concluded on a positive note saying, “ Last year, Cartoon Network was the No. 2 channel in India behind POGO (also from the Turner network). Our aim for this year is to have the Turner kids’ network lead the genre with a larger share.