Kids today are seamlessly making a transition of pedagogy from offline to online

For Leena Lele Dutta, Business Head - Kids’ Genre, Sony Pictures Networks India, 2021 was one of the most insightful years as she also got to spend time with her kids, learning about the shift in their behaviour and lifestyle. Kids today are digital natives who are seamlessly making a transition of pedagogy from offline to online, she writes. 

With kids spending more time online, there has been a demand for diverse, high-quality content with regional preferences. 

A year of memorable stories and characters for kids

Taking up this creative challenge, Sony YAY! kickstarted the summer vacations by bringing kids 5 new shows, which included their favourites, ‘Obocchama-Kun’ and our biggest offering of the year – ‘Taarak Mehta Kka Chhota Chashmah’. The latter was first and only animated version of India’s longest running sitcom on TV, which secured the top 5 spots on the BARC rating charts for Week 16’21, 2-14, NCCS ABC. 

Sony YAY! further fortified its commitment by introducing over 140 hours of new content during the festive season along with cult classic show – ‘Oggy and the Cockroaches’. This fresh library of shows/ content also included Season 2 of ‘Obocchama-Kun’ and ‘Taarak Mehta Kka Chhota Chashmah’, ‘Haste Raho Henry’ and new telemovies of ‘Honey Bunny’. 

Entertainment beyond TV: 360-degree presence

When we launched ‘Taarak Mehta Kka Chhota Chashmah’, it was one of the most anticipated animation shows of the year and we really wanted kids to be a part of this journey as we introduced these iconic characters in an animated avatar. With this challenge on our hands, we set to create a unique opportunity of a virtual gathering for kids, called ‘YAY! Watch Party’. This digital IP gave kids a chance to preview the content before anyone else in the country and engage in themed activations that brought their favourite characters and narratives alive. 

Since then, we have extended this wholesome character experience for several of our marquee shows like ‘Oggy and the Cockroaches’, new episodes of ‘KickO and Super Speedo’, ‘Ding Dong Bell’ and more. Even with the on-going pandemic we have managed to reunite kids with their favourite characters. 

Impact: 

• The first Sony YAY! Watch Party received 30,000+ registrations and the digital event ran at full capacity! 
• Virtual Watch Party is now a new and innovative touchpoint that Sony YAY! deploys to engage with our audiences regularly. So far, we have curated 10 watch parties to promote our marquee shows and characters attracting a cumulative audience of over 10,000 kids. 

Foraying into family entertainment 

The perception that toons are only for kids is slowly but steadily fading away. The content in the animation industry is maturing over the past few years. 

During this phase, we launched ‘Taarak Mehta Kka Chhota Chashmah’, which was an instant hit as a family entertainer that met all the requisites of the growing co-viewing trend. We garnered a tremendous 10 million adult viewers within the first three weeks of the show’s launch, which is a strong testament to the fact that animation is being accepted by adults and kids alike.