Sony YAY! completes a year; ups original content, to extend its footprint

It was on April 18, 2017 that Sony YAY!, the kids’ entertainment channel from Sony Pictures Networks, India, went live. Targeted at kids in the 2-14 age group, Sony YAY! has been engaging kids with through content and stories produced in India as well as through various endeavours. As the channel celebrates its first birthday, it has announced a power-packed 2018 slate with 10 new made for TV movies along with special new holiday episodes this summer. 

Sony YAY! claims to have moved from a zero viewer base to 15 million kids weekly and 24 million kids per month. The channel plans to further extend its viewer base through a comprehensive summer campaign that will reach out to over 25 million kids across the country through an extensive TV plan, coupled with on-ground activations like 84 cities canter, mall activations and various other associations. 

Commenting on the occasion, Leena Lele Dutta, Business Head, SPN Kids Genre, said, “Right from inception, our effort continues to be centered on adding happiness, entertainment and interactivity in kids’ lives through all our initiatives and we are overwhelmed with all the response. Kids are the heart of everything we do. Sony YAY! has characterised itself by being close to children, and creating worlds and stories with them through endearing characters, be it on-air or on-ground. Through this exercise, kids have built a bond with our characters and have come to love Guru and his singing, Bhole and his antiques, Popat and his wit and so on. With our bag full of goodies for kids this new year, we are sure to give them a YAY!tastic time!” 

Building a robust programming portfolio 

Building on its robust content portfolio, Sony YAY! has announced the launch of their new show – ‘KickO and Super Speedo’. Their biggest launch of the year, the action-comedy features adventures of a superhero kid and his special gadget car Super Speedo. The animated show goes on air from May 21and will air daily at 12 pm. 

The channel has also lined up 10 new films on television in 2018, with five launching this summer as a part of their movie festival – ‘Housefull Fridays’. Based on two of their flagship shows, the five films being premiered are: ‘Honey Bunny in Plane Hijack’, ‘Honey Bunny in Himalayan Car Rally’, ‘Honey Bunny in Double Impact’, ‘Guru aur Bhole - the Gladiators’, and ‘Guru aur Bhole in Alien Busters’.These films will premiere every Friday starting May 4 at 9.30 am and 1.30 pm. Apart from these new films, the channel is also introducing all new holiday episodes of the shows. 

Keeping it local 

Launched with 3 language feeds – Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, Sony YAY! has added two more language options – Bengali and Malayalam, becoming the only kids channel in India available in 5 languages. Sony YAY! claims to be the only channel to have 100 per cent of airtime dedicated to original, home-grown Indian content content in the viewable hours (7 am – 10 pm). The channel has already produced 88 hours of original content and is slated to scale up to an additional 120 hours in the second year. 

Creating an ecosystem 

With the aim of being a part of not only kids’ entertainment, but also a part of their everyday lives, the channel has forayed into licensing and merchandising in association with Black White Orange (BWO), India’s leading licensing, merchandising and brand agency. From toys to stationery, from apparel to bath and laundry, the channel aims to bring alive its endearing characters and make them a part of kids’ lives wherever they are. 

The channel’s original offerings include ‘Guru Aur Bhole’ - a musical comedy; ‘Sab Jholmaal Hai’ - a comedy with hilarious adventures of an odd team of pets; ‘Prince Jai Aur Dumdaar Viru’ - an action comedy; and ‘Paap-O-Meter’ - a unique laugh-out-loud ghost comedy. 

Sony YAY! is also coming up with games in the mobile space and the channel has tied up with an Augmented Reality firm to build a game around ‘KickO and Super Speedo’. Games around ‘Sab Jholmaal Hai’ and ‘Guru Aur Bhole’ are already there.

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