MUMBAI:
The South Asian feed of Animax, the 24 hour animation channel from
the SPTI (Sony Pictures Television International) portfolio was launched
in India on 5 July at a media briefing held in Mumbai.
SPTI Senior V-P Todd Miller
announced the launch of the channel even as SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta
raised a champagne toast to herald the arrival of the channel in India.
Also present were SET Discovery president Shantonu Aditya and SET
executive vice president, sales and revenue, Rohit Gupta.
'Brand new world of fun - Not just for kids'.
Sporting a tagline that invites 'everyone' to join the growing cult
of animation lovers, Animax has a library boasting of more than a
thousand hours of quality animation.
Apart from Japan where it was launched in 1998 the channel currently
has dedicated services for Hong Kong, Taiwan, South East Asia and
South Asia (covering the entire Indian sub continent).
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Looking
at a dual feed by april 2005, the south asia service of Animax is
initially realying 24 hours in English and 12 hrs in Hindi (4 hrs
original + 2 repeats). The programming is divided into three time
bands - the Kids Hour from 3 to 7 pm, the Youth Hour from 7 to 9 pm,
and the Mega Zone from 9 to 11 pm. A special slot titled 'Weekend
Anime' has also been created to grab eyeballs during weekends.
Young cricketing sensation Irfan Pathan has been signed on as the
brand ambassador. Speaking at the media briefing, SET India Executive
VP Rohit Gupta said that, "Pathan was chosen as the channel's
ambassador due to his popularity with not just kids, but also youth,
young adults and viewers of all ages."
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Screenshot
of the Animax website
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360 degree
promotional activities have been planned around Animax which include
on-ground, on-air and on-line activities. Also planned are festivals
and shows which aim to attract the crowds in thousands.
Another
interesting aspect of Animax is the Channel Logo and packaging which
are very appealing and refreshing. The channel is also in the midst
of developing two original characters Quu and Tee, who will be channel
emblems.
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A
still from 'Astroboy'
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To
begin with, one of the heavily promoted shows on the channel will
be Astroboy. The main character of the show is 'Atom' a robot
with a human heart . Bullish on Astroboy, Miller anticipates
that, "Astroboy is going to be the next Pokemon in India".
Another
show that according to Miller will hit the the bulls eye is Cyborg
Kurochan, which is centred around a cat Kuro, who in return
for the love given to him by the old couple that adopted him protects
their home from break ins.
Opportunity for Indian animation
producers
The launch of a new 24 hour animation channel with dual feeds holds
a lot of potential for Indian animation producers to tap on.
On being asked whether Animax was open to airing locally produced
content, SPTI Asia head Todd Miller replied, "Short
term our focus is on establishing the channel in India and then
on increasing and broadening viewership, but mid term we are surely
open to the idea of localised content."
Earlier during the briefing, SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta
answered a similar query mentioning that, "Indian studios
are producing content for international channels and surely they
are going to approach us for animax. If they come up with something
that has a pan Asian appeal we are open to them".
Would
the fact that most content in Animax being anime, which is distinctively
different from Indian animation in terms of illustrations and looks,
spoil Indian producer's chances? To this Miller assuringly
replied, "We are looking at animation that has pan Asian
appeal and the difference in look between Indian produced animation
and anime will not hinder an Indian producer's chances, as long
as the content has a broader appeal and is not limited to India".
The general perception amongst the Indian masses being that animation
is just for kids, the positioning of Animax as not just for kids
and animation for everyone is an interesting one.
Animation studios across India have been struggling to remove the
'kids only' tag associated with animation. The arrival of Animax
and the marketing and promotional activities of the channel shall
give a much needed fillip to their efforts.
Here's wishing the channel success in changing Indian perceptions
about animation from 'Only for Kids' to 'Animation for everyone
- Not Just for Kids'.
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