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Nickelodeon,
the neglected child of the Viacom family in India, looks
to be finally getting the attention it has craved for long.
 Nick
will see some major programming and marketing initiatives
within the next three weeks, says MTV India managing director
Alex Kuruvilla. Barely two months after being taken up by
the Zee-Turner bouquet for distribution, the kids' channel's
viewership has increased from 5.5 million to eight million,
according to Kuruvilla.
An upbeat Kuruvilla, who says says the network undertook
some qualitative research in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore
recently to assess Nick's reach found that 80 to 90 per
cent of children, exposed to just two weeks to Nickelodeon,
shifted to it from other kids' channels. MTV India distribution
head Sanjeev Hiremath says that Nick's channel positioning
too will be rejigged in the coming two to three months.
"In the first phase, we focussed on distribution. In
the next, we will take up channel positioning", Hiremath
says.
In
the US, Nick commands a powerful audience with its mix of
toon and reality programming. In India, however, the channel
has failed to  generate
mass interest thus far, even as rival Cartoon Network surged
ahead in popularity. While Nickelodeon suffered from a lack
of viewership when it was bundled with the Zee bouquet,
the distribution tie up with Warner seems to have given
Nick the much needed push. In the 14 months it has been
around in India in its present avatar, Nick was unable to
match the numero uno position it commands in the US and
was labouring on with a viewership of barely two million,
admits Kuruvilla.
With it getting noticed, however, Nick is sprucing up its
programming. Nick Masala, the two-hour Hindi block
is already drawing in viewers although Kuruvilla maintains
there is no urgency for localisation on the channel. Its
two-hour block on Zee is also drawing ratings of around
0.4, he says. Kuruvilla is also bullish about ad revenues
for Nick, which he sees picking up after the increased viewership
figures.
MTV meanwhile, is seriously pursuing its plan of going digital
within the next three to six months, says Kuruvilla. Cross
promotions for Nick have already picked up on MTV and will
see a spurt in the coming days with prime properties like
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius becoming a highlight of
Nick's programming. While MTV itself is undecided on whether
it will continue to remain independent or will join a bouquet,
Nick too "is keeping its options open," says Kuruvilla.
The channel will also look at locally created animation
programmes in the medium term, he adds.
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