A SUMMER CARNIVAL OF INDIAN ANIMATION ON CARTOON NETWORK and POGO

Turner’s leading kids’ channels of India and proud owners of the country’s largest Indian animation library, Cartoon Network and POGO present an Indian summer fiesta with the premier of nine new home-grown animated titles through May. In sync with viewer preferences, the networks’ Indian animation bouquet now has an impressive line up of titles.  Every Sunday in May at 12:00 Noon Cartoon Network as part of ‘Cartoon Network Popcorn: May All Mighty’ and POGO under the aegis of its popular summer franchise ‘May Movie Magic’, will premiere some of the most sought after Indian animation features. Cartoon Network line-up includes Ghatothkach, Prahlad, Siva, Dashavatar and My Friend Ganesha II. POGO will feature Hanuman, Return of Hanuman, Ravan Mahayodhya and Veer Yodhya Prithviraj Chauhan.

“As the resident kids’ expert we recognise that summer forms an important viewing period for our discerning viewers. As their favourite and most watched channels, it’s our conscious endeavour to timely fulfil their entertainment needs. Last year, our research revealed that kids enjoy ‘long format’ and thus we strengthened our movie line-up. This summer, we present them familiar tales in their favourite genre, Indian animation across Cartoon Network and POGO. We are positive and hopeful that kids and parents will once again appreciate our programming mix and give us another thumbs up,” said, Monica Tata, Vice President and Deputy General Manager – Entertainment Networks, South Asia, Turner International India Private Limited (TIIPL).

Additionally, to Indian animation, Cartoon Network and POGO will premiere a wide array of compelling and globally popular kids shows this summer. Cartoon Network launches exciting and action-adventure shows such as Blue Dragon, Battle B-Daman and series II of Naruto.  Tickling their sense of humour is the programming block Carton Network Toon Toast featuring all time favourite shows like Tom and Jerry, Ben 10, Spiderman, Popeye, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Samsher Sikander Chuddie Buddie and Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. Complementing Cartoon Network, POGO showcases a new edition, of the multi-award winning kids’ show M.A.D. with M.A.D. Make It Easy. Kids’ can also enjoy animated comic series Stuart Little Series and hilarious episodes of Hagemaru.

As per TAM 2008 statistics, Cartoon Network ruled as the 1 national channel across all television genres in 2008 each time its Indian Animation line up aired. Krishna Janmasthmi – (Krishna – The Birth, Krishna – Makhan Chor, Krishna – In Vrindavan & Krishna – Kansa Vadh); Ganpati (Bal Ganesh and My friend Ganesha) and Diwali festival (Ramayan The Legend Of Prince Ram, Bal Hanuman). POGO’s first Indian Animation acquisition, Chhota Bheem was a clear winner as it garnered the highest share of 31.28% when it aired.
          
Making kids’ viewing experience more interactive, Cartoon Network and POGO are running fun contests with sought after prizes.  As part of ‘May All Mighty’ on Cartoon Network, kids stand to win a home theatre system and a flat screen TV as grand prize. Plus, five kids, every week, can win movie tickets for a year by simply watching these movies and identifying the ‘All Mighty Hero’ of the day.
           
Doubling the fun and goodies kitty is the Hanuman contest on POGO offering a trip to Langkawi, Malaysia as the grand prize. Also up for grabs are play-stations along with games. To win, kids need to keep a track of points won by Hanuman flying across the TV screen, during the ‘May Movie Magic’ block on POGO. 
       
Cartoon Network and POGO are the leading kids’ Network of India and have been sustaining their lead for over a decade. Across 2007 and 2008, Cartoon Network and POGO continued to rule as the number one and number two channels respectively. The combined share of Cartoon Network and POGO in 2007 was 44% and 45% in 2008. The share of Cartoon Network and POGO in the top 100 transmissions went up from 99% in 2007 to 100% in 2008. - SAMPURN