MUMBAI: It?s been a year of new launches in the kids TV genre with preschool emerging as the sought?after segment. After Discovery Kids, ZeeQ, and Disney Junior, the new kid on the block is Nick Jr., the preschool channel from Viacom18.

Targeted at 2-6 years kids and their moms, Nick Jr. aims to capture the preschool segment, which has Disney Junior as the only other competitor. For the record, Disney Junior was officially launched on 15 October.

Nick Jr. is being positioned as an edutainment channel which will aid in a child?s development through well-researched shows. The central philosophy is to help preschool kids learn while entertaining them at the same time. Hence the tag line: ?The smart place to play?.

It is the seventh channel from Viacom18, the equal joint venture company between Viacom and Network18, and third under the Nickelodeon brand, after Nick and Sonic.

The preschool channel, which went live today, will be available in English and will not carry ads in initial stages. Nick Jr. will be a pay-channel and will only be available on direct-to-home (DTH) and digital cable platforms.

Distributed by IndiaCast, the channel is available on DTH platforms like Videocon d2h and Airtel digital TV. It will soon be launched on Tata Sky.

Nick Jr. is also available on cable TV networks such as Hathway Cable & Datacom, Den, Incablenet, Siti Cable and Digicable in DAS (digital addressable system) markets. Nick Jr. is globally screened across 125 countries in over 25 languages.

?With the launch of Nick Jr., the spectrum of Viacom18 offerings now extends from 2 years to 62 years and beyond - an enviable position in our space,? said Viacom18 Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats, adding that the preschool segment will become a significant one in times to come.

Curiously though, Nick Jr. will have two slots: Nick Jr. which will run from 6 am to 7 pm; and Teen Nick post that, addressing a totally different target segment. All the shows on Nick Jr. are from Viacom?s international shows.

Nick Jr. will have animated shows while Teen Nick will offer live action and will be targeted at teenagers.

The Nick Jr. slot will have shows like Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, Team Umizoomi, Bubble-Guppies and Blues Clues. Teen Nick, on the other hand, will have shows like Unfabulous, The Troop, True Jackson, Victorious, Drake and Josh.

Explaining the rationale behind having two slots, Viacom18 EVP & Business Head ? Kids Cluster Nina Elavia Jaipuria said, ?We believe that towards the evening this channel will get switched off as most toddlers and their mothers are winding down for the day.?

She added, ?So it?s a good idea to use a frequency that will get switched-off and wanting to keep them switched on. We also believe that in one television household the younger siblings go away (post 7 pm) and older siblings will take care of the remote.?

Jaipuria said that there was a clear gap in the market for a preschool channel which was evident from the research reports. ?Every parent would want to do what is best for the child to learn and develop faster than the rest. There was a clear need gap for this kind of an offering. Nick Jr. will complement the hard core education in schools. Every show that we have has a particular skill attached to it. Team Umizoomi, for instance, is about maths,? she explained.

Digitisation, she said, was the main reason that encouraged the television network to launch Nick Jr. as it is expected to correct the anomalies that ail the broadcasting business.

?We are all riding the digital wave which will help us in reducing carriage costs and realising subscription revenue that we deserve. It will also help us to reach out to more people and do more segmentation.?

Genre and revenue expansion

Jaipuria believes the kids TV genre will expand with these new channel launches and segmentation of the market. "The kids genre currently has an eight per cent audience share. This is set to expand," she said.

Kids channels together rake in advertising revenue of Rs 2.5-3 billion a year. "The ad revenue for the genre is growing at 10-14 per cent," Jaipuria said.

Focus on consumer products

Bringing to life Nick Jr.?s iconic characters and shows, Viacom18 plans to launch a comprehensive range of consumer products at retail stores across categories, to build engagement with kids outside television.

Talking about the consumer products? plan, Viacom18 SVP, Consumer Products Sandeep Dahiya said, ?Given the line-up of iconic characters on Nick Jr., we?re ready to give wings to kids? imagination through a product range that?s comprehensive as well as interactive.?

"The Nick Jr. franchise will open up our consumer products business. We will have a lot of global brands who will naturally come in to associate with the Nick Jr. franchise in India," says Dahiya.

Nick Jr. will also have strong online presence including the official website which will aim at providing useful tips and information on a growing child?s need from experts. The website will also have interesting games for toddlers that will be on the same lines as the channel ? entertaining and educational.