MUMBAI: Ups and downs are a part of each and every one's life and such is also the case with Hungama TV. While a couple of months back the channel rocketed into the second position in the kids channels' space; Harry Potter on Pogo proved a dampener for Hungama TV and thus it plummeted to the third position yet again.
Nevertheless, driver shows for Hungama TV have been performing well and thus managed to increase the channel's share.
With a positive move on the channel share front, the ad revenues of Hungama TV have also increased by 30-40 per cent. "Since the TRPs of the channel have shown a steady hike, clients have also appreciated it and are willing to pay more. All credit goes to Nilofer and her team for this," says Hungama TV COO Zarina Mehta.
But notwithstanding that, Mehta is confident that the channel will clamber up again riding on the success of the ratings raker Doremon and the new season of Hero, which has opened well for the channel. Add to that the hype that will be built around the channel's talent hunt for kids - John Aur Kaun?
The channel has also lined up big ticket movies like Baby's Day Out and Tom Hanks starrer Big in August and September. What's more, Doremon has been joined by another popular Japanese animation show Shin Chan, which Mehta hopes is going to be as accepted by kids as is Doremon. Shin Chan has garnered huge popularity in Europe, Latin America and the Far East. The show was launched on 19 June at 5 pm and will be aired from Monday to Friday.
"Shin Chan, like Doremon, is one of the top three shows in the Asian region. Shin Chan's innocence and antics form a deadly mix designed to give entire families a wonderful time. We welcome Shin Chan to the Hungama family of fabulous, memorable characters, which include Hero, Sanya, Doremon, Kochikame and YuGiOh!" says Mehta.
Driver shows like the above mentioned Hero and Doremon coupled with the UTV show Shakalaka Boom Boom have constantly managed to push Hungama TV up on the popularity charts. Hungama TV has also rolled out a contest around Shakalaka Boom Boom called - Right here, Right now - wherein kids can participate and get to know whether they have won or not immediately, while the show is airing.
"All they have to do is answer a question that will be flashed on the channel and SMS their replies with their name, age and phone number to us. The name of the first person who sends in the correct reply will be flashed immediately on the channel. We will be giving away Doremon and Hero merchandise and also Hungama TV bags to the winners," says Mehta.
The channel share of Hungama has been steadily rising, thus beating the norm where other kids' channels' shares have been falling barring that of Toon Disney.
In the week beginning 21 May, Cartoon Network's share was 30.8 per cent, which fell to 27.1 per cent in the week beginning 11 June 2006, according to Tam, in the C&S 4-14 years Hindi speaking markets. Pogo's shares, on the other hand, fell from 26.2 per cent to 25.9 per cent in the above mentioned period.
Hungama TV's shares in the week beginning 21 May was 17.8 per cent and touched a high of 20.3 per cent in the week beginning 11 June in the C&S 4-14 years Hindi speaking markets. Toon Disney, which had a share of seven per cent as of 21 May, also managed to raise the bar with a channel share of 10.8 per cent in the second week of June, whereas its sibling Disney Channel lost one per cent share to settle at 11.2 per cent in the second week of June.
While Pogo and Cartoon Network shows like Mr Bean, Tiny TV - Make Way for Noddy, Baby Looney Tunes, Toonami - Pokemon and Half Ticket Express - Dragon Tales rule the roost of the TRP front, Hungama TV shows like Doremon, Hero and Shakalaka Boom Boom topped on the GRP front.
While Doremon managed GRPs of 47 in week 24, Hero and Shakalaka Boom Boom got GRPs of 26 and 24 respectively.
It remains to be seen, who takes the cake in the number game, but for the time being, Mehta seems to be content with Hungama TV's performance.
