
Most experts agree that there is definitely an unsaid competition going on. What does this say about the changing preferences of the audience? Is this because of more availability of Indianised characters or because of awareness about homegrown cartoons? BestMediaInfo explores viewing patterns, advertising monies and other aspects of the trend. Movie screenings on Indian character cartoons too rank high.

Now, at least three out of top five are Indian characters. Till two years ago, Chhota Bheem and Japanese cartoons were ruling the roost. It instantly became the number one and hot favourite among younger viewers.

In 2008, a dhoti-clad nine-year-old animated Chhota Bheem entered the TV space on Pogo and changed the game for Indian broadcasters. Much later and till a few years back, all the top shows in the genre were mostly Japanese cartoons – Doraemon, Shinchan and Oggy and Cockroaches. If one goes down memory lane in the 1980s, Potli Baba Ki and Tarram Tu were select Indian shows available, along with the dubbed versions of Duck Tales and Mowgli. But the most popular ones now are Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu and Shiva among others. Shaktimaan was possibly the first Indian superhero on television. The increased likeability of the Indianised cartoon characters shows a positive trend for the genre and all players are excited and geared up to rake in the moolah. Out of the total Rs 181 billion TV advertising monies, about Rs 425 million is riding on the back of the Kids genre, giving immense scope of increase to broadcasters in this category.Ī change in the viewership trend in the genre may reflect a significant turnaround in the revenues and the business of the television industry. These numbers for the younger audience in the 175 million TV households of the country are only based on their specialised genre, and not on the passive and random TV viewing that contributes to other categories. The Kids genre contributes nearly 5.6 per cent, according to the FICCI KPMG Report 2016.

GECs command close to 58 per cent of the total viewership on television followed by Movies with 20 per cent. If one goes by the definition of target audience for each genre of television channels, little ones make the third largest set of viewers glued to TV sets (after GECs and Movies). Today, at least three out of the top five are Indian characters, reflecting changing viewer preferences Till two years ago, it was Chhota Bheem and Japanese cartoons which were ruling the roost.

In 2008, a dhoti-clad nine-year-old animated Chhota Bheem entered the TV space on Pogo and changed the game. More than kids play: Homegrown cartoons rule the air
