Da Vinci Media plans to launch kids channel in India

[SARAVANA RAMESH]

NEW DELHI: Less than a year since broadcast major BBC Worldwide withdrew two of its three popular channels in India, another European broadcaster is set on its India journey.

The retreat of BBC Entertainment and CBeebies has not disturbed Berlin-based Da Vinci Media GmbH (Da Vinci) to bring its popular kids education channel – Da Vinci Learning – to India.


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Da-Vinci-Media Da Vinci, which is an independent media group, has applied to the government for permission to invest up to 100 per cent in a wholly-owned subsidiary “proposed to be established in India” to undertake broadcasting activities, including downlinking and distribution of a non-news and current affairs TV channel.

Sources say in its application made to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Da Vinci has sought permission to initially invest Rs. 5 crore (Rs 50 million) in its proposed Indian arm. The move comes within four months of announcing the appointment of Mohit Anand as country manager for India.

As per the official communication issued in June, Anand will be based in New Delhi and will lead Da Vinci Media’s strategy and business in the region. A former managing director of Belkin India with 20 years of experience under his belt, Anand had also spearheaded Channel V as senior vice president for Star India. Before that, he was country manager for Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division in India. Founded in 2007, Da Vinci Media GmbH’s Learning channel is present in multiple countries in Asia and Eastern Europe, CIS countries, Russia and Turkey.

Da Vinci Learning TV is uniquely positioned to serve the needs of the whole family. Da Vinci Learning is an educational channel targeting 6 to 12 year-old children and their families, enabling all viewers to find answers to their questions through high-quality knowledge programming. Da Vinci Learning, the company’s flagship channel, reaches out to over 13 million subscribers across 18 countries in Europe and Asia.

According to the company, Da Vinci Learning is an innovative and unique educational television channel that seeks to bring curious minds of all ages together to celebrate the lifelong journey of learning. The move to launch in India is significant and comes after the Da Vinci group expanded the footprint of Da Vinci Learning channel across Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia.

“Since it has taken space on Measat 3 satellite in February, Da Vinci has been expanding its footprint in Asia. The Indian market is very important for everyone,” said an industry expert who keeps track of satellite capacity for various broadcasters. Currently, Da Vinci Learning serves in 29 countries around the world through local adaptations of its programming.

Read more at: Da Vinci Media plans to launch kids channel in India | TelevisionPost.com | TelevisionPost.com

 

[me_saket]

good move

more intl channel are coming to india

 

[shawl_who]

The Indian broadcast industry will witness the launch of yet another kids' channel which shall target not just kids but their parents, too. 'Da Vinci Learning' will go on-air in mid-2014.

Interestingly, while the Indian kids' broadcast industry's revenue stream continues to be suppressed by its niche perception baggage, it has not stopped national and international players from foraying into the space.

Come mid-2014, the kids' space will witness the launch of yet another international player to further fragment its Rs 530 crore (approximate) market. The edutainment channel from the Da Vinci MediaGmbH stable will be called 'Da Vinci Learning'. Targeted at the 6-12 year olds and their parents, the channel aims at offering programming and content that makes "astounding scientific ideas understandable, arouse curiosity, spark conversation and motivate viewers to continue uncovering the mysteries of the universe."

The company has submitted physical licence application to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The channel will invest at least Rs 5 crore, which is the minimum network requirement and is mandatory for a broadcast licence.

For the record, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) had also ventured into the kids' edutainment space last year with ZeeQ that targets 4-14 year olds. However, the Da Vinci Media group feels that ZeeQ is not their direct competition as the latter provides more pre-school oriented programming. Da Vinci Learning believes in combining the best of children's and documentary channels in one format.

Ferdinand Habsburg, founder and CEO of Da Vinci Media GmbH, tells afaqs!, "I don't see any channel that serves that market with programming where you can watch TV together with your family of parents and 6-12 year old kids and learn something, may be about the laws of gravity, history of India, pyramids and many things that exist or don't exist."

But having said that, Habsburg adds, "If a sophisticated broadcast company like ZEEL is going into the space of education and entertainment, they would have done their research just as we have done. That for me is an indicator that this segment of the television is under serviced. If we look at the size of the Indian TV market, there are numbers of channels and I am sure there must be a space of educational channels if there is such a consumer demand on the other side. I am not concerned, on the contrary I'm delighted that ZeeQ is existing."

When asked why now, Habsburg counter-questions, why not now? "The time is good. Digitisation is evolving and I think a pay TV model like we have in other countries is evolving and it's not going to happen overnight but the speed of digitisation of the MSOs over the last 18 months has been amazing. Digitisation is meant for pay TV environment and there is demand for further high quality content and more specialised channels. I feel quite confident about the timing. The Indian television market is exciting."

To stream through MEASAT satellite, the channel will initially have English feed. In case the company feels that it needs feeds of any other language, it might consider it. While the majority of the international shows of Da Vinci Learning will be served to Indian audiences, the channel also aims to launch with a few locally produced shows. The content will be a mix of animation and live action.

Talking about localisation for Indian viewers, Mohit Anand, country manager, India, Da Vinci Learning, says, "In terms of language, we have the capability in the organisation to localise but it depends on the need. Newton's law is a law and if you are doing it in a fun education way, people will watch it. Who would want to learn it in Tamil if he is already learning that in school in English? So we have to find a right balance. There will also be content built and made for India."

Da Vinci Learning will work on a payTV model and will be provided on the digital platform only. The company is already in talks with the DTH providers and MSOs in India that provide digital feed. The marketing for the channel will focus on creating visibility for the brand, desire for the content in places where the channel is available.

According to Anand, the kids' channels work on word of mouth publicity. Additionally, the channel will do whatever is required to ensure that the brand is there where the families and kids are together. "If you look at it thereby, mostly they are together at zoos, museums, places where there is fun stuff for kids. That is what is our intention and therefore on-ground will become a significant piece of our marketing strategy."

The ad sales for the channel will be driven by the fact that the company believes the channel will not only be watched by kids but also the parents.

While Habsburg refuses to reveal when the company is targeting break even in India, he says, "We look at other channel entries and know that one has to be patient. India is not a quick return on investment country, that's pretty sure! In the Indian market, you have to invest, you have to do your product properly and it's not a short term thing."

The company's syndicated qualitative research in India, covering four cities - New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and Hyderabad - revealed that the local content did not emerge as a preference; viewers preferred Hindi voiceover or English subtitles so that they could comprehend better and no cultural issues emerged. The sampled audience liked the visual presentation and programme packaging. Presentation of science in a simplified manner and explained through interesting narrative was also liked. However, the English accent and fast paced nature of narrative made comprehension difficult for some viewers.

The group also runs a channel called Da Vinci U that consists of university lectures. "It's not only for students but people who like hearing lectures. We will launch Da Vinci U too in India, sooner or later but we have our hands full with our flagship channel launch."

The channel has been named after Leonardo Da Vinci as he was an artist and scientist at the same time, and the company believes in transferring knowledge in an artistic way.

Founded in 2007, Da Vinci Learning is a part of Berlin-based Da Vinci Media GmbH. Serving 29 countries around the world, Da Vinci Learning's local adaptations of its programming are setting new standards for quality and bringing a world of discovery closer than ever before.

Now 'Da Vinci' to teach the art of education > afaqs! news & features

 

[shawl_who]

Channel snaps from this channel from ABS1 satellite: (not taken by me)

 

[NinadG]

It will be direct competition to Zee Q channel !

 

[tech_genie]

Zee Q, Discovery Kids to get competitor

MUMBAI: One more edutainment channel - Da Vinci Learning - is prepping to hit Indian shores next year.
Come late Q2 or Q3 next year, the children’s entertainment space will see a new player - Da Vinci Learning.
Launched world-wide on 15 September, 2007 by its parent media company Da Vinci Media GmbH - the edutainment channel - is aired across 29 territories in 15 different languages.

It takes time to reap results and we will do whatever it takes to reach out to a large number of people, says Mohit Anand
So what brings it to Indian shores? “The Indian television industry is dynamic and growing, and our philosophy has been to spread knowledge,” replies Da Vinci Learning country manager Mohit Anand, adding that the channel believes today’s children are far more curious and plans to cash in on this quality.
With at least two other ‘edutainment’ channels - Zee Q and Discovery Kids - launched just last year, won’t it be an up-hill task for Da Vinci Learning? Anand shrugs off the implication saying: “We believe in learning in a fun way and not many channels do so in the kids’ genre. We are an edutainment channel and today, there aren’t any products which use the TV medium to enhance kids’ desire to learn. And this is what will distinguish us from the rest.”
With its content a mix of animated and non-animated, not ruling out a documentary-style, everything will be done in a manner so as to attract kids. The channel will target not only children in the age group of 6-14 but also parents since it’s a family-based one.
With most channels today having regional counterparts or feeds to reach out to the maximum number of viewers, will Da Vinci Learning follow suit?
“When you study Newton’s Law, do you do it in a regional language or in English?” counters Anand and adds, “Information about the kind of subjects we are talking about, even in vernacular mediums, is primarily in English. Having said that, we are definitely evaluating the need to have regional languages - something we’ve found in the course of our research as well.”
While Da Vinci Learning will premiere in English and Hindi next year, Anand is quick to point out: “We will not shy away from launching in a regional language if the need arises because we want to reach out to as many people as possible.”

Otherwise an ad-free channel running on the Pay-TV model, in India however, the channel will incorporate ads.
Reasons Anand: “The channels have to depend a lot on ad sales for revenue, but with digitisation, the subscription revenues are heading in the right way. Over the years, we will see less dependence on ad revenue. Also, the kids channels might be the third-largest viewed (almost 11 per cent) category but has a way smaller share in the whole ad pie. Hence, with kids becoming key influencers and the channel being uniquely different, there will be advertisers who will want to associate with us.”
Though the subscription rate hasn’t been decided yet, Anand says: “It will be within the dynamics of the market,” quickly adding, “We still have to decide though whether we will start with a certain subscription charge or decide to go free for a certain period to let viewers know what the channel is all about.”
To be available on digital platforms, the channel is already in talks with various DTH players.
Meanwhile, a city-based media planner isn’t too hopeful that Da Vinci Learning will be able to get a lot of viewers if it comes with a subscription rate attached. “It will be able to gather interest in metros and tier II cities at best but overall, it will find it difficult to garner viewers. However, it is good that such a channel is entering the market,” he says.
Marketing-wise, the channel plans to concentrate on activations as it believes it will be able to capture families in malls, museums and zoos. There will be on-air promotions, print and OOH as well. “Around 90 days prior to the launch, we will start with all the buzz and hype about the channel,” says Anand, adding they are still in talks with creative and media agencies.
Asked about investment, Anand says apart from the minimum network requirement of Rs 5 crore, which is mandatory for a broadcast license, the channel will do whatever it takes to be successful as it is here to stay. “It takes time to reap results and we will do whatever it takes to reach out to a large number of people,” says Anand.

Source: Indian Television Dot Com > News Headlines> Zee Q, Discovery Kids to get competitor