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Interaction key for kids pay TV channels in 2003 AS PAY television programmers organise their line-ups for 2003, a new phenomenon is emerging in the children’s market, according to Multi Channel Network (MCN) research strategy group manager Murray Love. “Now that pay TV has just celebrated its seventh birthday, what we are seeing is a generation of kids that have never known what it was like to grow up without pay TV,” he says. Branded TV While this is one sign of a maturation of the pay TV market, another is the reshaping of the children’s channels in 2002: Fox Kids has re-branded as a ‘tween’ network, aimed squarely at an early teen audience, while Disney Channel’s inclusion on Foxtel has significantly broadened its reach. In the 0–12 years demographic, the competition is great between Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, with each channel aiming to improve on core strengths next year. Nickelodeon programming and research director Jane Gould says 2003 will be all about focusing on and expanding audience interactivity. “Our motto is ‘TV you can do’, so we intend to go further into that.” One way it is attempting to do this is through a major promotional competition linking audience interactivity directly to the 2003 programming schedule. Conceived by The Marketing Store, the promotion gives kids a chance to win an audition for a new Nickelodeon show Islandares through Street’s Paddle Pop Lick-a-prize competition. “It has been a great promotion because it fits our relationship with our audience and kids don’t have to do anything special to get on the show but buy a few Paddle Pops,” Gould says. Another branding exercise based on the idea of audience interaction is Nick Central, a Nickelodeon-branded kids’ section at theme park Dreamworld, in Queensland. Nick Central is a $7m development featuring 12 rides including a roller coaster and ‘Foam Factory’, all strongly branded with Nickelodeon properties. Live action One genre that is working particularly well for Nickelodeon is live-action comedy programming, according to Gould. The popularity of comedy is showcased in a slot called Laugh Yourself Snick every Saturday night featuring The Amanda Show, hosted by a young teenage girl and featuring comedy sketches performed by kids. The Amanda Show is currently the channel’s highest-rating program. “We have capitalised on how much kids love to laugh—they know we are cheeky and that we have a sense of humour.” Nickelodeon has adopted the skit format for the locally-produced sn:tv shown on Saturday morning from 10am to noon, using a format based on a program produced by Nickelodeon in the UK, SMTV. The program features studio audience and local hosts Josh and Jamie, who use sketches to link other programming in the block. “It is a much more interactive show, and kids get to write and talk to the hosts and can get a response on-air,” Gould says. Nickelodeon’s main platform for audience interaction is the website, which now has more than 185,000 registered users. Kids can interact with on-air shows and characters over the Net and take part in quizzes, promotions and competitions. The Disney Channel has had significant growth since it began airing on Foxtel for its ‘Entertainment Plus’ tier last December. Disney Channel screens across Foxtel, Optus Television and Austar, which have a combined reach of approximately one million kids. For 2003, the Disney Channel plans to continue with its schedule, which separates programming into preschool, kids and family blocks, according to senior marketing manager Sarah Lund. “We have a lot of Australian TV premieres movies in the Wonderful World of Disney, which is part of the ‘Family Zone’,” she says. These include live-action features such as The Princess Diaries and Remember The Titans, as well as animated films such as Beauty and the Beast, The Emperor ’ s New Groove and Return to Neverland. Disney Channel’s Family Zone runs from 7.30pm Monday to Friday and at 6.30pm on weekends, with blockbuster films premiering on Sunday night. The Kids Zone programming runs weekday mornings to 9am and resumes daily after 3pm. Aimed at the 6–12 year-old market, the block features shows such as Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens and Kim Possible. “The mystery genre works well for us with live action shows like Even Stevens and The Jersey, and in animated programs Kim Possible is going great guns,” Lund says. “But overall, if the story is captivating, it doesn’t matter what the genre is as long as the essential elements are there.” Segmenting audiences The Kids Zone is also home to one of Disney Channel’s local productions, Studio D. The show is hosted by Dan and Amber, and gives kids around Australia a chance to shoot their own stories. Between 9am and 3pm daily, Disney runs another local production in the preschool block Playhouse Disney, hosted by Monica Trapaga and Colin Buchanan. In school holidays, the pre-school block is shrunk to make room for programs that will appeal to older kids and Disney runs major promotions. Cartoon Network’s line-up for 2003 includes new series Code name: Kids Next Door, Whatev er Happened to Robot Jones? and Baby Looney Tunes, and the return of Courage The Coward ly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter ’ s Laboratory and Ed, Edd n Eddy. The channel is also working with Warner Bros to launch What ’ s New Scooby-Doo?, ¡ Mucha Lucha! and Ozzy and Drix and will launch an Australian co-production called Cosmic Baby. Superhero resurgence Superhero series have been one of the resurgent genres on the Network, according to Turner Entertainment Networks Asia senior vice-president and general manager Ian Diamond. “We have the greatest heroes in Justice League, Samurai Jack, The Powerpuff Girls and X-Men Evolution,” he says. “The channel is also the leading destination for action-adventure series—Dragon Ball Z, Zoids, Gundam Wing and Card captors are just a few of the titles that are popular in this genre.” Diamond says the Cartoon Network in Australia reaches 1.3 million viewers weekly, with a cumulative reach of three million unique individuals in the third quarter of 2002. “[This year] we have seen consistent ratings growth in key dayparts as well as elevated interest from advertisers,” Diamond says. “We expect a 35% increase in 2002 billings over 2001 figures.” n 8 November 2002
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