The sixth edition of the report on ‘Crisis Consumption on TV and Smartphones‘ jointly released by BARC India-Nielsen Media have found the Kids sector to witness 43 per cent growth between 18 to 24 April, in comparison to the pre-COVID period. Prior to this time period, kids viewership stood at 39 per cent.
Maximum growth in the sector is seen to still come from the morning slots especially between 9 to 10 am, while the prime time struggles to match up to it. With the ongoing lockdown since 25 March, viewership in this genre has only seen a rise with kids having limited or no access to outdoor entertainment, games or school time. In fact, the kids sector continues its steady position at 7 per cent in genre-wise share compared to pre-COVID period.
While the live-action projects have been stalled with the productions being stopped, it’s Motu Patlu, Little Singham, Rudra, Honey Bunny, Fukrey Boyzzz, Chhota Bheem and others who are saving the day for kids. Kids broadcasters have strategically come up with ample hours of fresh content – new episodes, TV movies, contests and interesting campaigns to keep the younger audience hooked.
Coming to Chhota Bheem, this popular animated IP has given a significant boost to DD National’s viewership during the 2:00 -2.30 pm slot. BARC report further reveals that kids aged two to 14 years have contributed 38 per cent of the viewership during that time to the national broadcaster.
In the Hindi Speaking Market (HSM) 2+ category, the animated show saw a 11 times jump – from 154,000 impressions during the pre-COVID period to 1,729,000 impressions in week 16. In the HSM two to 14 years category, it increased from 34,000 impressions in pre-COVID period to 662,000 impressions in week 16, which was a jump of 20 times.
Since its inception, Chhota Bheem has remained a fan favourite, one of the few animated IPs to have enjoyed worldwide fame. In fact, Bheem will turn a year stronger tomorrow, 1 May. To celebrate his birthday, Green Gold Animation has announced two contests – ‘Sending a video birthday message’ for him and ‘Bheem Birthday drawing challenge’ to keep Chhota Bheem fans engaged and entertained during these tough times.
