QYOU Media Inc. announced that The Q India, the company’s Hindi language youth oriented channel, is launching a new all animation channel targeting 15-35 year old young Indians called ‘The Q Kahaniyan’. The channel will initially be launched on a variety of smart TV and mobile app based platforms including Samsung TV Plus, Xiaomi Mi TV ‘Patchwall’, Jio TV and Jio TV Plus and TCL’s iFFalcon.
This animated content is different in style and tone from kids animation that has traditionally attracted a very young audience for generations. The Q Kahaniyan will represent India’s first and only television channel featuring this style of alternative animation 24/7.
“We have experienced tremendous success with our unique alternative animation content both on broadcast and digital platforms. We have expressed our commitment to be a leader in India in the smart TV and emerging content business now known as FAST…Free Ad Supported TV. With the addition of The Q Kahaniyan as a one of a kind third channel, we can now begin to form a block of Q channels across smart TV’s with the goal of adding more in the future. We foresee the smart TV and FAST channel ecosystem becoming a leading distribution vehicle in India with an impact that is equal or is even greater than what is occurring in North America. Our position in the market is now stronger than ever with the addition of The Q Kahaniyan,” said QYOU Media co-founder and CEO Curt Marvis.
The Q India is now available in over 122 million TV households and to over 676 million users via OTT, mobile and app based platforms in India.
The company’s flagship channel, The Q India has experienced a significant amount of popularity and viewership coming from its unique alternative animated series including Daravni Kahaniya, Dilchasp Kahaniya and Anokhi Kahaniya. On SNAP India, Q Kahaniya content has secured nearly 500,000 subscribers in under one year. The company believes that there is a significant and growing market in India for a new kind of alternative animated content that attracts an older audience of 15-35 year olds.
The growth of smart TV’s in India continues to increase at an extraordinary pace. Smart TV shipments in India increased by a record 65 per cent YOY for the quarter ending in June 2021 and this pace of growth is expected to continue as more e-commerce and app based channels become part of the smart TV ecosystem. The global growth of smart TVs is expected to be from 20 per cent to 30 per cent in the next five years setting India up as among the world’s fastest growing markets.
In addition, the introduction of most smart TV content platforms to the mobile handsets of manufacturers who deliver both types of hardware (i.e. Samsung, Xiaomi, LG) provides a strong entry point for a large audience of additional mobile based viewers. In the US, where the smart TV market has begun to reach a higher level of maturation, TV[R]EV predicts collective ad revenue of the three largest smart TV manufacturers will grow from $1.37 billion in 2021 to $6.17 billion in 2026.