MUMBAI: It was in October last year that the news of one more edutainment channel - Da Vinci Learning – hitting the Indian shores broke.
Since then, it has been a long wait for the channel which is still waiting for its license.
With two other ‘edutainment’ channels - Zee Q and Discovery Kids – already on air, the channel didn’t let the wait period go futile. This one year it has primarily focused on the channel’s pre-marketing activities. One of the first activities was the channel’s partnership with DTH operator Airtel DTH and MSOs Digicable and Siticable to give viewers an opportunity to sample its content portfolio.
“Recently, we initiated an activity, basically in print, where our content was inserted in activity papers printed by ‘Primary Plus’, which has tie ups with 2000 schools across India. The objective has been to reach out to our core TG through all mediums possible and showcase the wonderful world of Da Vinci Learning to them,” says the channel’s country manager Mohit Anand.
The channel is hoping to get the license by the end of August, though it is still hesitant as it all depends on the new government. “If we are able to secure our license in August then we are confident that we will be able to launch our 24 X 7 channel by early October,” optimistically says Anand.
Last year, when the launch announcement of the German media company Da Vinci Media GmbH launching a channel in India was made, it was in the initial stage of completing all the legal and other statutory compliance.
It has crossed two of the three stages of government approvals. “We have successfully received Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval (which was stage one) and subsequently established out wholly-owned subsidiary (second stage) and brought in the requisite funds as per the FIPB approval into the country. Post this we have applied to the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India, for a broadcast license,” elaborates Anand.
The edutainment channel, targeted at kids in the 6-12 years age group, will offer knowledge-based programmes in an engaging manner. Currently, the focus is on the top 12 metros and will be available on digital platforms only across leading DTH players as well as MSOs.
The channel will be in English, however, it is also evaluating other languages in India so that it can have a certain number of shows in vernacular languages to relate to a variety of its TG.
To keep the buzz alive, it organised its first pre-launch event in the national capital on 12 July, where it aimed to familiarise the viewers to the world of learning through innovative live experiments, fun pool games and interactive quiz activities for kids as well as parents. Similar activities will be held in Mumbai and Bangalore, soon.
It has partnered with Fourth Dimension which will handle the complete ad sales for it including the entire gamut of operations as far as ad sales is concerned right from conceptualisation to execution. For creative duties, it will be done in-house as the company follows it globally. Talks are still on to finalise on the media agency.
“Apart from that, almost all the activities that we do across other markets will be replicated here in India as well,” informs Anand.
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.
