Broadbandindia Magazine

A Science fiction channel from Viacom 18 ; aims at young adults to serve programming on action, adventure and animation.

After Colors, MTV, Nick and VH-1, Viacom18 has launched its fifth channel in India, in mid- December, in a bid to further strengthen its position in the Indian entertainment domain. Christened Sonic, the channel is targeted at India’s young adults falling in the 10-17 year old age bracket. Sonic aims to be the science fiction platform for this generation, and therefore, will serve them with programming in the category of action, adventure and animation. This will be through television shows and movies. The 24×7 channel shall showcase approximately 6-7 hours of original content in its initial days. Scarecrow Communications is the creative agency that will work on this account. Vizeum, which is presently the media agency for Nick, will also handle media duties for Sonic.

The launch is driven by Viacom18’s vision to create specific brands for every segment. “From kids (Nick), youth (MTV) to general entertainment (Colors), we want to keep every target group within our network,” says Nina Elavia Jaipuria, vice-president and general manager, Sonic and Nickelodeon India. Nickelodeon follows a similar strategy in most markets across the globe where it has specialized channels for teenagers (Teen Nick) and Nick at Nite (adults), but Jaipuria believes none of the existing subbrands from the global portfolio currently fits in with the needs of the Indian market. Hence, a new subbrand Sonic, a concept which can be exported to international markets at a later stage.

Content & Distribution

Described as the “Sci-Fi platform for the Wi-Fi Generation,” Sonic wil l primarily target the 10-17 age group. Sonic will feature a mix of action, adventure and animation content including live action shows and blockbuster films. Indian content will include local superhero live action show Shaktimaan (animated) along with international fare such as Kung Fu Panda – The Legend of Awesomeness, Jackie Chan Fantasia, King Kong, Power Rangers and Supastrikas, among others.

Kids today snack on a variety of genres across channels — from Fear Factor (AXN) to Man versus Wild (Discovery Channel). They also seek action and adventure from gaming on the web and gaming consoles. “With Sonic, we want to provide a one-stop shop for action, adventure and animation-related content. While 80% of the shows will be internationally acquired, 20% will be produced locally by companies like BIG Animation,” says Jaipuria.

Among the shows that will be featured on the channel are Shaktimaan,licensed from Indian television and film actor Mukesh Khanna. “We want to build this to be the Spiderman of India,” says Jaipuria. Another show, Legend of Awesomeness, is an adaptation from the movie Kung Fu Panda. “In the series, the lead character Po is a dragon warrior,” says Jaipuria. A Jackie Chan animation series and a soccer-based show are also part of the line-up. There will be special blocks called Sonic Extreme (evenings) featuring action and adventure, and Sonic Flicks (weekends) showcasing action movies like Dabangg and Jurassic Park. Like Nickelodeon, Sonic will also work to build a strong equity for its characters, which will not only build stickiness but can also be extended to merchandising opportunities in the future.

The channel aims to reach 40 million households in a couple of months of launch. Sonic will be beamed also in Tamil and Telugu. To engage audiences beyond  television, Sonic will have a dedicated portal sonicgang.com, where viewers will be drawn through the mobile and social media. Will Sonic be able to create ripples in the Indian market? Media analysts say there is ample scope.

“First, this age group watches a lot of television. Second, this age group is a major influencer in household purchase decisions. As the target audience is sizable,  there is tremendous scope for advertising. The success of the channel will depend on how well it is able to monetise the property,” says Ashesh Jani, partner and media leader, Deloitte Haskins & Sells. Jani also points out that to benefit from subscription revenue, the channel needs to be part of a bouquet.