Pogo tries to connect with Indian kids

Kids channel Pogo is making every effort to connect with the Indian kids. In its first step to localise its content, the channel is finally launching the locally produced time band - Prime Pogo from August 20.

In this time band - Prime Pogo - which will aired between 5 pm and 7.30 pm, every Friday and Saturday, the two Indian hosts - Niall Sadh and Chinu will interact with kids in between shows such as Hi-5, Beakman's World, Round The Twist, Two Of A Kind, etc.

Ian Diamond, senior vice president and general manager, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc, says, "This initiative clearly cements our commitment and promise to Indian kids of providing them with a destination that gives them a sense of ownership - a feeling of - "Its My TV"

As part of this programme, the two hosts will read out letters from viewers in the segment, Pogo Post Office. But the interesting part of this time band is Pogo heroes where Niall and Chinu will interview kids. The first kid to be on air is nine-year-old Vistaas, who is from Mumbai. Vistaas was also part of the award winning Pogo launch campaign.

Hosted in Hinglish, another segment of the time band, which could be an interest for the kids is Pogo News Network where the two hosts - Niall and Chinu will talk about interesting stories and news from across the world as well add in some quirky facts.

The programme has been produced by Gavesaa Enterprises (a production house that has been making documentaries for Channel 4 and ad films for brands such as LG and Ariel) in association with the channel.

Anshuman Misra, managing director, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd., says, "In a short period of seven months since its launch, Pogo has touched many milestones: securing number two position among kids channels, introducing Telugu dubbing, commissioning premium, original productions in India, and having its young kids programming endorsed by child experts in India."

Prime Pogo is another very important milestone, one that kicks off Pogo's localisation strategy and underlines our commitment to India," he adds.

Talking about the two hosts, Mishra says, "Niall and Chinu were selected because of their fun and charming personalities that matched Pogo's youthful and exuberant dynamism"

Niall Sadh has been the face of many commercials such as Rin, Horlicks, Reliance mobiles, etc, while Chinu has modeled for Hutch, Fanta, McDonalds, Cadburys, etc.

With so many channels around in this genre, the market has certainly heated up and breaking the clutter is a must.

Can Pogo do it? © 2004 agencyfaqs!