One of the things that has really helped the animation industry take off in India is technology

"I don't think you should gauge yourself necessarily by other people; in the absence of competition we look at ourselves and decide what we have to do," says Ian Diamond, senior vice-president and general manager, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, who has seen Cartoon Network, the first and the only kids' channel in the country, weather the rough and tumble of the Indian television industry, having entered the fray with a completely new concept - a 24-hour animation channel.

No wonder he is happy. With a reach of 18 million homes and an array of "non-traditional kids advertisers" such as Maruti and P&G on board, the group is getting ready to add one more kids' channel to its bouquet. In this animated interview to Sumita Vaid Dixit of agencyfaqs!, Diamond, who is responsible for overseeing and planning the on-air design, network identity, image campaigns and creation of all interstitial material for both Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies (in the Asia Pacific region), retraces the journey of Cartoon Network in the last eight years and talks about the channel's efforts to promote the animation industry in India.

Edited Excerpts

It was exceptional. Exceptional in terms of the enthusiasm of people, their feedback, and the growth curve given that we compete with general entertainment channels here. Let me just quote some figures here. We are the second among national channels in the 4-14-year age group in SEC ABC. We have proved the power of animation in the general entertainment space. We have actually lived up to that.

I cannot give you figures; it's our policy. But I can share our year on year increase in advertising sales. Our ad sales have grown by 20 per cent (2002-2003) and our revenues by 30 per cent.

In terms of distribution, we have done well. In the year 2000 we were in 10 million homes; now we are seen in 18 million homes. India is a very important market for us and I think our activities on the channel demonstrate our commitment.

I would not like to compare because each market is so radically different from the other. India is so idiosyncratic, so diverse, so unique and the fact that we have had eight years of arguably unchallenged position, that it has helped us evolve in a way that is quite unique. Our new channel POGO is again a unique idea for India. It is a first of its kind for Turner Broadcasting Systems, globally. Each market causes you to do different things.

You can never know too much; so you have to keep finding out.

As responsible broadcasters we assess and check feedback to see how it guides us. We started research on POGO a while back to find out what kids want. And based on those findings we formulated the plans of launching a multi-genre channel to complement Cartoon Network.

What I am getting at is that understanding is the key attribute of Cartoon Network. To stay ahead, we invest heavily in researching the New Generation. To begin with, POGO will kick off as an English language offering. What happens down the track would depend again on what our consumers want; we would obviously turn to the consumer to help guide us.

It was difficult convincing advertisers because they had not done kids marketing before. The obvious question was, why would I market to kids? When this came up, we developed a patented lifestyle study - New Generation. This helped us talk to advertisers because we were finding out more about our consumers and the kind of power they have in a purchase.

Another trailblazing thing we do - which helped us overcome the initial resistance - is working with our clients as partners. We provide creative solutions to our clients and deliver damn high ratings on certain day parts. We started off as a TV station but over the last eight years we have evolved into what I would say a fully integrated brand. We have a creative team that can work with our clients to integrate with their characters. We have the biggest library in the world; which means we have the largest number of properties in the world. You can licence those properties to help in your sale.

I believe it is in the power of Cartoon Network to create opportunities to become part of your lifestyle. Whether you are buying a T-shirt, or going online, or buying a CD or your favourite drink, Cartoon Network is there. The fact we have developed our collateral on many different platforms has made Cartoon Network a very viable proposition for partnership. Plus we know kids, seriously!

We welcome competition. It is good to have competition. It helps you to be on your toes. However, in the absence of competition we look at ourselves and what we want to do. How high is the bar that we have set. I don't think you should gauge yourself necessarily by other people as much as what you feel Turner can do with its flagship brand, Cartoon Network. So what we do is cover many bases. The launch of POGO is one such example.

About 35-40 per cent of the viewership of Cartoon Network is non-kids.

We started off as a classic cartoon channel. We had Popeye, Tom & Jerry… the perennial cartoons. Now it is different. From hit Japanese series Pokemon to Jackie Chan, Stuart Little, Mummy, we have a diverse array of genres on the network now that we appeal to a broader set of people.

However, our viewers have come to expect a diversification of genres. We have launched POGO to cover for that.

Here I'll cite an example to show how our viewership has evolved. Take Tiny TV. Our research showed there was a gap in our portfolio. We really were not catering to the very young viewer. So we decided to fill it. We created a destination, a franchise that is super safe and had an educational element. Tiny TV proved to be a phenomenal success. I am glad that we have done this because this has really broadened our portfolio viewership. Now there are a lot of mothers watching the programme with their kids during that time band.

Due to the growing popularity of the channel, the overall subscription revenues have grown by 60 per cent.

We have one over-arching rule, which is, we do not show anything mean spirited or culturally insensitive on the network. We have been able to maintain a healthy mix of programmes. We have thrown in positive values, striking a nice balance between entertainment and development. In short, we have been conscious and we exercise self-censorship.

As animation ambassadors, we have a duty to promote the animation industry per se. It is important to cultivate the talent within. Animation in India is at a very nascent stage, but we have eagle eyes out all the time looking to acquire products. In the past we have been acquiring locally produced programmes such as Sindbad, Ramayan, Pandavas, Chhota Birbal and Tenali Raman.

It is not a question of why it took us so long. It actually relates to the stage animation was in India. Before Cartoon Network, animation was quite sporadic. We always wanted to acquire locally produced products; but it was difficult getting them. So gradually we began working with local production companies in Trivandrum such Toonz Animation and now we have acquired many locally produced programmes.

It won't be too bold to say that Cartoon Network has gone a long way in promoting the popularity of animation in India. To me animation is an incredibly amazing medium of expression. An environment like Cartoon Network lets us know the fun, the magic, the ideas that one can express through animation. It's a symbiotic relationship.

It is changing. One of the things that has really helped the animation industry take off in India is technology. It is no one person's responsibility. Animation is a business and it has to be profitable. Animation that is quite popular tends to have a universal appeal. For example, Ram Mohan's Ramayan was an unbelievably beautiful piece of art.

This is where Cartoon Network has an important role to play. To provide a platform. It is an access point and I am sure it is going to encourage people. Because animation is an excellent medium of story telling. I am sure there is going to be a lot of animation coming out of India because there is a tremendous heritage of story telling here. At the moment we have our eyes set on making sure we acquire readymade materials.

Incalculable. It is has been so integral in building the brand. There are many levels that you need to work on. There is a whole host of languages one has to speak to reach out to the viewers. Here the non-TV dialect - for example, retail promotion, promotional licences etc - is very important. But it takes a lot of time. You cannot just come in and expect to take up the reins and start racing down the tracks. It takes groundwork, it takes an understanding, it takes simulation, it takes some mistakes, it takes some learning. We are doing that for some eight years now and we feel now is a pretty good time to diversify. It does take time to build a brand.

We get led by our consumers because, at the end of day, they are the ones who consume. And if they consume in different ways, we have to listen to them. If we do not listen, then we make TV for just ourselves. That is going to be fun for a little while but not for long. The move to Hindi dubbing was based on viewer feedback. We did a lot of research on it.

We get led by our consumers because, at the end of day, they are the ones who consume. And if they consume in different ways, we have to listen to them. If we do not listen, then we make TV for just ourselves. That is going to be fun for a little while but not for long. The move to Hindi dubbing was based on viewer feedback. We did a lot of research on it.

We want to really expand and push our foothold in the kids' space. It is not about being the best; but setting out what the best means. You continually look for genres that are being under served. That is where my head is at the moment, in terms of the networks. Which is a good thing for advertisers because they have two channels from the same family. They can talk to each other. To me that means, kids' TV has come of age.