New Delhi: Content production house Murty Media has tied up with studio Cosmos Maya to turn author Sudha Murty's works into an animated series, Story Time with Sudha Amma, which will begin streaming on 31 October. The show will feature 52 stories penned by Murty including Grandma’s Bag of Stories, Grandparents’ Bag of Stories, and The Magic Drum and Other Favourite Stories and will be streamed on Murty Media’s YouTube channel.
The series will be launched in six languages – Hindi, English, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu, with each episode 11-minute long.
“We’ve identified 52 stories across the several books penned by Mrs Murty and are targeting a global audience with the series, especially kids,” Megha Tata, CEO, Cosmos Maya told Mint. A new episode will be added to the channel every week, to begin with and periodically thereafter, Tata said.
Kids animation, around for several years now, has witnessed challenging times, akin to other genres, given the slow burn of content on linear television over the recent past, Tata pointed out.
“There are, however, opportunities for newer forms of content creation opening up, like this one. Companies like us have to find different ways to innovate and create revenue opportunities,” Tata said.
There has been a shift in consumer preferences over the past few years, she agreed, where even kids have moved to digital media and YouTube has been a big gainer when it comes to eyeballs. The company that is readying a slate of projects, across languages, is looking at shows for TV networks, OTT platforms and YouTube channels, going forward.
"I have always believed in the power of stories to inspire and educate. I am delighted that this show has the potential to reach many more young hearts and minds,” Sudha Murty said in a statement.
Murty Media is headed by Aparna Krishnan, daughter-in-law of Sudha Murty and Narayana Murthy. The company creates shows that appeal to children and also plans to bring India's storytelling heritage to the forefront through audio-visual media.
“We are thrilled to launch ‘Story Time with Sudha Amma’ on a platform like YouTube because it democratizes access to content. Mrs. Murty’s stories have the right mix of entertainment and meaningful life lessons. Our hope is that kids and families everywhere will watch and enjoy this values-based show,” Aparna Krishnan, president, Murty Media, said in a statement.
According to media industry experts, during the pandemic, viewership of kids’ content that had doubled across TV and OTT platforms, has stabilized now. That said, the overall spike for digital platforms is led by other genres, and they are focusing on programming that caters to young adults, which is why not many OTT services are particularly interested in commissioning original kids’ content right now.
Currently, the kids content market in India includes broadcast players like Sony YAY!, Nickelodeon and Discovery Kids besides titles like Mighty Little Bheem streaming on Netflix.
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