Discovery+ introduces kids content to boost genre in India

New Delhi: Discovery+, the subscription-based video streaming service owned by factual entertainment network Discovery, has introduced a genre devoted to kids content, with the launch of a show from the Little Singham franchise, modelled on the popular Bollywood film.

With its children's programming, Discovery adds to a small but growing market for kids content on OTT in India. In 2019, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd had announced the launch of VOOT Kids, an app that combines audio, video and text along with puzzles and quizzes.

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Priced at ₹99 per month and ₹799 per year, the app is distinct from Viacom’s advertising-led video-on-demand platform VOOT and targets children aged between 2 and 8 years.

Meanwhile, Netflix has been gung-ho about the success of Indian animation original Mighty Little Bheem that it says had the largest launch of any pre-school original and the second-largest launch of any kids’ original animated series on the service.

Animated versions of Bollywood films have long been eyed by television broadcasters and streaming platforms as viable strategies to draw young viewers. Discovery Kids, a division of Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, had earlier announced Fukrey Boyzzz, an animated version of popular Hindi film Fukrey. The show was available in six languages - Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and English. Discovery has also produced Little Singham based on the popular Ajay Devgn-starrer for TV while Nickelodeon had brought out a version of Rohit Shetty’s comedy franchise Golmaal, titled Golmaal Jr, in May 2019.

Among other offerings, Discovery + has a cookery show Chopped Junior, Mister Maker, centered on arts and crafts, with a mix of live action, graphics, and animation techniques and detective show Sally Bollywood.

“We are committed to being a platform that appeals to every person in the living room of an Indian household. With that in mind, we are premiering a wide canvas of kids focused shows on the app,” Issac John, direct-to consumer head APAC-Discovery said in a statement.