Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, one of the longest running daily shows, gets an animated twist

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC), one of the longest running daily comedy shows in the world, is expanding its universe.

The show which started in 2008 and so far has completed around 3,300 episodes is entering the world of animation with Taarak Mehta KKa Chhota Chashmah (TMKCC).

The animated show, which will launch on Sony YAY, will start airing on the channel from April 19.

"We are doing 3D animation which takes more time to produce as each character needs to be rendered in different poses. Pre-production took a long time. So, we ramped up our animation production and did it between two studios. Hence, in the first season we will launch with 40 episodes of half hour," Leena Lele Dutta, Business Head, Sony Pictures Networks India, Kids’ Genre, told Moneycontrol.

Ask Dutta why they decided to give an animation twist to TMKOC, she said, "there was a lot of co-viewing happening last year due to lockdown. This is why we thought that there is Taarak that has gained popularity yet again (during lockdown last year) because it had a strong bank of episodes. So, we thought of getting the Taarak characters in the kids world as there was no wholesome kids family show."

If we look at last year's viewership trends for the kids genre on TV, the category had witnessed strong growth during lockdown. According to industry estimates, kids genre saw viewership growth of more than 40 percent during lockdown in 2020. While the growth settled down after lockdown, it was still 20-25 percent higher than 2019.

The strong viewership growth is resulting in strong content lineup in the kids category and one big addition is Taarak Mehta KKa Chhota Chashmah because the live action show TMKOC reaches out to an estimated 22.7 percent of the children's population in India.

"This show is very popular amid kids. And animation seemed like the best option in terms of more offering to kids. In addition to the animated show, we are also looking at merchandising and licensing of the animated show. Our negotiations are going on. We are planning to offer toys and we may also plan a digital game. We are also looking at entering the education-technology space with Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashma," said Asit Kumarr Modi, Founder, Neela Telefilms, that produces the show.

Along with viewers, the show which has become a brand in itself will attract advertisers on Sony YAY, believes Dutta.

The animated version already has got three brands on board.

"Advertising had perked up since last year from Diwali. And with TMKCC we are expecting non-conventional kids category brands to come on board. Currently, we have got Colgate as presenting sponsor and Kellogg's and Dabur as co-powered sponsors for the animated series," she said.

Talking further about advertising, Dutta said that in FY2021, there was a slump across TV in terms of ad revenue but she expects that ad revenue won't dip any further and that the advertising outlook will be better than 2020.

Along with recovery in ad revenue, Sony YAY is also seeing uptick in viewership.

Dutta shared the viewership trends on the channel last year. "When we entered lockdown we had an all time high in terms of TRP (television rating point) and market share for first two months. But what worked against us is because we were last to enter in the category and because the bank of the shows was not that much compared to other channels unlike us they could rotate shows effectively. Hence, after summers we saw a downturn."

And this is why the channel started acquiring content. "We got international shows on our channel dubbed in local languages. We got almost 150 odd episodes of acquired content. Now, viewership has been stable for a quarter. While we haven't gone back to pre-COVID levels, we are close," said Dutta.

And for this year, Dutta is confident about a strong content lineup.

"This year we are doubling up our content pipeline. At an average, if we were producing 250-270 episodes in a year, this year we will have 500 episodes on air. Plus, we have two to three of our own IPs (intellectual properties) under development," said Dutta.

And when it comes to COVID-19 related uncertainties, especially the lockdown in Maharashtra, Dutta isn't worried in terms of content production because the channel gets most of its work done from studios in West Bengal and Hyderabad.