Sony YAY! Animations charts new path for animation content production and merchandise sales

The studio has already launched CID Squad, an animated take on the CID TV franchise for Sony YAY! It is now creating original content to license to other platforms while expanding its reach and monetisation via merchandise sales.

The company is working on a title called Karna – The Guardian, a reimagining of the mythological Indian character Karna, for a streaming platform, and a series based on the stories of filmmaker and author Satyajit Ray. These titles are aimed at the 15-35 age group. 

“The propensity of individuals to watch animated content is increasing. The audience base between 20 and 35 can today watch animation the entire day,” Ambesh Tiwari, business head at Sony Kids and Animation, said in an interview. “There was a suitable opening for more inclusive animation for kids and adults and a clear gap that existed in the market.”

Eventually, the company intends to get into animated theatrical films. The idea is to help Indian stories travel worldwide and become global tales, Tiwari said. 

Further, the company intends to retain the rights of all properties so it can create subsequent seasons without depending on anyone even though it has tied up with partners globally to sell rights across territories.

Along with Karna and the Satyajit Ray stories, YAY! Animations is working on a Japan-India collaboration to bring Obocchama-kun’s new anime adaptation project for the Indian market.

Complex themes

Experts said Japanese anime fills a unique void in India, appealing to not only young children and teenagers but also adults. Companies attempting to dub these shows in local languages have discovered that the films and series tackle complex themes such as friendship, loss and racism.

This strategy has resonated with audiences and has even proved successful in theatres, as evident in box office hits like Weathering With You and One Piece Film: Red. TV shows such as Doraemon, Shin-Chan and Naruto remain favourites.

Tiwari said the covid-19 pandemic increased consumption for animation content in India as people had a lot more time and many were introduced or re-introduced to anime series.

“Adults are way more open to seeing animation than they were a couple of years back. The only caveat there is that we compete with world-class products, and they are all measured on the same scale. So, the quality (of our shows) has to be very good because that is sacrosanct for audiences,” Tiwari added.

The other insight that the company has picked up is the interest in merchandise among animation fans. Sony, which currently distributes products around Shin-Chan, Naruto and Naruto Shippuden in India, will target merchandise sales for new Indian content on its own and through partnerships with companies such as ITC, boAt and Mokobara.

The company has syndicated shows such as Tarak Mehta Ka Chota Chashma, an animated television series based on the TV series Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma, and Sudha Murty’s Stories of Wit & Magic to Prime Video and Netflix. It said the big challenge for animation is to stay relevant.

“The challenge with animation is the time taken to create those. A show can take two to two-and-a-half years to make by when content trends can change very easily. We hope our content can resonate with consumers so that the (issues with the) gestation period in animation is sorted,” Tiwari said.