MAM
Cartoon Network prepares to ‘Get Animated’
MUMBAI: A healthy lifestyle is what Cartoon Network in the US is advocating in its new marketing initiative. Targeted to kids in the 6-14 age group Get Animated is an on-air, online, print and off-channel campaign and kicks off on 28 February.
The programme will tap into the network’s roster of cartoon characters and distinctive 3D on-air environment to communicate positive lifestyle messages through multiple Public Service Announcements (PSAs). These will air in Cartoon Network’s morning, afternoon and prime time day-parts. These pro-social spots also will point viewers to www.GetAnimated.com. On this site content will further communicate messages around the benefits of making good lifestyle choices.
Kids will find tips, lifestyle recommendations and an interactive game that will focus on the importance of being active. Additionally Get Animated messages will appear within a series of consumer and trade ads in key publications.
The broadcaster has launched the initiative Movement Ink. This will serve as a place where cartoon characters and,at times, live kids can come together for growth, inspiration and action. Activities housed within the facility will vary from traditional sports to non-traditional activities, such as, tree house climbing.
Kids onscreen will encounter and interact with their favourite characters from series such as Codename: Kids Next Door, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, The Powerpuff Girls and Ed, Edd n Eddy. Characters will come together at Movement Ink to share with viewers at home fun ideas for healthy snacks and new twists on familiar games that kids could try at home, a park or at school.
Two 15-second teaser spots will introduce the on-air campaign. The first is an official ceremony on the site where Movement Ink will be constructed featuring the Mayor of Townsville and his assistant Sara Bellum of The Powerpuff Girls. The second will be a star-studded ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the various inhabitants of Cartoon Network’s on-air world to the newly completed Movement Ink facility.
Four PSAs will follow on-air and will be tagged with Movement Ink. This will serve as the official voice for healthy living on the broadcaster. Get Animated will air on a regular basis and new PSAs will be created to keep the programme as fresh and timely as possible.
Meanwhile Cartoon Network’s current cause-marketing programme Animate Your World will expand its continuing partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to introduce nutritional and fitness elements into its computer animation program that young club members enjoy at more than 3,800 BGCA locations across the US. The CD Rom programme uses the latest in computer animation technology to give kids the tools to create their own animation while learning lessons about developing good character traits.
The programme will work in tandem with BGCA’s existing health and wellness initiative that empowers young people to make informed decisions about their physical, mental and social well being. This effort is endorsed by the US department of health and human services (HHS).
Cartoon Network executive VP and GM Jim Samples says, “Knowing that kids connect strongly with Cartoon Network’s characters, we integrated our most popular stars into an all-inclusive healthy lifestyles program that kids will relate to. It was important to us that these messages feel like they belong at Cartoon Network, where we strive always to remain fun, funny and fearless.
” That’s why we created a new permanent destination Movement Ink within our existing on-air environment, which will serve as a portal for key messages such as the importance of increasing time spent being active and making the right choices around nutrition”.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
