MUMBAI: Cartoon Network is growing up.

If official statistics are to be believed, nearly 40 per cent of the audience belongs to the 18 + category.

Currently, the only full fledged animation kids' channel in the country, Cartoon Network made a huge dent in the pre schoolers' category this year with the launch of daily three hour band Tiny TV. Ironically, the launch of the band was based on in house research that indicated that mothers along with the two to six year olds, form the bulk of the channel's audience base. Almost a year later, Turner International executive director, strategic marketing Nikhil Mirchandani, says Tiny TV has helped channel viewership zoom upwards by 50 per cent.

Needless to say, mothers form a large part of that audience. Cashing in on this development, the channel has roped in several more advertisers thus far restricting to advertising on mainstream channels. Cartoon Network now has Life Insurance Corporation, Asian Paints, Nokia, Surf and Hyundai on board. While Asian Paints is a sponsor of the channel's ongoing Toon Diwali Dhamaka contest, Citibank has tied up with the channel for another new promotion.

A bulk 17 hours of daily programming is now in Hindi, helping bond with viewers, even as localisation remains a priority for the channel, in India . Most of these brands are first timers to Cartoon Network but as the audience base begins to grow, says Mirchandani, the toon shows are not appealing just to the 'very young, the young kids but also to the kid in all of us.'