News Broadcasting
Another kids channel PowerKidz on the horizon
MUMBAI: If 2003 was the year for news channels, this year may well turn out to be that for kids’ channels.
Earlier there were just three in Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Splash (though the uncharitable would say the other two hardly count) providing kids with their daily dose of entertainment. Now the competition looks to be toughening and how with another kids channel wannabe having thrown its hat in the ring.
Data Quest Entertainment (DQE), soon to launch as the Indian marketing and distribution arm for a conglomerate of independent animation studios in the US, has drawn up plans to launch a kids’ channel – PowerKidz.
DQE claims to be a pioneer in the multimedia & animation industry, specializing in high quality 2D animation, 3D animation, & gaming software for TV, movies, web & interactive software tools.
Targeting a launch in the last quarter of 2004 (post-Diwali), the company intends to offer fare that is a combination of animation and live action programming. “Within a period of six months the company plans to create and collate the programming and create the interstitials for the channel,” offers DQE’s marketing advisor Pratik Basu.
According to Basu, former CEO of Buena Vista Television, “there’s always space for quality, more so, if it’s affordable.”
However, that is all in the future. DQE formally makes its entry on Indian television with Saahasa Baluru (Adventurous Kids) on ETV Telugu. The show launches on 31 January (next Saturday). “The programmes on ETV are a teaser trailer of what DQE is all about and has access to. It’s only the tip of the iceberg,” says Basu.
Basu says that DQE is in advanced talks with one of the big Hindi entertainment channels for showcasing its programming and will be making an announcement in this regard within the next ten days.
Touted as the “one-stop shop” to a veritable storehouse of children’s programming, DQE has tied up with a number of independent content providers that include EM TV, Magma films, Comet Entertainment, Dream TV, Stanley Media, Mercury Film Works, Nelvana Productions, Cinar Animation, Amberwood Entertainment, Neptuno Animation, and Alphanim.
Leveraging the strength of its association with these international studios, DQE also plans to launch itself as their marketing and distribution arm in India in the months to follow, says Basu.
DQE claims to have a resource bank comprising management and animation professionals supported by the latest digital facilities. DQE also offers traditional flash animation and co-production service company in India today.
If the launch of Powerkidz goes ahead as planned, then Indian television may well end 2004 with as many as four new kids channels on the block. Cartoon Network sibling Pogo launched on 1 January. Then there is UTV which is targeting a mid-year launch for its channel while Sony Entertainment will be bringing in the Animax sometime this year. And of course there is the “Little Big Mouse” – The Disney Channel – which is slated to enter Indian air space in the last quarter of 2004.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
