Sony YAY!, the kids’ entertainment channel from Sony Pictures Networks India, is expanding its anime content and developing original Indian IPs for international platforms as it looks to grow beyond traditional broadcasting.
Launched in 2017, Sony YAY! has established itself as a top three player in the competitive children’s television market in India. The channel’s strategy focuses on Indian content and popular anime titles to attract young audiences.
“We started as a homegrown Indian content channel, just to stand out and serve the Indian audience with Indian stories and Indian characters,” said Sujoy Roy Bardhan, head of marketing, communications and on air promotions, Sony YAY! Variety. “That’s also how we were able to grab kids’ attention very quickly, because there was a lot of relevance of our characters in the category.”
The channel has built a library of 60 films and 400 episodes for the original IP comedy ‘Honey Bunny’. It is now using its content creation opportunity to develop shows for other platforms, going beyond just serving its own channel.
Sony YAY! is currently producing ‘Karna the Guardian’, an anime-style reinterpretation of a character from the Indian epic ‘Mahabharata’. Karna, a complex and tragic figure from the ancient Sanskrit epic, is adapted for a new generation of viewers. The series aims to blend traditional Indian storytelling with modern anime aesthetics, potentially appealing to both domestic and international audiences.
Another original production, “The Curse of the Robin” is an anime concept that follows a teenage girl who discovers a magical makeup box that transforms her from a timid Indian girl into a more confident version of herself. Bardhan emphasized that the transformation goes beyond superficial changes and focuses on how the protagonist perceives the world and himself. This series is being developed as a film with plans to pitch it to international markets upon completion.
While deals are still being finalized, Bardhan said “Karna the Guardian” is close to signing with a major platform. For “CID,” an animated adaptation of a long-running crime series, Sony YAY! plans to produce a full season before releasing it to market.
“We have realized that if we take our Indian stories to an international audience, we don’t have to limit our audience to just children because animation is not only consumed internationally by children,” explains Bardhan.
In the anime field, Sony YAY! recently took over the popular Japanese series “Shin chan” after 17 years of running on other Indian channels. The company sees potential to expand “Shin chan” through licensing, merchandising and experiential offerings aimed at both children and nostalgic adult fans.
Sony YAY! is exploring partnerships to create “Shin chan” adult apparel and other product categories. While a full theme park isn’t among the immediate plans, Bardhan said the company is open to smaller experiential offerings as the brand establishes itself.
Sony YES! has launched eight anime titles so far. The flagship shows, French animation “Oggy and the Cockroaches”, “Shin chan” and “Honey Bunny” are available in seven languages: Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Bangla, Kannada and Odia. The Japanese “Naruto” is offered in five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Bangla.
To meet growing demand, Sony YAY! has launched dedicated anime channels on Airtel and Tata Play platforms. Tata Play Anime Local is available in Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, while Airtel Anime Booth, a value-added service channel, offers content in Hindi. The Japanese “Black Clover” is available exclusively on the Anime Booth VAS channel.
“The appetite for anime titles in India is real,” Bardhan noted. “It doesn’t wait to grow, it’s already there.”
Looking ahead, Sony YAY! plans to continue focusing on animation rather than expanding into live-action content for children. The channel’s brand positioning aims to create a ‘#Happyverse’ where children can use their imaginations freely.
While Sony is open to preschool content, Sony YAY! strives to prioritize entertainment over overt education in its programming. “We want to remain that brand that doesn’t judge children based on whether they get an education from our content or not,” Bardhan said.