Hungama TV

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Hungama TV
Hungama TV.svg
CountryIndia
Broadcast areaIndia
Bangladesh
Nepal
HeadquartersMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Programming
Language(s)
Picture format576i (SDTV)
Ownership
Owner
Sister channelsDisney Channel
Disney International HD
Disney Junior
Marvel HQ
History
Launched26 September 2004; 17 years ago (2004-09-26) [1]
Availability
Cable
DEN NetworksChannel 429
Siti CableChannel 447
Asianet Digital TVChannel 322
Kerala Vision Digital TVChannel 462
Bengal Digital (Bangladesh)Channel 443
Satellite
Dish TVChannel 981[2]
Airtel Digital TVChannel 453
Tata SkyChannel 652
Videocon d2hChannel 1101
Sun DirectChannel 537
Reliance Digital TVChannel 606
DishHome(Nepal)Channel 800
Zuku TV (Kenya)Channel 955

Hungama TV is an Indian pay television channel aimed at children, mainly showcasing Japanese and Indian animated series. It was launched on 26 September 2004.[3] Currently it is owned by Star India, a subsidiary of Disney India.

History[]

UTV and Ronnie Screwvala formed United Home Entertainment with 51% and 49% ownership interests, respectively. The company was formed to launch an Indian kids channel. It hired TAG for channel packaging. Chief Operating Officer Purnendu Bose was hired and was expected to hire 100 employees for the channel. Rs 100 crore was the expected initial investment with expectations of break even in three years. In September, 2004, Hungama TV started broadcasting as the first domestic kids channel in India.[4]

In March, 2005, one of the UTV founders, Zarina Mehta became Hungama's head of programming. In early 2006, he was promoted to chief operating officer of the channel.[5]

In July, 2006, Disney India acquired a controlling stake in Hungama TV from UTV Software Communications while also taking a 14.9% share in UTV.[6] In 2006, Disney acquired Hungama TV from UTV.[7]

The channel started with both live-action and animated programming but, following the success of Doraemon, gradually shifted its focus to solely animated programming.[8][9] In 2013, Hungama started adding original Indian series as a part of a localisation strategy.[10]

In October 2021, it was announced that the channel will gain an HD simulcast, alongside a sister network named Super Hungama, a rebranding of Marvel HQ.[11] However on November 30th, the planned launch date of December 11th was delayed until further notice.[12]

Programming[]

Main article: List of programmes broadcast by Hungama TV

Controversy[]

A Hindi dub of the Shin Chan anime started airing on Hungama TV on June 19, 2006, and it gained up to 60% of the channel's market share.[13] There were complaints from parents over the main character's behaviour and the attitudes exhibited towards elders on the show, both of which were seen as a negative influence on children. The show was banned from Indian television in 2008 but soon after it started airing again on Hungama TV.[14] The episodes shown before the ban were either not airing or redubbed.

References[]

  1. ^ "Star India launches Disney Kids Pack with new campaign - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media.
  2. ^ "D2H Channel List with Numbers - DishTV". www.dishtv.in. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  3. ^ "UTV Launches Hungama TV". The Financial Express. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  4. ^ Bansal, Shuchi (9 April 2004). "Hungama TV to fight for ad share". Business Standard India. New Delhi. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  5. ^ Adesara, Hetal (27 May 2006). "Hungama TV COO Zarina Mehta". Indian Television. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  6. ^ Leahy, Joe; Sundeep Tucker (13 September 2006). "Disney switches on to Hindi market". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  7. ^ Sinha, Ashish (18 June 2008). "UTV investment is long-term play". Business Standard. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Hungama TV banking on movies, four driver shows". 21 September 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Hungama TV to focus on animation now". 28 September 2005. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Hungama TV gets new look, plans to add local shows | TelevisionPost.com". Television Post. Mumbai. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  11. ^ Delhi, BestMediaInfo Bureau; October 16; 2021. "Breaking News: Disney Star India exits English general entertainment; Star World, Star World HD and Star World Premiere HD to go off air by November 30". www.bestmediaifo.com. Retrieved 16 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ https://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/viewership/star-and-disney-india-postpones-new-channel-launches-till-further-intimation-211130
  13. ^ "Shin Chan on Hungama TV - Disney India". corporate.disney.in. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  14. ^ "India bans telecasting of Shin Chan". www.merinews.com. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
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