[Exclusive]Sony YAY!'s Anime Block Dominates TV Ratings, Draws In Record Audience Following JJK & Naruto Acquisition
Sony YAY!’s dedicated anime block has achieved significant viewership success, dominating television ratings and attracting a record audience, particularly following the acquisition of popular titles like Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto. This was revealed by Sujoy Roy Bardhan, the channel’s marketing head, in an interview with Animehunch.
Highlighting the exceptional performance of the channel’s evening anime block, which airs from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m, Sujoy revealed that certain slots in the anime block captured as much as 30% of the audience share.
This 30% share is nearly two and a half times that of the channel’s own overall leading market share of 12.5%, making Sony YAY! the leading channel in its category during that time. It has occupied the number one position among kids’ channels for over a month now.
This strong performance on linear television was achieved despite both Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto
Addressing this, Sujoy explained the channel’s content-first philosophy, emphasizing their belief in the strength of good content to find an audience irrespective of the platform.
He was of the opinion that quality programming would consistently attract viewership, whether on linear TV, OTT, or YouTube, and that the channel aimed to make content conveniently accessible.
The success of Naruto, which Sony YAY! launched in 2022, reportedly provided the channel with significant confidence to acquire more prominent anime titles. This strategy was aimed at attracting new audience segments to the channel.
The positive reception of Jujutsu Kaisen‘s first season led to the immediate launch of its second season.
Further bolstering its anime offerings, Sony YAY! has solidified a partnership with Crunchyroll, a global anime brand and now a sister company under Sony. This collaboration allows Sony YAY! to access content from Crunchyroll’s extensive library.
As part of this, Sony YAY!’s existing VAS channels, Anime Local on Tata Play and Anime Booth on Airtel, have been rebranded as Crunchyroll Anime Local and Crunchyroll Anime Booth, respectively.
Additionally, a dedicated “Crunchyroll block” was scheduled to air on the Sony YAY! linear channel from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The channel, Sujoy claims, is progressing towards its goal of becoming the premier linear television destination for anime in the country.
While Sony YAY!’s core audience remaining children aged 4-14, with .
It is safe to say that Sony YAY! is quite committed to the anime genre and its Indian fanbase, with a desire to engage with “otakus” and expand the anime community in India.