"There is no technological way to ensure ads are 100% child-safe:" Saugato Bhowmik, VOOT Kids

Viacom18, a joint venture operation between global media giant Viacom and TV18, launched VOOT Kids, an over-the-top streaming platform targetted at kids. It is an ad-free subscription-driven extension of Viacom18’s digital venture — VOOT, which, as shared by the organisation, has 80 million monthly active users. Sudhanshu Vats, group chief executive officer, Viacom18, while announcing the launch of the new platform mentioned that 15 per cent of the total viewership on VOOT was on kids' content that was earlier streaming on the platform.

Viacom18 is a leading broadcaster of kids' content in India. Its flagship kids' channel, Nickelodeon has held the top position in BARC India ratings since 2015. The network has now moved all kids' content to the newly launched platform and is redirecting users from VOOT as well. The new platform is targetted at two- to eight-year-olds and is priced at Rs 99 per month and Rs 799 per year. Business head - VOOT Kids, Saugato Bhowmik will lead the business.

In 2013, Bhowmik joined Viacom18 from HUL, where he spent almost a decade working on oral care, fabric cleaning, personal care and other businesses. In an interaction with afaqs!, Bhowmik shared his thoughts behind VOOT Kids, launching it as an ad-free platform, content and marketing strategies and more. Here are the edited excerpts: