Children's edutainment channel becomes world's fastest-growing channel

A screen grab of Johny Johny Yes Papa on ChuChu TV that is now among the 40 videos on YouTube to have crossed 1 billion viewsEven as content on childrens entertainment and education continues to mushroom all over the Internet YouTube channel ChuChu TV has managed to become the fastestgrowing channel of its kind in the world in four years With 10 million subscribers as of June 17 ChuChu TV is the thirdlargest YouTube channel in India trumping the likes of AIB and TVF among several other homegrown social media video giantsThe journey however had a nonstrategic start It was back in 2013 when Vinoth Chandar cofounder and CEO uploaded a video on YouTube that he had made for his daughter Harshitha Shes called Chuchu at home I created a video titled Chubby Cheeks with an animated girl that looked like her which she loved I uploaded it on YouTube under the name ChuChu TV on a lark Chandar says The video went on to score 300000 views in a few weeks He followed it up with another video Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars That too saw some dramatic numbers And suddenly with just two videos we had 5000 subscribers in two months From then to now the channel has recorded 14 billion views in four years with just 154 videosVinoth Chandar Until ChuChu TV came into being Chandar who started out in the software business with childhood friends was immersed in apps games and ringtones After we realised that we were off to a good start with the channel we got more interested in childrens edutainment through animation With the help of experts we have managed to develop content and style that is uniquely Indian in spirit and aesthetics but is adored the world over Their viewership spans 175 countries the largest numbers coming from the US followed by India Philippines Vietnam and UK While things were working out for them right from the start it was after the Johny Johny Yes Papa a spin on the original rhyme video that Chandar realised they were in it for the long haul That video now has 11 billion views making it one among the 40 videos to ever cross the 1 billion mark on YouTube I realised that what we were creating was engaging people Smart phones were taking over our lives and the Internet was not just limited to offices any longer but entering our homes too in a big way Consumption of entertainment was shifting from TV to portable screens While there was a lot of content for older audiences preschool and toddlers were not seeing specialised content Even within the space of nursery rhymes which we started out with we were different mdash we didnt want to use the rhymes as they were We decided to rewrite the lyrics and give them a positive spin Parents loved what they were seeing and wanted their kids to see it too That is how we found our nicheSpeaking of three things that should be avoided while creating content for children Chander says Stay away from violence monotony and too many dialogues While they look up to cult creators like Walt Disney and DreamWorks the real inspiration Chandar says comes from talking to our own kids