In an endeavour to bring exciting kid’s entertainment offerings to the Malaysian audience, Sony YAY! launches on Telekom Malaysia Berhad (unifi TV). With a lineup of fan-favourite shows, the channel entered the Malaysian market on 1 July 2022 to expand its presence further across the South Asian region. Opening a world of entertainment to young audiences, Sony YAY! launched in Tamil with a total of seven popular kid’s entertainment shows including Sab Jholmaal Hai (Honey Bunny), Guru Aur Bhole, Taarak Mehta Ka Chhota Chashma, Kicko & Super Speedo, Paap-O-Meter, Prince Jai aur Dumdaar Viru and HaGoLa.
Sony YAY! is expected to tap into the prominent Tamil-speaking population of the region which comprises a total of 1.8 million people – the third highest in the world, after India and Sri Lanka. Considering the significant size of the Tamil-speaking audience in this region, the launch is a perfect opportunity for the channel to extend its content offerings to an expanded audience base across the South Asian market. With notable titles and the top two shows such as Sab Jholmaal Hai (Honey Bunny) and Paap-O-Meter, Sony YAY! will cater to the Tamil speaking audience of Malaysia along with the Indian diaspora of the region which accounts for close to 6.8 per cent of its population.
Sony YAY! EVP and business head Leena Lele Dutta said, “Over the span of five years since we launched Sony YAY! the channel has rapidly risen to become the #1 kid’s entertainment channel in India. The current Indian channel portfolio in Malaysia has a huge potential and with the launch of Sony YAY! in Malaysia, we will be leveraging this opportunity and extending our diverse range of enthralling kid’s entertainment options to an extremely new and vibrant set of audiences. The launch has made us optimistic about newer opportunities that we can explore to reach young audiences across geographies.”
Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and head – international business Neeraj Arora said, “As one of the fastest-growing kid’s entertainment channels in the Indian subcontinent, Sony YAY! has consistently made efforts to become the ultimate entertainment solution in the kid’s genre. The channel has curated and brought a bouquet of international shows and IPs to Indian audiences. This partnership with Telekom Malaysia Berhad will help us cater to the appetite of the rapidly growing audience across the Malaysian market and solidify our position in the global kid’s entertainment segment by bringing popular Indian shows to global audiences.”
With a growing audience base of around 43 million, Sony YAY! has grown exponentially since its inception in 2017 and the expansion into newer markets in South Asia strengthens the channel’s commitment to provide world-class entertainment to young audiences across the globe. This foray into Malaysia further accelerates the consistent drive to transform the global entertainment sector for Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN).
The launch of the channel in Tamil on one of the largest platforms Telekom Malaysia Berhad (unifi TV) is further set to aid the channel in terms of reach and access. Sony YAY! will be accessible to the subscribers of unifi TV under the Varnam Plus Pack and the Ultimate Pack.