MUMBAI: Kids channel Nickelodeon, in its all-out bid to get a toe-hold in Indian TV homes, has renamed itself (on air) as Nick and become almost completely 'desi'.

Twelve hours of Hindi-dubbed programming from 8 am to 8 pm is what it offers. The 12-hour Hindi feed became effective as of last Thursday (22 April).

Through a dual audio feed, Nick has been gradually stepping up its Hindi content on the channel from four hours in 2003 to eight hours in early 2004 to a twelve-hour time band, effectively the entire viewing time of a kid, according to a company release. Over and above Hindi-dubbed shows, the new Nick identity will also be reflected in the channel’s ever changing Nick ID, vignettes and interstitials.

Alex Kuruvilla, Managing Director, MTV Networks India is quoted in the release as saying: "This is the year for Nick. We have joined The One Alliance platform - this will see serious growth in our penetration. We have gone 100 per cent Hindi to connect with kids across India (English will continue to play a role in relevant markets). We have launched our first marketing initiative with Saif Ali Khan and plan to do a lot more programming around Bollywood. The sure shot way to get to the Indian kid's heart. All of this should be simply irresistible to any advertiser / brand whose livelihood depends on kids consumption or kids pester power."

Nick, along with sibling channel MTV officially come on board the Sony-Discovery One Alliance distribution platform from 1 May.

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