Naruto on Sony YAY! a Hit: Channel Head Talks About the Anime’s Success in India, Dubbing, and More

In August 2022, Sony YAY! brought Indian audiences Naruto, which many grew up watching or were aware of with owing to how popular the show is.

The channel started airing the anime series in five regional languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Bengali, which can be seen as a positive step towards promoting and expanding the popularity of anime in diverse regions. Anime will become part of childhood for many from the current generation. Dubbing anime in multiple languages also caters to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the viewers, and provides a wider platform for the creators of anime to showcase their work to a larger audience.

Sony YAY! has since then aired a total of four seasons of Naruto. The channel has independently segmented the episodes into multiple seasons, rather than adhering to the original seasonal divisions of the show. Currently, Naruto reruns can be watched at 10 PM on the channel.

With how hyped the anime was before launch, it was no surprise when Sony YAY!’s head of programming, Ronojoy Chakraborty, told us that Naruto did well in the country.

Rayan Sayyed: Can you discuss the response to the first season of Naruto? How does it compare to other shows on Sony YAY!?

Ronojoy Chakraborty: We had a very good response for Naruto. We obviously aired it at a later slot because it is targeted at a different set of audience. So, in that age group, the show did really well. We come to know [of the response] from different posts on social media platforms, from the comments of users that a lot of young teens are watching Naruto on our channel.

Rayan Sayyed: What was the decision behind airing three back-to-back seasons of the anime? Is there a strategy behind it?

Ronojoy Chakraborty: Yes, of course, there is a strategy behind it. First, when we launched in August, we wanted to try out one season of Naruto, which was the first 26 episodes. Based on the response of the first season, we wanted to expose more seasons of Naruto to our viewers. Because the response that we had received was great. In December, we launched three more seasons back to back. So, that is like 78 episodes of Naruto, in addition to the 26 episodes.

Rayan Sayyed: What do you think sets Naruto apart from other anime series and makes it a good fit for Sony YAY! audiences?

Ronojoy Chakraborty: If you look at numbers, Naruto is viewed by approximately 18 million audiences across all age groups. This is amongst the top five programs with 13% in the male demographic (13 to 30 age group). These are the figures which we get from the ratings agencies, and these are very encouraging figures. So, that is why we have launched more seasons of Naruto.

Rayan Sayyed: Can you provide more details on how you adapt dubbed content for local cultures and languages? What challenges do you face in this process, and how do you overcome them?

Ronojoy Chakraborty: While we are adapting Naruto for local languages, not just for Hindi but across the other languages that we do dubs in like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and so on. We try to incorporate as much local flavour as possible, while keeping the essence of the show intact. So, in terms of the words that we have retained, the major keywords like “Hokage” have been retained in all the languages. The rest of the script has been adapted for local needs.

Rayan Sayyed: Dubbing must have a major role in increasing the reach and popularity of shows like these in India.

Ronojoy Chakraborty: Yes, of course. Not everyone is comfortable with either English or Hindi, so we have not restricted [our content] to just Hindi, but all the regional languages that we cater to different states. That makes the reach of the program very high.

Rayan Sayyed: Apart from Naruto, are there any other anime series that you are considering bringing to Sony YAY! in the future?

Ronojoy Chakraborty: We spoke about this last August also, but we were planning, and we are still planning. In fact, we are on the verge of inking deals for many such shows, which we will later announce. Unfortunately, because they have not been signed so far, so I can’t announce the names. But yes, we are planning for many such shows.

We try to incorporate as much local flavour as possible, while keeping the essence of the show intact. So, in terms of the words that we have retained, the major keywords like “Hokage” have been retained in all the languages.

Rayan Sayyed: How does Sony YAY! decide which anime shows to air, and how do you ensure that they are appropriate for the channel’s target audience?

Ronojoy Chakraborty: We have very stringent standards and practices (S&P) guidelines, and based on those guidelines we select our shows. It’s obviously on the name of the show, “Naruto,” which is one of the most popular anime shows across the globe. But obviously, they must come under our S&P guidelines. So, these are the two factors based on which we select our shows.

Rayan Sayyed: Can you comment on the growing popularity of anime in India and the role of channels like Sony YAY! in promoting it? What do you think is driving this trend, and where do you see it heading in the future?

Ronojoy Chakraborty: Lots of new sets of audiences are watching anime, and they have opened up to anime. They want to consume anime as their main source of entertainment. And obviously, we are geared towards catering to that need. That is how this genre will grow. So, we think that we are contributing to the growth of the genre, and also we think there is a growing set of audiences for this genre.