It is not child's play. Plugging into children andwhat they want on TV is getting as crucial as understanding what grown-ups want in their news - the market is roughly as large. Last year, advertisers spent over Rs 200 crore on kids' programming. It is, in fact, one of the fastest growing slices of the Rs 5,000-crore ad pie. The evidence is in the number of players who have jumped in already and those that are entering now. Last month UTV launched the first 24-hour Hindi kids' channel, Hungama TV. Pogo and Animax were both launched earlier this year. Then there is the imminent launch of Disney's three channels in India, at least one of which will be a complete kids affair. Also, don't forget Star's plans to get into the space. Its Son-Pari and Shakalaka-Boom Boom (both from UTV) are already among the most popular kid's shows. Then there is the Disney Hour on Sony and Fox Kids slot on Star Plus.

As the market gets competitive, researchers now split hairs a lot more, trying to understand what kids are all about these days. So there is Nick Jr.'s (formerly Nickelodeon) research into the minds of pre-schoolers or 2-6 year-olds. It was conducted with child psychologists and educators. The idea: highlight the effects of television on children and, especially, on pre-schoolers (2-6 years). It is providing important cues on what learning and interactivity mean for Indian children, and this will help the company localise, says Pradeep Hejmadi, director (business and operations), Nick India. Hejmadi, incidentally, was also the director (research) for Cartoon Network, which released its New Generations 2004, a study of kids aged 7-14, its fifth one in as many years.

Here's a look at a few key findings from the studies and a look at all the options children have today.