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Asian characters Meet Kai-lan. She's Chinese. Learn Chinese words. Feb 8, 2008
Yesterday Nickelodeon debuted the first major-network children’s show focused on Asian culture, “Ni Hao, Kai-lan.” Aimed at kids 2-5 and airing at 11 a.m. Thursdays, the animated program adopts the same basic format as most interactive shows, like “Dora the Explorer” and “Go, Diego, Go.” The main character speaks directly to the audience with appeals for help in repeating simple foreign phrases or finding a certain object. The big difference is Kai-lan’s ethnicity. “Diversity in children's programming thus far has mainly been about introducing bilingual Spanish shows,” says Ashley Fenwick-Naditch, executive editor of ChildrensMediaConsultant.com and a former TV and online content producer. “Nickelodeon started off with ‘Dora the Explorer,’ and later added ‘Go, Diego, Go.’ Both have been enormously successful in terms of ratings and product licensing.” They also inspired other bilingual shows, like Disney’s “Handy Manny,” during a period of enormous growth for American Hispanics. Now the debut of “Ni Hao,” which means “hello” in Mandarin, coincides with a sharp rise in the number of Asian Americans, and that could lead to a similar boom for Asian-American kids’ TV characters. There are 13.5 million Asian Americans living in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau, up 72 percent from the previous census and comprising 5 percent of the U.S. population. They are now the fastest-growing minority group, and their appeal to marketers is rising. They spent $253 billion in 2001, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, and by next year that figure will hit $528 billion. And Asian Americans are expected to start playing a more influential role in U.S. elections, especially in densely populated areas like California, where their voting bloc has the potential to be just as crucial as Hispanics during the 2000 and 2004 elections. Yet what’s very different about this group compared to some other minorities is that Asians do not share one overarching cultural identity or even a single language. There is a great diversity between those with Japanese, Korean, Indian or Chinese roots, and thus many potential areas for kids’ programming to explore. “Ni Hao” launched yesterday in conjunction with the Chinese New Year. The show, which has gotten good reviews from The Boston Globe and San Francisco Chronicle, will help teach children Mandarin phrases, Chinese customs and holidays. It follows a 5-year-old girl named Kai-lan, her multi-generational family and her friends, who all happen to be animals. There’s certainly room for more Asian characters on TV, and not just for children. Studies have found that Asian Americans are the second-least-represented minority group on television, ahead of only Native Americans. Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending Feb. 3: Among teens 12-17, Fox led with a 9.6 rating and 30 share, followed by the CW at 1.2/4,, ABC at 1.1/4, NBC at 1.0/3, Univision at 0.9/3, CBS at 0.8/3, Telemundo at 0.2/1, Telefutura at 0.1/0, and Azteca at 0.0/0. Among kids 2-11, Fox was first with a 6.0/21, followed by Univision at 1.4/5, ABC at 0.8/3, NBC at 0.7/3, the CW at 0.6/2, CBS at 0.4/2, Telemundo at 0.4/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1 and Azteca at 0.1/0. The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. Fox’s “Super Bowl” (Sunday 6:31 p.m.); 2. Fox’s “Super Bowl Pregame” (Sunday 6 p.m.); 3. Fox’s “Super Bowl Postgame” (Sunday 10:12 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer” (Thursday 10 a.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “Go, Diego, Go” (Friday 12:30 p.m.) The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. Fox’s “Super Bowl” (Sunday 6:31 p.m.); 2. Fox’s “Super Bowl Pregame” (Sunday 6 p.m.); 3. Fox’s “Super Bowl Postgame” (Sunday 10:12 p.m.); 4. Disney’s “The Incredibles” (Friday 8:15 p.m.); 5. Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb” (Friday 8:15 p.m.) The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. Fox’s “Super Bowl” (Sunday 6:31 p.m.); 2. Fox’s “Super Bowl Pregame” (Sunday 6 p.m.); 3. Fox’s “Super Bowl Postgame” (Sunday 10:12 p.m.); 4. Fox’s “American Idol” (Tuesday 8 p.m.); 5. Fox’s “American Idol” (Wednesday 8 p.m.)
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