TV Kids MONDO Special Report by World Screen

MONDO_SP_REPORT_0411_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/7/11 3:43 PM Page 1

MONDO TV

SPECIAL REPORT

THE DREAM FACTORY

A SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT

APRIL 2011

MONDO_SP_REPORT_0411_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/7/11 1:46 PM Page 2

MONDO_SP_REPORT_0411_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/7/11 1:36 PM Page 3

TV KIDS

Mondo TV’s

Orlando Corradi

Mondo TV is already one of Europe’s leading animation companies, and the veteran Italian outfit founded by Orlando Corradi is continuing to expand its reach. Since 2008, it has noticeably changed direction and its style of doing business, with a new focus on licensing and merchandising complementing the production and distribution of shows. The company is offering the international market a wide variety of TV shows targeted to girls and boys, from preschoolers to kids to tweens. Thanks to solid alliances with the American venture MEG Toys and with the Italian toy company Giochi Preziosi, Mondo TV is bringing to market this season several animated series based on successful existing brands. Orlando Corradi, the CEO at Mondo TV, talks to TV Kids about how he has re-positioned the company to embrace new businesses and generate additional revenue streams.

TV KIDS: Mondo TV has quite a diverse slate of

product.

Angel’s Friends: © 2009 Play Entertainment, Mondo TV; Dinofroz: © 2011 Giochi Preziosi S.p.A. / Mondo TV S.p.A.; Power Buggz: ©2010 MEG, El Segundo, CA, USA; Power Buggz ® is a registered trademark in the U.S., the European Community and in other countries; Playtime Buddies: © Visual Picnic, Inc. Playtime Buddies™ is a trademark of Visual Picnic, Inc.; Puppy In My Pocket: © 2005-2010 MEG; Puppy in my Pocket ® is a registered trademark; Virus Attack: © 2011 SUK s.r.l. / Mondo TV S.p.A. All rights reserved.

CORRADI: In the last two years Mondo TV

has made a large leap forward entering the licensing business, while creating a number of properties with our two main coproducers, the Italian toy company Giochi Preziosi and the Los Angelesbased MEG Toys. The first is the animated series Angel’s Friends, which was co-produced with Play Entertainment and for which Giochi Preziosi is the European master toy licensee. We have distributed the first season around the world in the last 18 months. And at MIPTV we will be bringing a movie and we’ll be announcing the start of production on the second season of 52x13minute episodes, which will be ready in fall of 2012. Angel’s Friends has already been well received around the world and we believe that the

movie and second season will make the property even more attractive to broadcasters. Our second big production is Puppy in My Pocket. We will be wrapping up production on the first season of 52 episodes in May. This is a key property for Mondo TV because it is the first time that one of our shows has been sold in a pan-[regional] deal to Cartoon Network Europe. On July 4 the series will premiere simultaneously in some 80 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.We are about to close another major deal with Cartoon Network Asia Pacific for all of Asia, Australia and New Zealand, so from October the series will launch simultaneously in 35 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. And finally, we are also in advanced discussions with Cartoon Network Latin America and with Cartoon Network in the U.S. TV KIDS: You took a different approach

producing Puppy in My Pocket. CORRADI: Yes, this is a co-production with Giochi Preziosi and MEG Toys. We’ve changed the usual production model: this is a toy brand which has become a TV series, unlike the ways shows are usually produced in our business, which are based on an idea that becomes an animated TV series and then spins off toys. Puppy in My Pocket is a toy that became an animated TV series, and thanks to the fact that it is based on a popular toy and

Puppy love: Puppy in My Pocket is based on a known toy brand.

MONDO_SP_REPORT_0411_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/8/11 5:22 PM Page 4

TV KIDS

bit more Manga style, as well as the preschool property we announced in April, Playtime Buddies (52x13 minutes) and Power Buggz (52x13 minutes), which is a co-production with MEG.

Man meets machine: Mondo’s Virus Attack airs on Cartoon Network in Italy.

has an appealing series with good TV distribution, it reinforces sales of the toy and all the merchandising. In Europe and in Asia, Cartoon Network will also be the licensing agent for Puppy in My Pocket. TV KIDS: What other shows are you bringing to MIPTV? CORRADI: The third very important property we are

bringing to MIPTV is Virus Attack (52x13 minutes). It launched in Italy on Cartoon Network in a primetime slot along with Ben 10 on April 1. And we are in discussions with Cartoon Network for many other territories in Europe for a premiere in fall 2012. We are launching a boys’ action property called Dinofroz that originates from an IP of Giochi Preziosi. In Italy, the Dinofroz toy sold extremely well and the 26x26-minute series will launch worldwide in fall of 2012.We are also bringing Beast Keeper (52x13 minutes) that is a little

The son also rises: Matteo Corradi is the senior VP of sales and board member at Mondo TV S.p.A.

TV KIDS: How has this diverse slate impacted your revenues? CORRADI: We’ve undergone a significant change at Mondo TV. In 2008, our revenues were €4 million. In 2010 they jumped to €16 million—300 percent growth in two years, despite the economic downturn. We are forecasting revenues of approximately €25 million in 2011. If you look at the period from 2008 to 2011, it will be nearly 500 percent growth in three years. TV KIDS: What factors have fueled this growth in

revenues? CORRADI: There are two main reasons: appealing

product and an ability to distribute it around the world and also perhaps because we have overturned our industry’s business model. With considerable humility, during the economic downturn, we decided to focus more on those branded properties, however, we are continuing to give the same importance to our own creativity, developing ideas and projects internally and producing our own original ideas. But it should be noted that currently Mondo TV is giving priority to properties that were already well known in the toy and licensing worlds, and turning them into animated series. As we are co-producers with toy companies, our main partner Giochi Preziosi and our American partner MEG Toys, this allowed us to produce series that are more easily accepted into the TV market. It was a very practical and strategic choice, and notwithstanding the crisis, even quite logical. In the children’s television business, often the management of many animation companies consists of creative people. For them it is often difficult to say, “I will work on someone else’s idea,” even if that can bring in revenues. We have an entrepreneurial approach and we don’t have these limitations. TV KIDS: Are you diversifying your business beyond your major co-productions? CORRADI: We continue to executive produce a number of series. These are shows for which we do

MONDO_SP_REPORT_0411_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/7/11 1:40 PM Page 5

TV KIDS

TV KIDS: You have also expanded into licensing. CORRADI: Yes, the third leg of our business is licens-

ing. We have set up Mondo TV Consumer Products, which is based in Milan, headed by Guido Berte, whose main objective is to develop licensing not only for Mondo TV’s properties but also for third-party properties in Italy, the Iberian Peninsula and Greece. We have already opened agencies in Spain and in Greece and we don’t exclude the possibility of opening other agencies around Europe, perhaps in Germany, France, Russia or the U.K. We already handle the Middle East through our office in Rome. TV KIDS: How have your subsidiaries in France and

Spain been performing? CORRADI: Mondo TV France, headed by Eve Baron,

experienced exponential growth and contributed sig-

nificantly to the growth of the Mondo TV Group, with the launch of two products: Lulu Vroumette, co-produced with France 5 and for which France Télévision Distribution is handling worldwide TV video and licensing sales; and Sherlock Yack, a co-production with TF1 that is being distributed internationally by ZDF Enterprises. Mondo TV France is achieving extraordinary results. Mondo TV Spain is responsible for selling our new shows and library product in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Maria Bonaria Fois, who heads up the company, is setting up a very important and lucrative business for us. She is importing teen soap operas into Europe.

Flying high: The girltargeted property Angel’s Friends is based on a well-known Italian comic-book series.

TV KIDS: You mentioned the Mondo TV library. CORRADI: It’s of crucial importance. We certainly

make money selling new product, but our greatest source of revenue comes from shows that were produced some 20 years ago because from those series we derive pure profit.Yes, the library continues to perform extremely well, thanks to the work of our sales team headed by Micheline Azoury, who is based in our headquarters in Rome, Italy. Making music: Bondi Band is a new animated series being co-produced by Mondo TV Spain.

not own the rights, we are not co-producers, we don’t share risks and rewards, but we are simply animators. The most important project we have been working on between 2010-2011 is Adrian. It’s an animated series created by the Italian pop star Adriano Celentano. This is the second leg of our business. We have developed such a production expertise. At this moment we are simultaneously in production on 20 animated series. Some of these series are work for hire, we don’t own the rights to the product; we simply make a profit—say they give us ten, we spend seven and keep the difference.

MONDO_SP_REPORT_0411_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/7/11 2:08 PM Page 6

TV KIDS

New from Mondo TV DINOFROZ

POWER BUGGZ

A co-production between Giochi Preziosi and Mondo TV. The series is based on the pocket-sized collectable toys by Giochi Preziosi. Targeting kids 5 to 10, 26x26-minute episodes will be ready in fall 2012. The series is produced in full HD 2D animation with CG effects. One lazy summer afternoon, Tom and his three 12-year-old school buddies find a weird board game. They don’t know that every time they roll the dice on the board game, they open up a gate between the present and the past, and enter another dimension where they are dinosaurs! A belt around their heavy dinosaur necks contains a vial in which floats a piece of rock, Rockfroz. They’ll soon discover that this Rockfroz is the link between Earth and the world of the dinosaurs. Every time the kids are on Earth minding their own business, something can happen with the board game warning them to jump into action to save the dinosaurs from the evil clutches of Neceron.

A co-production between Mondo TV and MEG Toys, directed by Mondo TV’s founder and CEO, Orlando Corradi. The series, consisting of 26x26-minute episodes that will be ready in fall 2012, is produced in full HD 2D animation with CG effects. It targets kids 5 to 10. One quiet summer evening before the start of the school year, a mysterious explosion rocked the science lab at Coastal High School, where worldrenowned scientist, Dr. Kristoff Dralda, conducted research on the evolution of insects. A powerful mineral, Makite, had recently been discovered on the school grounds. Dralda was unharmed in the explosion, but years of research went up in flames. His insect specimens were nowhere to be found. Strangely there were streaks of Makite that tracked across the room and into the cracks of the walls. Had the insects escaped and been changed into something more? Costal High School will never be the same again...

PLAYTIME BUDDIES A co-production between Mondo TV, Visual Picnic and Licensing Works. The series is created by Erik DePrince. MEG Toys is the master toy licensee, with worldwide licensing handled by Licensing Works. For kids 3 to 5, 52x13minute episodes will be ready in fall 2012.The series is produced in HD 2D animation with CG effects. Each Playtime Buddies story encourages the development of positive social interaction and cognitive skills. “Because that’s what Buddies do!” is the recurring underlying message of sharing that is communicated in each episode. Playtime Buddies offers an imaginative palette of characters and a wide array of stories. The property features both real-life role models, such as bakers, cowboys, policemen, firefighters, athletes and farmers, and the fantasy characters who inhabit the imaginations of children, such as pirates, mermaids, princesses and superheroes.

BEAST KEEPER This co-production between Mondo TV, Starbright, Kappa Edizioni and Ponpoko Productions is written by Andrea Baricordi and directed by Orlando Corradi. There will be 52x13-minute episodes ready for delivery in fall 2012, targeting kids 7 to 12. The series is produced in 2D high definition. Beast Keeper features the adventures of the young Jay, Mac, Alice and Toto who accompany the brave Keep during a journey in search of his origins. Keep has no memory of his past, but he owns an ancient and magic artifact called Spin Shell that grants him the power of taming and fusing with the Beasts—legendary beings coming from the Underworld. During their adventure, thanks to the strength of their friendship, the young Keepers will solve mysteries, obtain new Spin Shells and face the Reapers, wicked creatures who capture the Beasts in order to gain their powers and take over the World. The five heroes will grow up and evolve, learning the importance of values such as friendship and collaboration.

MONDO_SP_REPORT_0411_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/7/11 1:45 PM Page 7

MONDO_SP_REPORT_0411_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/7/11 2:14 PM Page 8