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The Commissioners Theme Parks Social Media
MIP JUNIOR & MIPCOM EDITION
Disney’s Anne Sweeney Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh Super RTL’s Claude Schmit Lagardère’s Karine Leyzin Turner’s Michael Carrington www.tvkids.ws
THE MAGAZINE OF CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING
OCTOBER 2011
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TV KIDS
CONTENTS
Features 76 Top Scouts Programmers from Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and CBeebies offer insight into the kinds of content they’re seeking.
76
86 The Adventure Continues Content owners are extending their big hits into theme parks, live events and attractions. Ricardo Seguin Guise
Publisher Anna Carugati
Editor
92 Kids Get Connected Social-media sites are proving to be invaluable tools in creating connections between brands and viewers.
Mansha Daswani
Executive Editor
Licensing Special Report
Kristin Brzoznowski
Managing Editor
Powering Up Brands
Marissa Graziadio
Companies attending Brand Licensing Europe are devising new ways to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Editorial Assistant Simon Weaver
Online Director Craig Brown Michelle Villas
Production & Design Directors Phyllis Q. Busell
Art Director
Zinkia’s José María Castillejo The Spanish company is positioning itself as a global brand creator, according to its president.
Cesar Suero
Sales & Marketing Director
101
Interviews
Terry Acunzo
Business Affairs Manager Vanessa Brand
Sales & Marketing Assistant
117 Dan Povenmire & Jeff “Swampy” Marsh
126 Turner’s Michael Carrington
A conversation with the creators of the Disney Channel hit series Phineas and Ferb.
The broadcaster’s chief content officer for EMEA talks about the expansion of Cartoonito.
120 Disney’s Anne Sweeney
130 Lagardère’s Karine Leyzin
The co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group discusses the company’s portfolio.
As general manager of youth and women’s channels, she oversees Canal J, TiJi and Gulli.
122 Super RTL’s Claude Schmit
132 KI.KA’s Sebastian Debertin
The CEO of Germany’s leading kids’ service reflects on maintaining the channel’s success.
The channel’s head of fiction, acquisitions and co-productions shares his programming strategy.
Ricardo Seguin Guise
President Anna Carugati
Executive VP & Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani
VP of Strategic Development TV Kids © 2011 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website:
www.tvkids.ws
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TV KIDS
P A N O R A M A
By Anna Carugati
Memories That Last I recently had the most bittersweet experience. I finally persuaded my grown-up son, who has been living on his own for two years, to clear out a lot of his “stuff ” from bookshelves and closets at home—his teenage sister has been desperately clamoring for the space. Although now an adult, my son has, to my delight, maintained a healthy dose of silliness.To get into the mood for this clean-up marathon—his idea of a good time is not going through endless numbers of books, school notebooks, folders and memorabilia of all sorts—he put on a favorite song from when he was a boy, FIRE!!!, from the anime series Digimon Frontier. “The FIRE in you, the strongest FIRE, when it explodes you can achieve the impossible,” he sang along, as we, a bit like archeologists, started digging backwards in time, through the layers of his childhood: Pokémon video games, trading cards, board game, comic books, DVDs; Animorphs books; Power Rangers videocassettes and comics; Digimon DVDs, videocassettes and comics; Dexter’s Laboratory videocassettes. We found an audiocassette recorder and cassettes—remember those? We found a Walkman, a Game Boy and a Nintendo 64. How many memories each item stirred up in me—flashes of him as a schoolboy playing on his own or with friends. There were books and videocassettes of The Magic School Bus, and pushed further back on a shelf were Care Bears and Winnie the Pooh. At the sight of that silly old bear and his cohorts and beloved Christopher Robin, my eyes welled up with tears. I was filled with longing for the times he and I would sit together, cuddling, reading a book or watching a video together. I was trying not to sob as we made two piles: one for charity, one of items that needed to be thrown out. Then he added a third one—books, games and videos he would keep. He decided he just couldn’t part with some of the stash; it was too valuable to him. This trip down memory lane reminded me how much the children’s television business has changed since the late ’80s. Back then broadcast networks still aired healthy blocks of kids’ programming and dedicated children’s channels were in their infancy. There were videocassettes that allowed our children to watch their favorite episodes again and again and again! We parents felt we could offer a lot of entertainment options to our young ones—certainly more than we ever had—and we were delighted when a quality TV show was able to help them with their ABCs and 123s. Our preferred venue for discussing children’s shows, videos, books or toys was the neighborhood play-
ground. That is where we shared and compared experiences, asked questions and found companionship in what could often be the difficult job of parenting. If we fast-forward to today’s media landscape for children, I can’t believe how complex it has become. Not only are there numerous children’s channels in every market, but kids’ programming can be found on demand on TV and online, there are DVDs, and clips or full episodes can be seen on mobile phones and other portable devices. What is truly amazing to me is the vast world of websites and blogs that have cropped up in the last few years, the stars of which are the mommy bloggers—mothers who create an online community where other moms can find information, reassurance and even camaraderie to help stem the sense of isolation that crops up when caring for small children—all without leaving the comfort of their homes. Mommy bloggers have become very influential. Their comments about a TV show or toy or book can bring a tremendous amount of attention to a property. In this issue of TV Kids, we examine blogs and other forms of social media and how producers and distributors are using them to create awareness and build communities around children’s properties.We also speak to some of the top commissioners of children’s programming.We look at theme parks and live shows that are the ultimate extension of a popular brand. We also have an impressive lineup of interviews with top executives in the children’s television business: Disney/ABC’s Anne Sweeney talks about spotting talent and extending properties across multiple platforms; and we have the creators of one of Disney’s most successful properties, Phineas and Ferb.We also speak to Super RTL’s Claude Schmit, Turner Broadcasting’s Michael Carrington, Lagardère’s Karine Leyzin and KI.KA’s Sebastian Debertin. What all of these companies are trying to do is find properties that will connect with children and live profitably on the many platforms available in today’s digital world. While they rightfully focus on business models, revenue streams and factors that can easily be quantified in numbers, a powerful brand has something else, an intangible quality—the ability to create lasting, magical memories.
Companies are trying to find properties that will connect with children and live profitably on the many platforms available in today’s digital world.
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TV KIDS
41 Entertainment www.41ent.com Blake: Double Identity
• Blake: Double Identity
The animated Blake: Double Identity is 41 Entertainment’s “top property and only priority” for this market, according to Allen Bohbot, the company’s managing director. When Bohbot, a children’s programming veteran, was setting up his new animation production-and-distribution company last year, he had the idea to do a James Bond-esque kids’ series. The aim was to deliver an espionage-based show that could borrow elements from grown-up series like 24 while still being funny and kid-friendly.The result is Blake: Double Identity, which follows the adventures of action-hero twins—Justin and Tatiana, but her friends just call her T—and their two friends, who have been recruited by an international government organization. The Blake twins think the same thoughts, plan the same way and can strike with double the force.“The market response to date has been overwhelmingly positive, and this is our main focus for MIPCOM 2011; we plan a massive television, DVD, licensing and merchandising and online introduction,” says Bohbot.The 26x22-minute series will be fully delivered in 2012, and a stereoscopic 3D movie is being planned for 2013. A second season, also 26x22 minutes, is scheduled for 2014.
“ This special property is a really cool mix of 2D
and 3D animation in an espionage setting, but with lots of humor.
”
—Allen Bohbot
4Kids Entertainment www.4kidsent.com • Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal • Rocket Monkeys • Tai Chi Chasers • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s • Dinosaur King
The latest in the highly successfully Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, will be on offer at MIPCOM from 4Kids Entertainment. “Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal represents an entirely new creative direction for one of the classic icons of Japanese animation,” says Brian Lacey, the executive VP of international. “Kid viewers will be attracted to the new characters, their adventures, and above all the new duels that have made this property a genuine broadcast franchise around the world.” 4Kids will also be offering Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s from the franchise, as well as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Yu-GiOh! GX. Further highlights Lacey points to are Dinosaur King, Tai Chi Chasers and Rocket Monkeys. “Rocket Monkeys represents a fresh comedy series, with fast-paced humor, witty dialogue and a colorful design to the characters and series,” Lacey notes.
“ We will be looking for new
production opportunities, as well as acquisitions for broadcast on The CW in the U.S. and for global broadcast distribution.
”
—Brian Lacey
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
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TV KIDS
9 Story Entertainment www.9story.com • Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood • Almost Naked Animals • Wild Kratts • Numb Chucks • The Super Dupers
One of the most beloved PBS classic TV shows, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, has been revamped for a new generation of preschoolers, this time as an animated series, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Set within the original Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is led by an animated 4-year-old tiger, who speaks directly to the home audience, inviting them into his world. The show is a lead property for 9 Story Entertainment. Also new to the 9 Story slate for MIPCOM is Numb Chucks and The Super Dupers, both skewing slightly older (6- to 11-year-olds). For the same age demo is the comedy Almost Naked Animals and the wildlife adventure series Wild Kratts. “We’re bringing our strongest slate yet and expect it to be our busiest market to date, particularly with the highly anticipated launch of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” says Natalie Osborne, the executiveVP of business development at 9 Story.
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
“ [What these shows] have in common is terrific age-appropriate
writing, together with the attention to detail and production quality that 9 Story is known for.
”
—Natalie Osborne
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TV KIDS
American Greetings Properties www.agpbrands.com
“ The Care Bears have
• Care Bears • Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures • The WotWots
The beloved Care Bears brand has a brand-new CGI series being unveiled by American Greetings Properties. “The CGI animation is so detailed you can actually see the fluffy texture of the bears, and the backgrounds are spectacular,” says Gia DeLaney, the VP of program sales. American Greetings Properties is also bringing a new season of Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures. “It’s easy to understand Strawberry Shortcake’s global appeal, because her stories and themes are fun and wholesome and her optimism is contagious,” says DeLaney. “We are excited because the second season of Strawberry Shortcake introduces a brand-new character called Cherry Jam.” The company also recently expanded its catalogue to include The WotWots, from New Zealand’s Weta Workshop. “The brand-new season finds a pair of brother and sister aliens traveling to numerous scenic locations and contains a beautiful mix of CGI and live action,” DeLaney notes.
been popular for decades, and we anticipate the new series will have a global appeal.
”
—Gia DeLaney
Care Bears
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Animasia Studio www.animasia-studio.com • ABC Monsters • Balla Bowl • Chuck Chicken • Harry & Bunny • My Ugly Little Brother
The Malaysia-based Animasia Studio is fairly new to the kids’ arena, having been established in 2005. Accordingly, Edmund Chan, the managing director, says his ultimate goal is to create more sales and greater awareness for Animasia’s stable of brands around the world. This includes ABC Monsters, which features 26 cuddly creatures, each of whom represents a different letter of the alphabet. The movie Balla Bowl is about a young boy who eats, sleeps and dreams cricket.There are also Chuck Chicken, available for presales, and Harry & Bunny and My Ugly Little Brother, both in development. “These programs are produced in high-end 2D Flash and have extremely unique and stand-out character designs,” says Chan. “These shows are animated by our core animation team based in Malaysia and China and scripted by our team of experienced writers based in Malaysia, the U.K., Spain, the U.S. and India.”
“ Most of our
My Ugly Little Brother
programs will be developed for multiplatform, starting with TV series followed by online and mobile application support.
”
—Edmund Chan
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TV KIDS
Australian Children’s Television Foundation www.actf.com.au • • • •
My Place Dukes of Broxstonia Flea-Bitten Giggles
From live action, with My Place, to short-form animation, with Dukes of Broxstonia, and everything from preschool to tween, the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) has lined up a diverse slate. “Regardless of the genre, these programs are all produced to exacting standards and each of them offers kids a fabulous viewing experience,” says Tim Hegarty, international sales executive. Second seasons of My Place and Dukes of Broxstonia will be on offer, alongside seasons one through three of Giggles. “Our focus will most definitely be on these shows, with one-on-one presentations to buyers from all corners of the globe,” says Hegarty. “And whilst our newest programs will receive the most attention, we will at this market maintain a focus on animated series Flea-Bitten, launched at MIPTV this year, with all 52 episodes due for delivery in November. And of course our back catalogue of awardwinning content is never overlooked—there’s undoubtedly something in there to suit every buyer’s needs.”
Dukes of Broxstonia
“ The diversity on offer in just these few shows is vast—but the one thing ensuring their appeal is the quality.
”
—Tim Hegarty
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TV KIDS
awol animation www.awolanimation.com Kioka
• Gombby’s Green Island • Kioka • Wismo • Katuri • 1 Minute in a Museum
Each show in awol animation’s slate has a distinctive graphic universe, says Julie Fox, the managing director, “which will stand out in any programming schedule.” She continues, “Both children and adults will identify with the characters, their adventures and challenges.”These titles include Gombby’s Green Island, a 52x13-minute series that features the adventures and discoveries of Gombby, Strawy, Celeste and a sleepy little boy called Sleepy.The 78x7-minute Kioka is about a curious and confident little girl, who has a unique way of looking at things; when she shakes her magical snow globe special things happen.The half-hour Katuri is a coming-of-age tale about nine little country chicks who have a loving and protective mother.There’s also the 52x3-minute Wismo and a fourth installment of 1 Minute in a Museum.“[We’re looking to] raise the international profile of our new shows already scoring strong ratings in their domestic markets and to continue to bring our buyers the kind of stand-out programming they expect from awol,” says Fox.
Katuri
BBC Worldwide www.bbcworldwidesales.com • • • • •
Me & My Monsters Sadie J Leonardo Deadly 60 ZingZillas
The shows on BBC Worldwide’s slate for MIP Junior and MIPCOM appeal to boys and girls of all ages, says Steve Macallister, the president and managing director for sales and distribution. “Deadly 60, for example, is the perfect show for older children who want to learn more about the world’s deadliest animals through adrenaline-fuelled footage starring Steve Backshall.” He adds, “Baby Jake, on the other hand, uses 2D animation and live footage to enchant young viewers with magical storytelling. We also have the musical offering of ZingZillas; the animatronic band travels the world learning about different musical instruments and sounds. Sadie J offers broadcasters an insightful and sensitive drama for older children. The show explores the ups and downs of a young girl growing up.” Also on the slate are Me & My Monsters, a 26x25-minute live-action comedy; Leonardo, which targets tweens and teens; and Jollywobbles, a live-action show for the preschool set.
Deadly 60
“Our programs are both educational and entertaining, with strong international appeal. ”
—Steve Macallister
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TV KIDS
Breakthrough Entertainment www.breakthroughentertainment.com • Backseat Buddies • The Mooh Brothers • The Droogles • My Big Big Friend • Dino Dan
The car-themed Backseat Buddies is being launched at MIP Junior by Breakthrough Entertainment. “Kids will be transported on a journey with their favorite car characters as they honk and zoom their way in and around their world, all the while learning how to overcome life’s speed bumps by being true to [themselves] and loyal to [their] friends,” says Nat Abraham, the VP of distribution. Also new to the Breakthrough catalogue are The Mooh Brothers and The Droogles. “These adorable series will captivate young audiences through their unique animation and fun-loving characters,” Abraham says. “The Mooh Brothers has a soft and vivid animation style that is familiar to any preschooler. The Droogles, on the other hand, is a claymation series that provides a totally different visual treatment that kids find quite unique from the standard animated fare.” Both Dino Dan and My Big Big Friend have already proven their international appeal, Abraham says.
“ We are always on the
lookout for fresh and exciting new concepts in children’s storytelling to strengthen our broadcasters’ schedules.
”
Backseat Buddies
—Nat Abraham
CAKE www.cakeentertainment.com Plankton Invasion
• Let’s Go Pocoyo • Plankton Invasion • Total Drama: Revenge of the Island • Tom & the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey • The Sparticle Mystery
The variety of content in CAKE’s current catalogue is a key sales strength, says Ed Galton, the chief commercial officer and managing director. “From environmental comedy Plankton Invasion and reality-TV parody Total Drama to global smash Pocoyo and sci-fi adventure with a twist The Sparticle Mystery, there is something for everyone,” Galton says. He also praises the quality of the people behind the productions in CAKE’s portfolio. “Let’s Go Pocoyo, made by Zinkia, and Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, made by Fresh TV, are the latest installments of very popular series,” he points out. “Tom & the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey and The Sparticle Mystery both have award-winning teams behind them, and Plankton Invasion comes from the same stable, TeamTO, as Angelo Rules and Oscar’s Oasis. We will be targeting many key territories for the above titles.”
“ Plankton Invasion comes from the
same stable...as Angelo Rules and Oscar’s Oasis.
”
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—Ed Galton
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CCI Entertainment www.ccientertainment.com • Guess How Much I Love You • Joe & Jack • Mandie and the Forgotten Christmas • Finding Stuff Out • Artzooka!
Guess How Much I Love You
The animated preschool series Guess How Much I Love You is the first adaptation of the much-loved bestselling picture book of the same name, which has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide. “The series relates the adventures of the Nutbrown Hares and their friends with the same endearing simplicity and love that made the book a timeless classic,” says Jill Keenleyside, CCI’s executive VP of distribution. Another book-to-screen adaptation, Mandie and the Forgotten Christmas, is a 90minute film that follows on the Mandie books by Lois Gladys Leppard. CCI is also presenting Joe & Jack, about a 4-year-old boy and his best friend, a cat named Jack. There’s a new season of Artzooka! as well. The show targets kids 6 to 9. “Original productions [of Artzooka!] customized to suit your market are also available,” notes Keenleyside. Topping off the slate is Finding Stuff Out, a live-action, science-oriented series for kids.
“ We are very excited about launching our new children’s properties, including the beloved Guess How Much I Love You.
”
—Jill Keenleyside
Classic Media www.classicmedia.tv • Voltron Force • Life with Boys • Postman Pat
Voltron Force
The iconic ’80s series Voltron has been given a 21st-century makeover with Voltron Force, one of Classic Media’s lead titles. “Voltron Force appeals to fans of the original, many of whom now have kids who they can share the experience of Voltron with,” says Chloé van den Berg, the executive VP of international sales. “This co-viewing concept, along with the fact that everything ’80s is hot again, provides a unique position for broadcasters on board.” Another classic brand, Postman Pat, has resonated with viewers worldwide for the last 30 years, van den Berg notes. “There is a huge nostalgia and awareness over three generations for the nation’s favorite postie. From grandparents to parents and preschool children, everyone knows and loves Postman Pat’s theme song, wholesome values and exciting delivery adventures.” In the way of new live action, Classic is showcasing Life with Boys. “With a strong, experienced production team, phenomenal scripting and a truly unique concept in this genre, Life with Boys is poised to be the next big thing on the tween scene!” says van den Berg.
“ We are known for our ability to reinvent the classics of yesterday and create the entertainment classics of tomorrow.
”
—Chloé van den Berg
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TV KIDS
Content Television www.contentmediacorp.com • Young Dracula • Even Stevens • Family Biz • Half Moon Investigations • 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd
Headlining the MIPCOM kids’ slate for Content Television is a new installment of the BAFTA-nominated children’s comedic drama Young Dracula. This is the third 13x30minute season of the show, which Matt Cooperstein, the head of kids’ and tween programming, calls an “irreverent, gothic comedy.” Also in the live-action portfolio are Even Stevens, a comedy about sibling rivalry, and Family Biz, a comedy that follows the antics of the Keller kids as their high-flying corporate dad starts working from home. Cooperstein says that with live-action shows “kids can easily relate to the characters, environments and story lines, and the added elements of silly humor, pop-culture references, fantasy and mysteries provide extra entertainment value.” Also available is Half Moon Investigations, which follows pintsized 12-year-old investigator Fletcher Moon, and 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd, which finds school bully Eddie challenged with performing 100 good deeds.
Young Dracula
“ MIPCOM is an ideal venue for us to continue our
strategy to ramp up activity in the kids’ division, an area which we feel has huge potential for our distribution business.
”
—Matt Cooperstein
Cyber Group Studios www.cybergroupstudios.com • • • • •
Zou Patch Pillows Fish ‘n Chips Nina Patalo Nutri Ventures
“ Our goal for MIPCOM
Patch Pillows
is to develop our collaboration with renowned animation producers in order to expand our offerings.
A lovable little zebra and his extended family take center stage in Zou, which Cyber Group Studios will be presenting the first episodes of at MIPCOM. Also from Cyber Group comes Patch Pillows, produced by Agogo and GDC Village, which is geared toward preschoolers. “We will also be introducing the first episodes of three kids’ shows geared to 6- to 10-year-olds”—Nina Patalo, Fish ‘n Chips and Nutri Ventures—says Carole Brin, the head of international sales and acquisitions. Nina Patalo “takes us on the most crazy adventures,” says Brin, while Nutri Ventures is an “entertaining action series to encourage healthy eating.” The animated sitcom Fish ‘n Chips is about a cat and a fish who seem to have mixed identities. “Our goal for MIPCOM is to develop our collaboration with renowned animation producers in order to expand our offer, and add [to] our catalogue premium content in accordance with our existing lineup,” she says.
”
—Carole Brin
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Daewon Media www.daewonmedia.com • Gon • Noonbory and the Super 7 • Mojies
“ [We hope to]
develop a further relationship with other renowned animation companies.
The Korean animator Daewon Media has set its sights on becoming a global entertainment enterprise, with business lines in TV sales, character licensing, merchandising, home entertainment, books, games and more. Its properties include Noonbory and the Super 7, a preschool series that features team adventures, with courage and friendship as the main themes. The “super” seven heroes are based on the five physical senses (sight, smell, taste, touch and sound) and two mental senses (nonsense and common sense). Gon, an action-based comedy for boys, follows the adventures of a small yet super-strong creature that looks like a dinosaur and its unique animal friends. The 3D series features detailed illustration of its characters and background settings, according to Bul-Kyung Kim, the director of the content division. He calls the preschool-targeted Mojies “bizarre and weird yet super fun.” The 2D project is co-produced by Sega Toys.
”
—Bul-Kyung Kim
Noonbory and the Super 7
DHX Media www.dhxmedia.com • Monster Math Squad • Rastamouse • SheZow!
“ With these new shows, talking monsters, mice and a mixed-up superhero are top of the list. ”
Monster Math Squad is a brand-new preschool series from Jeff Rosen, whose creator credits include Animal Mechanicals and Bo on the GO. DHX Media is giving the show its official launch at this market. “While the show helps with early numeracy, it’s also jam-packed with funny and unique monsters of all shapes and sizes that will appeal to this age group,” says Josh Scherba, the senior VP of distribution. Of the rest of the slate he says, “Rastamouse continues to achieve tremendous levels of success in the U.K., where the ratings on CBeebies are stellar and a full-scale consumer-products campaign is set to launch for this Christmas season. The series has now rolled out into a number of additional territories, including Australia, but at MIPCOM we’ll be looking to line up partners in a number of remaining available markets.” DHX Media will also be presenting some initial animation on its new comedy SheZow!, which Scherba says has “a fresh and hilarious take on the superhero genre, with humor equally aimed at boys and girls.”
—Josh Scherba
Monster Math Squad
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Edebé Audiovisual Licensing www.edebeaudiovisual.com • Wilbur Willmore • Four and a Half Friends • 4 Angies
Wilbur Willmore
This is set to be “a very special MIPCOM” for Edebé Audiovisual Licensing, says Iván Agenjo, the sales director, as the Spanish outfit is set to announce a major co-production agreement with partners from different countries.“We hope the market receives the news and feels attracted by the project, which really drives our motivation higher,” Agenjo says. Edebé will be at the market looking to promote the animated series Wilbur Willmore, a comedy in development; Four and a Half Friends, a junior-detective adventure series; and 4 Angies, a comedy adventure for girls. “Our motto is ‘Helping kids enjoy their childhood,’ so we always look for properties that share our editorial line and inspire our team,” says Agenjo. “Moreover, we try to be at the edge of new technologies by creating a whole cross-media plan for the new projects we are undertaking. Mobile games, video games, websites, applications, etcetera, have become a must while developing our titles. The idea is not producing just animation series, but producing branded entertainment.”
“ All our series
are funny and entertaining while teaching values to kids.
”
Elastic Rights www.elasticrights.com • Lola, Muse in Training • Gluko and Lennon
For some time Elastic Rights has been dedicated to the management of third-party multimedia brands and content, but now, it’s also fully involved in the development of in-house titles. “We will continue to undertake no more than four new properties per year,” says Ignacio Orive Martín, the president of Elastic Rights. The company will be at MIP Junior to present its first co-production in the kids’ genre, Lola, Muse in Training. Resonant TV is handling the artistic development and production of the live-action family series, while Elastic handles the international distribution and 360-degree commercial exploitation of ancillary rights worldwide. “Thanks to the strength of the content and the talent and capabilities offered by our partnership with Resonant TV, we hope to reach and surpass our recent experience with the formidable success of Patito Feo,” Martín says. Elastic also has the animated Gluko and Lennon to present. “Gluko and Lennon has the boundless imagination of Alice in Wonderland meets the wildly creative animation of Yellow Submarine,” Martín says.
Gluko and Lennon
“ After nine years of existence and having
developed our portfolio to include live action as well as animation content, while expanding into new territories across Southern Europe, Elastic Rights will be [talking to clients about] the recent expansion of its business operations.
”
— Ignacio Orive Martín 260
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—Iván Agenjo
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Entertainment One Family www.eonefamily.com • • • • •
Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom Peppa Pig Raymond Pat & Stan Rob the Robot
Pat & Stan
A second season of Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom is ready for buyers, along with seasons five and six of Peppa Pig and seasons two and three of Raymond. Also from the Entertainment One (eOne) Family slate comes Pat & Stan, with 39 seven-minute episodes, 350 shorts and a 22-minute special, as well as the 52x11-minute Rob the Robot. “The talent behind the shows are really what make them appealing,” says Olivier Dumont, the managing director. “They are creator-driven shows with Astley Baker Davies for Little Kingdom and Peppa and Pierre Coffin (director of Despicable Me) for Pat & Stan, for instance.... In addition to selling our amazing lineup of programs, we are heavily looking to acquire or co-produce TV series appealing to all age groups within the kids’ demographic, so we will be meeting with many production companies.”
“ Every show meets the market’s needs when it comes to comedy.
”
—Olivier Dumont
Foothill Entertainment www.foothillentertainment.com • • • • •
Spike Team
Raz & Benny Spike Team Gunk Aliens My Momtourage & Me On the Farm
This year Foothill Entertainment is excited to have a more visible presence at MIPCOM, says Gregory Payne, chairman.“Joining forces at the market with our new development partner, Odyssey Pictures, has given us the flexibility to pursue additional marketing options like our sponsorship of the MIP Junior Networking Lounge.We have also been able to invest in marketing and advertising that will help put the spotlight on some of the projects that we have in development as well as our completed shows.We are looking forward to the opportunity to acquaint buyers with the high-quality programming we have in our catalogue.” These programs include the buddy comedy Raz & Benny, which is to be produced in stereoscopic 3D; Spike Team; Gunk Aliens and My Momtourage & Me. Plus,“On the Farm is an endearing series that quietly teaches valuable life lessons like, for example, that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence,” adds Payne.
“ Each of these titles has its own unique appeal but the one thing that they have in common is each have core values that all kids can resonate with.
”
— Gregory Payne 262
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Fun World Media www.funworldmedia.com • The Jadagrace Show • Time Chasers • My Dad’s a Superhero • Game of Life
The name says it all; Fun World Media is about bringing joy to viewers with its shows and also creating an environment within the company where creativity can thrive. Fun World will be introducing itself at this MIPCOM to broadcasters and distributors and looking to “put ourselves on the map as a top provider of quality family and sports entertainment,” says Andy Schreiber, the president of sales. Lead offerings include The Jadagrace Show, about a multitalented 11-year-old who finds herself catapulted to stardom after a music producer spots a video of her on the Internet and she lands her own TV variety show. Time Chasers combines elements of action, time travel, extraterrestrials and dinosaurs, all within a one-hour family adventure series. Mixing comedy and action is My Dad’s a Superhero. “Game of Life is a stunning film achievement, weaving stories from several disparate families together, through the commonality of a children’s soccer team,” adds Schreiber.
The Jadagrace Show
“ The whole idea of the name of our company, Fun
World Media, is that our product should not only be fun to make, but fun for people to watch.
”
—Andy Schreiber
Gaiam www.gaiam.com • Tappy Toes • Puss in Boots • Chop Kick Panda • Animated classics
The 41-minute animated Tappy Toes follows a young penguin who’s an outcast at school and at home. Everything changes when one day he stumbles upon a pair of tap shoes. In Puss in Boots, a cat and his unlikely partners in crime, the three blind mice, carry out an elaborate scheme all to win the heart of a beautiful young kitty. Chop Kick Panda is about a large and lovable panda who is the sixth-generation owner of the tae kwon do dojo in a small village. All three titles, produced in the U.S., are on offer from Gaiam. These movies “take advantage of the strong interest generated by popular theatrical franchise films that feature the same type of fun animal characters (panda, penguin) and delightfully comedic themes,” says Bill Sondheim, the president of Gaiam. The company has a number of animated classics in its catalogue as well.
“ “[We’re looking to] aggressively expand our acquisitions activity in order to fill the growing needs of digital platforms (our own and others).
”
Puss in Boots
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Green Gold Animation www.greengold.tv • Chhota Bheem • Krishna Balram • Chorr Police
Indian animation has been going from strength to strength, and Green Gold Animation has been one of the pioneers in this sector. “Chhota Bheem is our flagship show and is a hugely popular Indian kids’ show, competing with the best of the world,” states Rajiv Chilaka, the company’s founder and managing director. “Kids can easily relate with it; boys want to be brave and strong as Bheem is, while girls want to be as supportive, friendly and good as Chutki. Chhota Bheem has won over millions of viewers with his fun-loving nature and adventurous spirit.” Also up on Green Gold’s list are the 6-to-12-targeted Krishna Balram, a 2D fantasy adventure, and Chorr Police, a 2D comedy. Chilaka says he’ll be at MIPCOM looking for buyers on these products as well as partners to build relationships with for strategic tie-ups. He’s also keeping his ear to the ground to better understand the current market needs, opportunities and challenges.
Chorr Police
“ Green Gold is focusing on creating
original content from the very beginning, and that makes the company understand the market’s needs better.
”
—Rajiv Chilaka
Gruppo Alcuni www.alcuni.it • Pet Pals • Slash:// • And Yet It Moves: Galileo • Leonardo • Ciak Junior
The film Pet Pals: Marco Polo’s Code recently picked up a special RAI Trade prize at the Cartoons on the Bay animation festival in Venice in the category of best animation. Gruppo Alcuni is hoping this will contribute to interest at MIP Junior for the Pet Pals series. Slash:// represents Gruppo Alcuni’s first production for the preteen audience.“An enormous amount of attention was paid to the graphic aspect of the characters—which are sure to be a hit with the target audience—the characterization of the protagonists and the scripts,” says Francesco Manfio, the general manager and executive producer. And Yet It Moves: Galileo is an edutainment series, dealing with issues such as global warming, noise pollution, water shortages and alternative energy sources. Gruppo Alcuni is also presenting Leonardo, inspired by the artistic and inventive genius Leonardo da Vinci, and Ciak Junior, which features content created by youngsters for youngsters.
Slash://
“ Gruppo Alcuni’s catalogue becomes richer every year.”
—Francesco Manfio
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The Jim Henson Company www.henson.com Pajanimals
• Pajanimals • Dinosaur Train • Sid the Science Kid • Fraggle Rock • The Dark Crystal
Dinosaur Train and Sid the Science Kid have both been well received by global broadcasters. “We anticipate that our innovative new series Pajanimals, featuring four cuddly musical puppets who venture out on amazing imaginary journeys of discovery, will receive the same enthusiasm from our current and future broadcast partners,” says Richard Goldsmith, The Jim Henson Company’s executive VP of global distribution. “We are sure they will delight and entertain children around the world.” Goldsmith says that continuing TV, digital and DVD efforts for that trio of titles is a top priority. “And with an ever-increasing number of broadcast and digital outlets, we will also continue to focus on licensing classic Jim Henson Company titles that continue to experience strong demand across the globe,” he adds, giving Fraggle Rock and the fantasy movie The Dark Crystal as examples.
“ The Jim Henson Company brand is
”
synonymous with quality and creativity.
—Richard Goldsmith
MarVista Entertainment www.marvista.net • • • • •
Power Rangers Samurai specials Power Rangers Samurai Prank Patrol Australia Power Rangers classic Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
Heading into MIPCOM, MarVista Entertainment has signed up a range of new broadcasters for Power Rangers Samurai, including free-TV networks in Italy, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and a number of channels across Latin America. “Our new partners are responding to a kids’ television series that is in demand with audiences across the globe, and we are pleased to offer them three new Power Rangers Samurai specials to program around holidays, providing opportune programming stunts,” says Vanessa Goglio, the senior VP of worldwide sales at MarVista. “Adding to our lineup is over 200 episodes of live-action programming, a result of a new agreement with Saban Brands, including 26 half-hour episodes of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, the only liveaction version of this brand ever produced.” MarVista also has a new season of Prank Patrol Australia from its partners at activeTV.
Prank Patrol Australia
“ There is no doubt that broadcasters
are continuing to be in the market for live-action kids’ programming that is action-oriented, yet has a comedic element, and our new slate at MIPCOM delivers on both counts.
”
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—Vanessa Goglio
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TV KIDS
Mediatoon Distribution www.mediatoon.com • Chicken Town • Quiz Time • The Garfield Show • The Adventures of Tintin • Contraptus
The brand-new series Chicken Town is among the series Mediatoon Distribution is most excited to be showcasing to buyers. “This offbeat series is aimed at kids ages 6-plus, and is co-produced by the trend-setting studios Ellipsanime and 1st-Day,” notes Jérôme Alby, Mediatoon’s deputy general manager. Chicken Town is one of several series to come from Media Participations’ animation studios, which, along with Ellipsanime, include Dargaud Media, Belvision, Storimages and Dupuis Audiovisuel. The catalogue, rich with 1,500 hours of youth programming, includes popular series such as Garfield, Tintin, Lucky Luke, Spirou and Yakari. Other animated highlights include the 52x4-minute Quiz Time and the 78x8-minute Contraptus. Mediatoon also enriches its catalogue with independent third-party producers of quality manga successes such as Keroro, Fairy Tail and Naruto.
Chicken Town
“ We are very excited to bring our new animated show Chicken Town to MIPCOM.”
—Jérôme Alby
Mondo TV S.p.A. www.mondotv.it • Dinofroz • Gormiti: The New Adventure • Trash Pack • Puppy in My Pocket • Playtime Buddies
Both boys and girls will be delighted with the series in Mondo TV S.p.A.’s catalogue. For girls, there’s Puppy in My Pocket, based on a set of pocket-sized collectable pets. The show’s theme is that friendship is a universal feeling. The adventure takes place in Pocketville, a fantastical world where a beautiful kitty princess matches new friends, children and pets. Trash Pack, geared more toward boys, is set in Trash Town, which is divided into sections such as Recycling Ranch, Toxic Waste Lands, the Gizmo Grave Yard and Compost Island. Boys are also sure to love Dinofroz, in which four childhood friends find a way of accessing a parallel dimension, where they find themselves as dinosaurs in the middle of a never-ending war with dragons. Dinofroz is a coproduction with Giochi Preziosi, as is Gormiti: The New Adventure, a 3D HD series with CGI. For the preschool set, Playtime Buddies features stories that encourage the development of positive social interaction and cognitive skills.
Puppy in My Pocket
Dinofroz
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Moonscoop www.moonscoop.com • Wild Grinders • Casper’s Scare School • Hero:108 • My Phone Genie
Hero:108
Following on the success of the first season of Hero:108, which saw big ratings in the U.K. on CiTV and in the U.S. on Cartoon Network, Moonscoop is excited to present buyers with season two.“With the new episodes we’ve continued the themes that made the first series such a hit but added even more action adventure, and we’re looking forward to seeing the response from the international buyers,” says Lionel Marty, the president of worldwide distribution. There’s also a second season of Casper’s Scare School, Marty notes, with “several new elements that will add to the existing look and feel of the first series. We’re introducing some new CGI characters, plus deeper expressions on the faces of the ghosts and a new filter for colors resulting in a brighter interior for Scare School. In addition, there will be more of a focus on the human character of Jimmy—all of which we believe will deliver an even bigger and better show for fans.” Moonscoop also has the new live-action sitcom My Phone Genie and the animated Wild Grinders.
“ As well as showcasing the shows, we’re looking to meet with potential multiplatform partners, particularly in new media and VOD.
”
—Lionel Marty
Motion Pictures www.motionpic.com Glumpers
• Glumpers • Zumbers • Telmo & Tula • Boom & Reds • Van Dogh
During the last year, Motion Pictures has achieved solid exposure on all five continents with its self-financed-andproduced preschool shows such as Zumbers, Telmo & Tula and, notably, Boom & Reds.“We will continue with the production of [this] kind of content, with Van Dogh, but we also want to expand our portfolio of high-quality CGI to other targets and formats, with titles such as Glumpers, our latest slapstick comedy show that has been presold in up to 20 territories,” says Tony Albert, the sales director. “Though it seems rare, it’s not uncommon for Spanish animation to find spots on the international broadcasters before the domestic ones. Our case is not an exception.” Spain has a strong animation sector, Albert adds. “Despite the [insufficient] investment from networks and governments in our own territory, talent in our market is expanding year by year and our content is getting more rewarded internationally every time.”
“ Spain is a really interesting territory for the creation and production of animation content.
”
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—Tony Albert
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Nerd Corps Entertainment www.nerdcorps.com • • • •
Rated A for Awesome League of Super Evil Slugterrainea Endangered Species
The latest comedy series from Nerd Corps Entertainment, Rated A for Awesome, recently debuted on Disney XD in EMEA and the U.S. as well as in Canada onYTV.The company will be looking to support those efforts as well as score more international sales at MIPCOM. A third season of League of Super Evil is under way, giving fresh momentum for the series. Nerd Corps launched its original action series Slugterrainea at the Licensing Expo in June, and the series will kick off in 2012 on Disney XD. “We’re continuing to build support for the brand at home and internationally, and are in discussions with broadcasters as well as licensing partners in several categories,” says Ken Faier, el presidente. Also new is the comedy series Endangered Species, which is in development with TELETOON.“On the distribution side, we’re always on the lookout for new properties, whether it’s a co-production, distribution deal or the acquisition of a great idea for us to put into development—preferably one with transmedia potential,” Faier adds.
League of Super Evil
“ We are continuing to grow our interactive
division, looking for properties with a natural crossover into social media and mobile with the potential for great web extensions.
”
Nottingham Forest www.nottinghamforest.es • Champions • Jokebox • Laland • Written in Stone
The top priorities for Nottingham Forest at MIPCOM and MIP Junior are getting its series Jokebox and Champions (working title) out to the international market and securing financing for its projects in development. Champions is an adventure/fantasy/action series, while the 3D Jokebox features comedy sketches. Diego Ibañez Belaustegi, managing director, says that Jokebox has multiplatform potential as well. The animated musical comedy Laland is one of Nottingham Forest’s projects in development. It centers on a group of fantastic beings, the Sulfis, who live in harmony, each generating a particular and distinctive sound. Combined in song, they manage to cultivate magical fruit, which gives them unlimited vitality and happiness. Nottingham’s 3D-animated documentary series Written in Stone is in the finance stage.The four-part production proposes a new approach to history, giving a modern perspective of ancient life through 3D stereoscopic animation.
Jokebox
“ High production values are more
critical than ever in order to succeed, so all of our programs are produced [to] cutting-edge standards.
”
—Diego Ibañez Belaustegi
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—Ken Faier
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PGS Entertainment www.pgsentertainment.com • Wakfu • Chaplin & Co. • The Jungle Bunch • One Minute Before • The Little Prince
Chaplin & Co.
At last year’s MIPCOM, PGS Entertainment launched the CGI/native 3D series The Little Prince, based on the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry classic.The show went on to sell in more than 150 territories worldwide, with a full licensing rollout coming in Q4 2011. PGS is looking to replicate that success with the new titles it’s launching at this MIPCOM, including Wakfu. Done in 2D Flash, Wakfu is aimed at 6- to 10-year-olds, with 26 episodes fully developed, and another 26 set for delivery in January 2012. MIPCOM also marks the launch of the first episodes of Chaplin & Co., a non-dialogue series done in HD CGI/native 3D that shows life through the eyes of Charlie Chaplin’s always clumsy little tramp character. PGS will also be bringing out shorts and a special for The Jungle Bunch, which has secured presales in more than 100 territories. One Minute Before was launched at MIPTV, with 178 episodes being delivered for this market in French and English.
The Little Prince
Portfolio Entertainment www.portfolioentertainment.com • Brilhante F.C. • The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! • Young Abraham • Carl Squared • Jobi’s Room
There’s a demand for well-produced tween live-action dramedy, says Louis Fournier, the VP of sales and acquisitions at Portfolio Entertainment.Which is why he has high hopes for Brilhante F.C. Being produced in Brazil, the show has a Latin flavor, features relevant storytelling for tweens and deals with women’s football as a backdrop. Portfolio is also looking forward to showcasing The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, launching for worldwide sales on season two and a holiday special. Based on the well-known Dr. Seuss books, the show has been an international success story in terms of sales and ratings, says Fournier. Portfolio will also be presenting a new animated movie, Young Abraham. Fournier expects the movie to find a place in many broadcasters’ schedules because of its versatility and relevance. He adds that Jobi’s Room is the perfect choice for broadcasters looking for bite-sized content. Carl Squared rounds out the Portfolio catalogue.
Carl Squared
“ Each of these titles combines strong
production quality, international marketability, high entertainment values and resonance with international audiences.
”
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—Louis Fournier
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Rainbow S.r.l. www.rbw.it • Winx Club • Winx Club movies • Huntik • PopPixie • Mia and Me
The fifth season of the hit Rainbow S.r.l. girls’ series Winx Club was co-produced with Nickelodeon. The new worlds, new powers, new transformations and the first-time use of CG are sure to make this installment even more exciting for its young fans. Nick has also co-produced Winx Club TV movies, which feature a new look and feel, updated music and special effects. PopPixie features the Pixies, characters who were first introduced in Winx Club season two. At last MIPTV, Nickelodeon inked a deal with Rainbow securing the international broadcast rights to PopPixie for a number of territories across the world. Rainbow is also offering a second season of Huntik, which appeals to boys, with its mix of mystery, mythology, action and adventure. A goal for Rainbow at this market is to cover all European territories for Huntik. The Italy-based firm has boosted its co-production slate, with Mia and Me, with m4e, and Gon, with Daewon Media.
Mia and Me
Winx Club
Sesame Workshop www.sesameworkshop.org Super Grover 2.0
• Super Grover 2.0 • Abby’s Flying Fairy School • Big Bird Looks at the World • Count TV • 3-2-1 Let’s Go
The long-running Sesame Street has brought fame to its beloved ensemble cast of puppet characters, many of which can now be seen in their own series from Sesame Workshop. “Our characters are diverse and each of them is appealing for different reasons,” says Renee Mascara, the company’s VP of international television distribution. “Not only are the programs fun, but kids are learning without even realizing it!” The programs include Super Grover 2.0, which features Sesame Street’s Grover as he questions, observes, investigates and reports, and Big Bird Looks at the World, in which each episode is triggered by a question that the characters have. Abby Cadabby can be seen in her own show, Abby’s Flying Fairy School, which has a new 3D-animated look. In Count TV, every episode features the number-loving Count von Count as he introduces children to the number of the day. 3-2-1 Let’s Go completes the highlights roster.
“ As children’s television and media
consumption evolves, we’re working with the best new and long-term partners to create engaging innovative formats, story lines and characters.
”
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—Renee Mascara
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Studio100 Media www.studio100media.com • The Woodlies • House of Anubis • Florrie’s Dragons • Maya the Bee • Vicky the Viking
A number of the properties in Studio100’s slate will benefit from their existing brand recognition. “Our renewed series Maya the Bee and Vicky the Viking have enchanted three generations of viewers and have reached cult character status,” says Patrick Elmendorff, Studio100’s managing director. “Maya and Vicky are two of the best-known brands in our territories throughout Europe and two of the most-loved characters by the whole family.” Florrie’s Dragons is based on the book Dear Dragon by the Belgian author An Vrombaut. “The charming adventures of the little princess with her friends the dragons meet the demand for preschool series on a high-quality level,” says Elmendorff. The Woodlies was created by the famous award-winning German children’s author Cornelia Funke. “It is an adventure with underlying tones of ecological and environmental issues, made in hybrid animation,” Elmendorff says. Studio100 will also be continuing sales on House of Anubis.
The Woodlies
“ Studio100 Media is offering a wide range of programming, addressing different target groups and catering to the varied needs of our clients.
”
—Patrick Elmendorff
Suzy’s Zoo www.suzyszoo.com • Little Suzy’s Zoo • Duckport • Wags and Whiskers
The Suzy’s Zoo brand was created in 1968 by the award-winning artist Suzy Spafford. The drawings were meant to evoke the spirit of a simpler, safer world, with animations that use clean, bright, natural colors and realistic shapes to create a universe that is familiar and friendly. Appealing to all demographics, the three character sets within the brand are Little Suzy’s Zoo, Duckport and Wags and Whiskers. Spafford has spent more than 40 years doing what she loves, which is drawing and laughing. “My life’s purpose is to make people happy, and to share the joy experienced when one remembers what it is like to be a child,” says Spafford. Suzy’s Zoo is a major licensed consumer brand, with more than 4,000 products by 100-plus licensees on sale worldwide. The TV series has 52 11-minute episodes. Lawless Entertainment, led by president Cathy Malatesta, serves as the worldwide animation, licensing and merchandising agent for the brand.
“ My life’s purpose is
to make people happy, and to share the joy experienced when one remembers what it is like to be a child.
”
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Switchover Media www.switchovermedia.it • K2 • Frisbee
Switchover Media operates two kids’ free-to-air channels, K2 and Frisbee; both are distributed via digital terrestrial and satellite, covering 85 percent of the Italian population. K2 aims at kids 5 to 12 and is more focused on boys, with action-adventure series that have a strong comedy element. The lineup includes The Fairly OddParents, Pokémon, Mr. Bean, the Total Drama franchise, the epic racing space adventure Scan2Go, the fantasy comedy Sidekick and the saga Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5. Frisbee aims slightly younger, at kids 4 to 10, with a girl skew.The channel’s programming features character-driven comedies with a focus on stories of magical, trendy girl heroes. Top shows include the animated series Pucca, W.I.T.C.H. and Sabrina, the Animated Series, as well as the live-action Goosebumps, the Latina teen comedy ¡No Puede Ser! and the comedy Braceface. The schedules for both as of now are 100-percent acquisitions, though Giuliano Tranquilli, the content development and programming partner at Switchover, says he’s open to the idea of creating originals as well as exploring co-productions.
The Fairly OddParents on K2
“ In our first two years of activity our
priority has been to build two matching channels offering a wide range of compelling entertainment, and to secure volume and branded quality content.
”
—Giuliano Tranquilli
Telescreen www.telescreen.nl • Mia and Me • Conni • Pixi and the Magic Wall • Ask Lara • Rudolf
The first completed episodes of Mia and Me are being presented at MIPCOM by Telescreen. “The co-producers Rainbow S.r.l. and March Entertainment, as well as the ZDF German television network and RAI Fiction bring additional business appeal to this program,” notes Sjoerd Raemakers, the managing director of Telescreen. He adds, “For Conni and Pixi and the Magic Wall—two very ambitious programs for preschoolers and kids—we are also seeking the right broadcast partners. Ask Lara—a kind of animated sitcom for tweens and teens—is also very specific and should attract many international broadcasters.” Raemakers points out that the titles differ from each other greatly, bearing a broad appeal to their respective target groups.What they have in common, he says, is their high production quality and strong merchandising potential. In addition to Rudolf, Telescreen will also be showcasing titles from the former TV-Loonland catalogue, including The Cramp Twins.
“[All these shows] are
of a very high production quality and are very content-driven, without lacking a merchandising potential.
”
Conni
—Sjoerd Raemakers
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Televix Entertainment www.televix.com • Gogo’s Crazybones • The Illusionauts • Heroman • Rob the Robot
At MIPCOM, Televix Entertainment will unveil the first examples of original content produced by Aronnax Animation Studios. “The series Gogo’s Crazybones and the feature film The Illusionauts are just the beginning of a wave of high-quality animated content that will come from Aronnax,” says Hugo Rose, Televix’s CEO. Gogo’s Crazybones, which will have its pilot premiered at MIP Junior, features tiny creatures that live on a world called GOGO. The Illusionauts is a time-traveling literary adventure. It features four kids bound together to travel through time and books on a mission to save the world. Along with the two Aronnax titles, Televix is presenting Heroman, created by Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee. The series follows a soft-spoken junior high schooler whose model robot grows into a massive weapon, while the boy grows into a hero who can save the world. Inspired by the books by John Magart, Rob the Robot caps off the slate.
Rob the Robot
“ These titles all provide well-rounded family entertainment.
”
—Hugo Rose
The Licensing Machine www.thelicensingmachine.com • Kokomom • Pikaboo • Tic Tac Tales • Tiny Muses • Heroes from the Cozy Forest
Celebrating its 50th birthday this year, the Panini Group is a worldwide leader in the collectibles and trading-card sector.The Licensing Machine (TLM), the media division of Panini, has taken this legacy into the TV-distribution arena. TLM has worked to build its children’s and tween catalogue to have the same core values as the Panini Group has had historically, including those based on friendship, discovery and fun. First up on the TLM slate is the CGI Kokomom, based on a book collection. There’s also the 2D Pikaboo; the animation/live-action hybrid Tic Tac Tales; Tiny Muses, targeting girls 4 to 7; and Heroes from the Cozy Forest, for 3- to 7-year-olds and their families. “MIPCOM represents a new step for us in our development as a media division of Panini Group; we are very proud to present the results of a year of research and investments,” says Bruno Zarka, the TV, home video and digital sales and services manager.
Kokomom
“ The media division of the Panini Group is aiming to become a real global family-entertainment company.
”
—Bruno Zarka
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Toonzone Studios www.toonzonestudios.com • YooHoo & Friends • Action Dad • Tiny Warriors • Missy Heart
Missy Heart
“Tiny but tough” is the motto of the pint-sized characters in Toonzone Studios’ Tiny Warriors. A co-production with Brazil’s Studio Sumatra, the series is aimed at both boys and girls ages 6 to 10.“The writer on this is Richard Pursel, who was on staff for many years on SpongeBob SquarePants,” notes Konnie Kwak, Toonzone’s CEO. She believes Tiny Warriors will be given a boost by the popularity of martial arts. “At 20 million, there are more martial-arts practitioners in the U.S. than there are players of Little League baseball, and in California there are more martial-arts clubs than there are McDonalds.” From animation veteran John Kafka comes Missy Heart, aimed at girls 5 to 9.The series tells the story of a little girl who wears hearts in her hair and her heart on her sleeve. Kafka is also behind Toonzone’s Action Dad. The studio is also bringing out the eco-adventure series YooHoo & Friends. “Both Missy Heart and YooHoo & Friends are shows with characters that have big eyes, promote ecofriendly values and who love the Earth,” Kwak says.
“ We plan to unveil
the very first animation for this inspiring girls series, Missy Heart.
”
—Konnie Kwak
Vodka Capital www.vodkacapital.com Pirata & Capitano
• Jelly Jamm • Pirata & Capitano
The comedy series Jelly Jamm targets kids 4 to 6 with a message that celebrates creativity, music, fun and friendship.“Jelly Jamm has been developed as a true 360-degree brand, where each license area is an opportunity to bring the Jelly Jamm brand to life and create products that engage kids and ignite their creativity,” says Steven Posner, managing partner of the Spain-based Vodka Capital. “We have developed robust product strategies for toys, books, web, mobile, home entertainment, etcetera.” The show is launching this fall in more than 150 countries.Vodka’s latest project, Pirata & Capitano, which is currently in an advanced financing stage, aims for a slightly younger core audience than Jelly Jamm. Also a comedy, Pirata & Capitano follows an idealistic adventurer who turns problems into fun, as she captains her ship along with her inseparable sidekick. “The remarkable character design and overall visual aesthetic set this preschool comedy adventure apart,” says Posner. “The series combines unique character development and vehicle and environment integration to offer limitless worlds of discovery above, on and below the sea in a very visual, cute, value-infused manner.”
“ The development of this new preschool series aims to build an exciting world of narrative and characters, offering something new and dynamic.
”
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—Steven Posner
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Your Family Entertainment www.yf-e.com • • • • •
Heroes of the City Little Edo Oscar the Balloonist RoboRoach Enid Blyton Adventure Series and Secret Series
The Italian producer Tilapia recently signed over a number of its edutainment-focused kids’ shows to Your Family Entertainment (YFE) for worldwide distribution. The deal included Little Edo, which is in production for delivery on RAI Uno this Christmas.YFE will be presenting the trailer at MIP Junior, where it will also be showcasing Heroes of the City. The property introduces children to characters such as Paulie Police Car and Fiona Fire Engine, who help people in the city each day. There’s also Calamity Crow, the unluckiest bird in town. Klaus Forch, the executive VP of sales and legal, says he’s looking forward to presenting both Enid Blyton Secret Series and Enid Blyton Adventure Series, which are adapted from the best-selling Secret novels from Enid Blyton. Forch also points to Oscar the Balloonist, RoboRoach and Wakkaville as shows he’s keen to score further deals on.
Heroes of the City
“ Our extensive library of brand-new programs
and old-time classics allows us to fulfill all demands of TV channels looking for entertaining and nonviolent kids’ and family content.
”
—Klaus Forch
ZDF Enterprises www.zdf-enterprises.de • • • • •
Lightning Point
Lightning Point Dance Academy Sherlock Yack Peter Pan Michel
A visit to the ZDF Enterprises stand at MIPCOM will immerse you in the Australian surfing town of Lightning Point, which, in the series of the same name, has been overrun by aliens. From Jonathan M. Shiff Productions, creator and producer of the hit H2O: Just Add Water, the live-action series Lightning Point is a “winning mix of teen drama, fun, surf, sun and sci-fi cool,” says Arne Lohmann, the director of co-production, children and youth. ZDFE is also offering another season of the successful Australian co-production Dance Academy. “We can expect more stunning dancing sequences and fabulous drama performances from the young cast,” says Lohmann of the new episodes. As for animated highlights, Sherlock Yack “is the perfect mix of education and entertainment for a young (and old!) audience,” Lohmann says. From DQ Entertainment, also behind The Jungle Book, comes Peter Pan, now done in 3D. The animated Michel is whimsical and quirky, says Lohmann.
“ We are always on the lookout to acquire new properties with brand-building appeal.
”
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—Arne Lohmann
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By Bill Dunlap
ust what is it that kids around the world want to watch on television? It’s a question that programming executives at channels serving the younger set are constantly asking themselves. What are those executives concluding about what kids want to watch, and how are they addressing it? Understandably, given the famously fickle and unpredictable tastes of kids of all ages, the answers they come up with aren’t always precise. “There’s always a need for additional content, new fresh content to complement our stable of Nickelodeon con-
J
tent,” says Jules Borkent, the senior VP of global acquisitions and international programming for Nickelodeon. “Because we have to look at content so early now, we rarely buy shows that are ready-made.You have to come in a lot earlier in these productions. We want them to complement our schedule, but they also could be something completely out of left field. That’s what the markets”—like MIPTV and MIPCOM—“are all about. Sometimes you just find these things that you aren’t really looking for.”
Scouts
Top
A survey of leading programmers.
CBeebies’ Gigglebiz. 290
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s on Studio100’s House of Anubi . U.S the in Nickelodeon
“With the success of [House of Anubis] we felt there was definitely a need for something in that genre that could follow or complement it.... It would be a serialized drama or comedy drama that airs daily.” —Jules Borkent
Borkent isn’t using SpongeBob SquarePants, Nick’s long-running hit, as a model for new animation.“There is no other SpongeBob; it is what it is,” he says. “The goal is really [content] that will sit well with Nickelodeon, and that’s changed over the years. We probably were a little more gender neutral, and we still are, but we also now are open to more boy-skewed and girl-skewed programming. People know the Nickelodeon brand well.We pretty much see everything that’s out there because we have a big team around the world.” One specific genre Borkent says Nickelodeon is continuing its search for is daily live-action series, resembling a soap or telenovela, to complement its House of Anubis. “We launched House of Anubis in the U.S. at the beginning of the year and it has been rolling out ever since on all our other networks around the world,” Borkent says. “With the success of that, we felt there was definitely a need for something in that genre that could follow or complement it. For us, it would be a serialized drama or comedy drama that airs daily for a significant number of weeks. It’s a self-contained story that has a beginning and an end.” CONTENT REPOSITORY
Orion Ross, theVP of original series at Disney Channel and Disney XD for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), notes that the networks he is responsible for already have a pretty good source of programming from their sister U.S. services. “When we look outside the U.S., we look for programming that really complements the U.S. product,” he says. “We’re looking for original ideas, different perspectives and different kinds of animation that can work globally.” 292
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His mission is further defined by the fact that he is shopping primarily for animation that will work on Disney and Disney XD channels across the EMEA region. The channels target the 6-to-14 age group, with XD skewing somewhat more toward boys. “The focus is really on finding great European talent and shows that will work for our channels across EMEA, but also have a shot at working for the Disney Channels globally,” Ross says. “In my job the focus is exclusively on animation. The live-action shows we do in Europe are really meant to engage with local audiences on a country level, rather than on a region-wide level.” Ross says the combination of great talent in Europe and the growth of the Disney channels in that part of the world make the prospect of home-grown animation attractive. “The size of the European business has grown and matured so much over the last few years that we need to be speaking to our audiences and engaging with them on a very local level. Some of the best talent in the world, especially in terms of animation, is here in Europe and we need to be working with them.There are great French and Irish studios we work with. We have some projects with Aardman in the U.K.We know we can make great Disney shows with them that don’t come from the U.S.” TURNER TOONS IN
Like Disney’s,Turner Broadcasting’s global kids’ channels have a strong provider of content in Cartoon Network U.S. and its Burbank, California, studios. Cecilia Persson, the VP of acquisitions and co-productions for Turner Broadcasting’s kids’ channels across the EMEA region, notes that the three 10/11
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channels she buys for—Cartoon Network, the youngerskewing Boomerang and the preschool Cartoonito—live up to the flagship Cartoon Network name in that they are more dependent on animation than live action. An exception to that general rule is Persson’s current interest in finding opportunities in live action for Cartoon Network. “That’s something we are quite new at getting into,” she says. “Cartoon Network U.S. has a show, Level Up, that we’re all taking. We’re looking for content to complement that. We’ve had some live action on Cartoon Network across Europe, but it’s not on a pan-European basis. Finding something that would fit us, that feels cartoony in the live-action environment, has not been as easy as we had hoped.” CONTENT QUEST
The needs for BBC Worldwide’s international CBeebies channel are somewhat easier to define, given its focus on preschool kids. However, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, the director of investment for CBeebies at BBC Worldwide’s global channels division, still doesn’t define her quest too narrowly. “You know it when you see it,” she says. “We’re broadly speaking 2 to 6, but 3 to 5 is really the sweet spot. We have a lot of live action on the channel, as well as animation, and we like to have a spread. Being a young channel, it’s a challenge for us to differentiate ourselves. We’re very lucky with the mother brand [in the U.K.], in that it is a distinctive brand in
Mediatoon’s The Garfield
the marketplace. The main brand value is ‘lighting up little learners.’ There is something of an educational element. And that very full combination of live action and animation for preschoolers is quite unique.” Hurford-Jones looks to the British CBeebies channel as a model, but takes a territory-by-territory approach for the international channels and program blocks, which serve Asia, Australia, U.S. Hispanic, Latin America, Poland, South Africa and the Nordic countries in eight languages. “The bedtime hour is successful in the U.K.,” she says, “but when we’ve tried to emulate it in certain territories it hasn’t really worked, for various reasons. But, in general, we have emulated some of the main ideas, some of the main blocks like Discover & Do and more entertainment blocks. We group the same programming together.” IN THE PIPELINE
Perhaps the best indicator of what program executives want for their channels is reflected in recent commissions, co-productions and acquisitions. Nickelodeon is rolling out two new shows internationally that premiered on the U.S. channel this year: T.U.F.F. Puppy and Supah Ninjas. T.U.F.F. Puppy’s main character—voiced by Jerry Trainor, who is one of the leads in iCarly—is a dim-witted but determined dog named Dudley Puppy, who works as a secret agent for an organization called T.U.F.F. (Turbo Undercover Fighting Force). Supah
Show on Boomerang.
“If it’s a well-crafted, entertaining concept with...really good, well-defined characters...the animation style isn’t important. On Boomerang we’ve had great success with classic remakes like The Garfield Show and Pink Panther and Pals.” —Cecilia Persson
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d A for Nerd Corps’ Rate
sney XD.
Awesome for Di
“We need to make sure we have diverse points of view on the channel.... Co-productions are important because we want really powerful partnerships with the best creative —Orion Ross studios in our markets.”
Ninjas is a live-action adventure comedy revolving around Mike Fukanaga, the protagonist, and his friends Owen and Amanda. After the death of his grandfather, Mike is given a mysterious letter, which leads him to discover that he comes from a long line of ninjas. “Comedy is our strong suit,” Borkent says. “The live-action shows, like iCarly, Victorious and Big Time Rush, which are hits now in the U.S. and around the world, are from a kids’ point of view. Kids can relate to them. They’re aspirational. Those are characteristics that really resonate with our audience. In animation, it’s a variety. Comedy is strong, but it’s not all we do. Action adventure and shows in different genres are starting to cut through. And with preschool, it’s just great storytelling and characters that work for us.” Disney’s Ross is seeking a diversified portfolio. “We know that attitudes and markets are changing and we need to make sure we have diverse points of view on the channel, diverse creative styles,” he says. “What binds everything together is the brand value. There’s optimism and comedy at the heart of everything we do. We can’t make everything out of Burbank; we can’t own everything 100 percent. Co-productions are important because we want really powerful partnerships with the best creative studios in our markets.” Some recent animated co-productions that Ross points out are Jungle Junction, produced with Spider Eye in Cornwall, England; Kid vs Kat with DHX Media’s Studio B Productions 296
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inVancouver, Canada; and Rated A for Awesome with Nerd Corps Entertainment, also in Vancouver. Jungle Junction follows the adventures of a group of animals on wheels as they explore their jungle home.The series intends to instill an early respect for the environment in preschool-age children. Kid vs Kat pits a 10-year-old against his sister’s cat in a struggle to save the world. Rated A for Awesome is about four kids and a monkey who try to “awesomize” boring stuff, such as the world’s most boring teacher. A GLOBAL VIEW
“In animation, we want something that will work at least across Europe and, ideally, globally,” Ross says. “Phineas and Ferb is a huge animated success. We’re technique agnostic, which means we will work with whatever style suits the idea. We have pilots in development in CG, stylized CG, traditional stuff, digital 2D, hand drawn and flash. We did a stop-motion pilot and we’re looking at doing another. The last thing we want is for every show to look like it’s the same CG sort of thing. We’re really committed to finding original and unique perspectives.” Turner has just rolled out its preschool Cartoonito channel across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with the Australian series Bananas in Pyjamas, the Welsh series Fireman Sam and Jelly Jamm, from Vodka Capital in Spain. Cartoon Network EMEA, meanwhile, launched three shows this year that have been hits for Cartoon Network 10/11
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U.S.: Adventure Time, Regular Show and Ben 10, “which for us is always working and getting ratings,” Persson notes. “You see a normal boy who can do amazing things. Our audience loves that. It’s a really good mix for us.” The channel has also rolled out its first European-made original, The Amazing World of Gumball. A fantasy featuring a 12-year-old cat, Gumball, and his friends, a tyrannosaurus rex, a cheerleading peanut and a banana, The Amazing World of Gumball is produced in London by Cartoon Network Development Studio and animated at Boulder Media in Ireland, with 3D elements from Studio Soi in Germany. Persson doesn’t seek out any particular animation style. “If it’s a well-crafted, entertaining concept or idea with characters—really good, well-defined characters that are either really funny or lead extraordinary lives, that you happily embrace—
the animation style isn’t important. For Cartoonito we do live action and puppets and clay animation and CGI. We have a whole range of content for preschoolers. And on Boomerang we’ve had great success with classic remakes like The Garfield Show and Pink Panther and Pals.” Boomerang is also launching the new Looney Tunes Show from Warner Bros., based on the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters. MADE IN BRITAIN
The BBC’s Hurford-Jones says that the relatively new CBeebies international preschool channels tend to invest in shows from their British parent. “We want to keep the brand fairly clean, acknowledging that there may be some localization,” she says. “For the moment, we’re taking the U.K. brand out to the world.” CBeebies has had great success with shows containing a live-action element, series like Nina and the Neurons and Mr. Bloom’s Nursery, Hurford-Jones says. “The in-house titles tend to be a mixture of live action and puppetry or some animation. Indie [shows] that the U.K. channel has also commissioned are mainly animation, but [they do] include Baby Jake, which is a mixed media.” Hurford-Jones says the series with live characters seem to cross borders without any problem. “We dub them, and it seems to work. It may be in our age group, the lip-synch isn’t such a problem for them. “We do a lot of shows that are social and emotional and [about] life-learning lessons,” Hurford-Jones goes on. “The personality shows are very successful for us. We have Justin Fletcher, who is very popular in the U.K., and we’re about to take him out internationally in a show called Jollywobbles and another one called Gigglebiz. He’s a very special performer for children—very comedic, very sympathetic. Another is Mister Maker, an arts-and-crafts show with Phil Gallagher. It ties in with live appearances. He did a tour of Asia for us and he was mobbed in a mall in Jakarta. Seeing live-action children and personalities is fascinating to our age group.”
bies.
eurons on CBee
Nina and the N
“We do a lot of shows that are social and emotional and [about] life-learning lessons.... Seeing live-action children and personalities is fascinating to our —Henrietta Hurford-Jones age group.”
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Vicky the Ride at Studio100’s Plopsa Coo.
Content owners are extending their big hits into theme parks, attractions and live events.
e r u t n e v d A Continues The By David Wood
The chance to dine with SpongeBob SquarePants is among the highlights of the Nickelodeon All Access Cruises on the Mediterranean. At the Rainbow MagicLand theme park outside of Rome, fans of the hit girls’ franchise Winx Club can hop on the Believix ride or visit the Castello di Alfea 4D cinema and planetarium. In Germany, at Holiday Park in Hassloch, the European classic Maya the Bee has inspired a 12-meter-high free-fall ride. These are just a few examples of live attractions that have grown out of popular kids’ programs. There are not that many rules governing the creation of a successful live event or theme park based on a children’s brand, but there is one golden one.Your character or brand must already have an existing fan base. “It’s important for a property to be well known and established in order to justify the investment, which can be considerable,” says Steve Van den Kerkhof, the managing director of Plopsa, the theme-park arm of Belgian family entertainment producer Studio 100. “The character must also have a lifespan of at least five years before you can move into theme-park development.” As a general rule of thumb, only one in ten kids’ properties develops successful international distribution, which is a precursor to further brand extensions. So plenty of children’s brands won’t make the grade. 300
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TV exposure is a key part of the formula, especially for touring shows, says Cathy Payne, the CEO of Endemol Worldwide Distribution. “All the kids’ touring shows that work the best are spin-offs of successful TV shows.” Payne, who is attempting to repeat Endemol’s success with its Hi-5 live event spin-off with another Southern Star-produced kids’ format, the Aussie preschool brand Bananas in Pyjamas, adds, “What’s clear is that if you don’t have that TV exposure it won’t work.” Assuming a property has longevity and very high consumer awareness, brands that involve a musical element or translate well into theatrical entertainment are also more likely to do well, says Payne. But picking the right property to develop is usually based on a hunch as much as anything else—a company needs to believe that the show or character can make the transition from screen to stage. As Payne points out: “Like any creative endeavour, it’s about why anyone thinks this is a show that has the potential to break through.” With a recognition level of over 90 percent across Europe and a popularity that spans generations, Maya the Bee has achieved cult status in the region. Being revived in 3D for release in 2012, the show is the basis for the €8 million ($11.3 million) Mayaland, featuring ten new rides in Plopsaland De Panne in Belgium. Stu10/11
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The principle benefits of turning a children’s brand into a live event are twofold. First, the live experience has the ability to really establish the brand in viewers’ minds, which has a positive reinforcing effect on the property. MAKING A CONNECTION
Telly go round: Kids can interact with Sesame Street characters at the Sesame Place theme park.
Side-splitting fun: Endemol Worldwide Distribution is exploring live extensions to its preschool hit Bananas in Pyjamas.
dio 100 also plans to open a complete outdoor area in 2012 in Holiday Park based on Maya the Bee. Valmonte near Rome is the site of the Rainbow Magic Land theme park. “It’s a huge project, a €320 million [$450 million] investment and it has 35 attractions, some of them are very unique for Europe,” says Iginio Straffi, the founder and CEO of Rainbow. “We have a big space, of course, dedicated to Winx Club,” he says. “We have reconstructed the whole Alfea Castle, the school for fairies, with the Winx attraction inside, and also some rooms where you can see the school, the bedrooms, all the other things of the Winx universe. Nearby there is the PopPixie village with several attractions for little kids.” There are also rides based on other Rainbow shows, including Huntik and Monster Allergy. Another show that has demonstrated an ability to make the transition to other platforms is Power Rangers. Elie Dekel, the president of Saban Brands, stresses that Power Rangers theme parks and live events are a key part of the strategy to keep growing the brand by bringing content to consumers in a variety of different ways— complementing linear TV and digital media with what Dekel calls the “high touch experience.”
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“Theme parks provide the opportunity for children and parents to meet their heroes, shake their hand, have their photograph taken with them, allowing them physically into the world of their favorite characters and encouraging growth in brand awareness,” says Plopsa’s Van den Kerkhof. “With live events and attractions you can add a bit of theatre to the linear TV experience,” adds Dave King, the VP of events and attractions at HIT Entertainment, whose Barney, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina and Thomas & Friends have all inspired a slew of events and theme-park rides.“The bottom line is that if people like the shows, they are more likely to want to buy the merchandise. The two things go hand in hand.” With the popularity of Elmo, among other Sesame Street characters, Sesame Workshop has found tremendous success with off-screen brand extensions. “We found that kids were as keen on meeting their favorite characters [in person] as they were [going] on the rides,” says Peter van Roden, the company’s VP of themed entertainment. In addition to touring shows, Sesame Workshop’s characters can be seen in several themed parks in the U.S. and around the world. “Children make no distinction between Elmo the TV hand puppet and a five-foot-tall Elmo walking around at a theme park,” van Roden continues. “Our focus group results tell us that out of the 40 different attractions at theme parks, including $30-million rollercoaster rides, the thing that rates highest among kids is often simply hugging Elmo.” ...AND MAKING MORE MONEY
The second big benefit of theme parks and live events is their potential to generate big profits at a time when broadcasting licence fees and DVD sales are in decline.“It’s a bit like the music industry, where bands release albums, but the real money is made on the road,” van Roden says. “These businesses are certainly revenue generating—maybe more so than TV these days,” concurs HIT’s King. “As in the music industry where live shows are known for making more money than DVDs and downloads, so the margin in live events and theme park licensing and profit shares can be much greater.” When planning a theme park, the next critical decision after you have chosen which property to develop is which specialist to develop it with. Choose your joint-venture partner carefully, recommends Saban Brands’ Dekel.“You are getting into a long-term relationship with great potential rewards, but also great risks. “Theme parks typically are a much bigger investment than live events, taking between 10 and 20 years to amortize costs,” Dekel continues. “It involves a theme-park owner investing tens or maybe hundreds of millions of dollars and tying up real estate for years with your brand—all of those issues and challenges require that both sides give long and hard thought [to the venture].” 10/11
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Play time: Rainbow MagicLand in Italy includes several attractions based on Rainbow S.r.l.’s top brands, including PopPixie.
Dekel notes that the themed-attraction market is a lot more cautious now compared to the pre-global economic meltdown climate when he was head of licensing and merchandising for Twentieth Century Fox. At that point, the theme-park industry was in a global boom and parks were sprouting up from Dubai to Korea and Southeast Asia. “At Fox we were regularly pursued by theme parks for access to rights to brands to develop into theme parks. There were a lot of press releases and pictures about deals but most of them never materialized.” He adds, “Today it’s really all about working with the most established, experienced theme-park owners and live-event specialists on how to best align your interests with theirs.” PERFECT PARTNERSHIPS
According to Dekel, the ideal partner is experienced and able to demonstrate that they have been developing successful themepark or live-event attractions for years through a process of collaboration. “Partners who had just [been involved in their own businesses], albeit successfully, are possibly not so well equipped. You also need somebody who recognizes that the brand is the hero—not the company or the individual show.Working with a company which has these sensibilities is important.” When translating a TV brand into a live event, the focus must be on quality over any emphasis on making money, warns Dekel. “If it’s just about touring for money, you lose sight of what’s ultimately important; namely the best interests of the brand. When a young fan sees a Power Ranger in costume up close we take great care to ensure that we use the genuine cast or stunt doubles. That way the costumes fit, the muscles are real and so are the flips and hijinks they perform. “We make sure that we over-deliver on the expectation of the fan,” says Dekel, who is planning a live stage tour for Power Rangers in the U.S. later this year and into 2012, expanding into international markets in 2013. “Wherever live events are put on they have to express the brand as positively as possible because the experience will resonate for a long time (either positively or negatively),” he adds. “So it’s really important that the execution is as strong as it can be.” Your partner’s experience in finding the right outlet for the brand and the right creative treatment will be very important, says 304
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HIT’s King. “On a live event your partner will put together a tour schedule appropriate to the size of the show. That’s important because if you book 2,000- to 3,000-seat venues and only 1,000 [people] turn up, it will feel empty and won’t help the theatrical experience. Going for 1,000-seat venues which sell out is better for the consumer and for us.” Similarly, not every theme-park concept needs to be in a “super park,” as plenty of smaller regional parks and more localized smaller family-entertainment centers can provide suitable venues for smaller brands. At HIT, King notes that when the company first started getting involved with licensing for theme parks, it had to spend a lot of time and effort educating theme-park owners about the value of the brand. “But you have to be very careful who you work with,” warns King.“It’s not in the park owner’s or brand owner’s interest to sell them a license to develop a kids’ brand that’s wrong for the park, so make sure your property is a good fit with the park’s existing clientele.You can end up damaging the brand, because if the park owner doesn’t see a return from their investment, then they won’t invest in it.” FAMILY FUN
After years of chasing a teenage audience, there has recently been a greater recognition by park owners that there is potentially more revenue and a better atmosphere pursuing family audiences. One company that has appreciated the benefits of a family audience for decades is Sesame Workshop, which works with a wide range of partners, including VEE Corporation, for its Sesame Street Live touring stage show. When developing new ideas, VEE’s head of production comes to Sesame Workshop’s New York headquarters to meet with around a dozen key people to find out about the latest new initiatives, explains van Roden. “We immerse them in our latest thinking and then they go away and have a brainstorm about what would be interesting for our characters. Ninety percent of the time it lines up with what we are looking for.VEE knows what makes a great live show, so you have to trust this outside brain trust to come up with the best ideas that will work.” Sesame Workshop has been equally active in the themepark arena. For example, its characters are the basis for Sesame Street Safari of Fun at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, an African adventure theme park in Florida. The theme parks “are presented with the characters and they translate them into something appropriate for their property and their guests. I want them to use our characters to serve their guests and their business. The opportunity for Sesame is to extend our brand into areas we couldn’t ordinarily reach.” Sesame Workshop has kids’ attractions at a series of SeaWorld parks in the U.S., and its own park, Sesame Place, in Pennsylvania. Van Roden confirms that there are ongoing discussions about doing more Sesame Street-branded theme park attractions.The latest is SésamoAventura, a kids’ area at Barcelona’s PortAventura theme park, which boasts three million visitors a year. “It means your brands are in front of potentially three million guests a year—even if they are not all specifically coming to your attraction,” says van Roden. “You just have to decide which is the best theme-park strategy for your business.” 10/11
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Social-media sites are proving to be invaluable tools in creating connections between brands and viewers. By Anna Carugati There is no question—children are early adopters of new technologies. They take to new gadgets with an almost preternatural ease and are often much more adept than their parents. They surf the web, play video games, search for videos on YouTube, text, tweet and find their way around Facebook. The digital world is truly their playground. It’s not surprising, then, that Moonscoop announced the much-awaited fifth season of Code Lyoko on Facebook. Many producers and distributors are experimenting with social media
Kids Get
to communicate with fans, create awareness for properties and build loyal communities around them. “Working with social media is a bit new for everyone, but Code Lyoko has a huge and very proactive fan base,” says Nicolas Atlan, the executive producer of the show and a co-CEO of Moonscoop. “A lot of them build their own websites, participate in message forums and chat online. So now that we are launching season five, we decided to build a Facebook page, and in just six weeks we had nearly 80,000 people connecting. We decided to use this to give our fan base, which is very demanding, information about the show, because they are sending so many e-mails, we can’t answer all of them.” “Facebook really allows you to communicate with your fan base and inform them about the property, and that is extremely useful,” agrees Olivier Dumont, the managing director at Enter-
Connected
The Jim Henson Company’s Sid the Science Kid.
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Dialing in: The distributor eOne Family used a variety of social media to build Peppa Pig into a leading preschool brand.
tainment One (eOne) Family, whose preschool show Peppa Pig is a hit on CBeebies in the U.K. “Fans are looking for an interactive experience, not just playing a generic game on a website; they’re looking for more than that,” says Josh Scherba, the senior VP of distribution at DHX Media. “They want to be on the inside of the property, so you reward them by giving them inside information. For example, a sneak peek of an album that’s being released: here’s a 30-second clip of the first single. We’d be sending that to radio stations, but at the same time it’s going directly to fans on their Facebook account.” “Social media for kids has a variety of meanings, not just Facebook,” says Ken Faier, the president of Nerd Corps Entertainment. “We use the tools that exist today. We do that with League of Super Evil. We have a Twitter feed, we have messaging boards and pages on Facebook.We’re trying to make sure we’re providing tools not only for the retail and trade side, but also giving fun tools to kids.” As part of the interactive component to its animated preschool show Dinosaur Train, The Jim Henson Company has partnered with PBS stations, museums, zoos and aquariums to create dinosaur-themed “geocaches.” With the help of a GPS-enabled device, families are led on treasure hunts in their communities to uncover information about prehistoric creatures and their environments. Producers of the show track the popularity of the geocaches, which has been very high; they get feedback and connect with viewers through social networks. TARGETING TINY TOTS
While preschoolers certainly don’t have Facebook accounts, their mothers and caretakers do, and that is exactly the group that DHX Media is targeting with its social-media initiatives connected to the series Rastamouse. “It launched in January on CBeebies in the U.K., and within two days of the premiere it was trending on Twitter as one of the top ten tweeted subjects, which is really unprecedented for a preschool series,” says DHX Media’s Scherba. “It pointed to the fact that we were connecting on a viral level with a secondary audience. We had a general plan for what we were going to do with social media, but the reaction on Twitter accelerated it greatly.We launched our Facebook page to build a community and encourage fans to interact; it has nearly 15,000 friends. The key to Facebook is keeping up a steady flow of new information and encouraging communication, so not just posting statements but asking questions: Did you catch the new track? Did you see the new episode? What did you think?” DHX Media also launched a YouTube channel for Rastamouse, which now has more than 1 million views. “When a property creates such a buzz on social media, people want to check it out,” continues Scherba. “We wanted to make sure that
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Digital entrance: Moonscoop announced the new season of its boys’ action hit Code Lyoko on Facebook.
there was an official place for [fans] to see high-res content rather than video that just gets ripped and thrown up there,” Scherba says. “On YouTube, once you achieve a certain number of views, you can dive down and actually see which countries in the world are viewing the property. In the U.S. you can see which states are viewing the property.” Rastamouse also has 10,000 followers on Twitter, where, as Scherba says, “it’s important to keep your fans in the know.You want to offer them a heads-up on any news that’s coming about the property before it goes to the general public, so they continue to feel like they’ve got the inside track.” THE NEW GATEKEEPERS
When it comes to preschool shows, it’s the parents who want to have the inside track on what content is being presented. While mothers used to meet at playgrounds or outside schools at drop-off and pickup times to share experiences and ask parenting questions of each other, now they have an entire new space to congregate and communicate— the seemingly endless number of mommy blogs. Numerous companies are finding it increasingly important to reach out to the mommy bloggers, as is the case with Moonscoop and its preschool property Chloe’s Closet. “For Chloe’s Closet we are going to use social networks to talk to the mommies to show that it is a good brand with good values and get their vote of confidence,” says Atlan. That seal of approval—that a brand, show, toy or book is safe and appropriate—is passed on from the blogger to her thousands of followers. And her opinion, about a show or product, is going to mean a lot more to other mothers than an advertisement. “In terms of publicity for a preschool property, the mommy-blogger strategy is probably as important as any of the other traditional forms of promotion,” agrees Nicole Goldman, the senior VP of marketing and publicity at The Jim Henson Company. Mommy bloggers can be valuable partners in creating awareness for a property. “They’re looking for meaningful content for their sites; they want to have a great destination for moms to come back to,” Goldman continues. “They’re trying to grow their own sites, either for personal reasons or for business reasons. When we can, we work with them in a way that is beneficial to both of us. They help us build a fan community around our shows and they’re excited to get great content from us for their site—that’s a really successful partnership.” The Jim Henson Company is not only relying on the buzz that mommy bloggers can generate. In partnership with PBSKids.org, it is creating blogs to build an educational community with parents for the show Sid the Science Kid, which airs on PBS in the U.S. “We have weekly blogs from a mom who is actually replicating at home the activities that we do on the show and writing about them,” says Goldman. “We’re inviting people to comment on her blog and share their experiences; we’re really trying to get that conversation going.”
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Jam session: DHX’s Rastamouse has thousands of followers on Twitter.
Sid the Science Kid also has a blog that reaches out to teachers. “The show is based on a real curriculum, and one of the educators from the show, who created that curriculum, writes weekly from an educational standpoint about things that are happening on air and how they relate to educational opportunities in the classroom or in the living room.” KEEP THE CHATTER GOING
In this new social-media world, people have a lot to say and aren’t afraid of saying it. “There is something intangible about what draws people to certain characters in a certain way,” says DHX Media’s Scherba. “We’ve had other properties for which we put up Facebook pages and they’ve had very little interaction, but for whatever reason, Rastamouse is the type of property that parents who like the series want to talk about. It’s interesting, we acquired Wildbrain Entertainment out of Los Angeles last year, and they’re the rights holders to Yo Gabba Gabba, and Gabba has a phenomenal following on Facebook—380,000 followers. There seems to be a similar element to Gabba as there is to Rastamouse: the fans want to tell other people that they’re fans. They want to engage in the brand beyond just watching the television series. That is somewhat unusual, particularly in the preschool space.” Not all these fans are parents. Some are older kids and young adults who often gravitate toward animated series that have earned a quasicult status, as Yo Gabba Gabba has, or classics from yesteryear that are being reinvented for a new audience. The original Power Rangers series premiered in 1993, and the new version, Power Rangers Samurai, launched in February on Nickelodeon. Besides targeting young viewers, Saban Brands is also reaching out to the original fans.“There is nostalgia for the brand,” says Elie Dekel, the president of Saban Brands, who adds that with the digital media available today, “there is now a new dimension, a combination of product and content. Now we can express and communicate the brand in new ways, whether it’s through websites or social media or apps and games.We truly have a higher touch experience with our fans, a more circular relationship with our fans, and we get feedback more directly from them.These are all new dimensions to Power Rangers, whether it’s the entertainment, the content, the licensing and the popculture presence of the brand. All of those elements are resonating through these digital tools. It’s a very new and exciting time for any brand and certainly it is for Power Rangers.” Classic Media is in the business of reintroducing beloved brands from the past to new generations of fans. “The heart of what we do is reinventing the classics of yesterday; [in doing so] we come from this amazing perspective of having a built-in affinity and a built-in awareness,” says Nicole Blake, the company’s executive VP of global marketing and consumer products. “We launched Where’s Waldo? on Facebook and other media back in 2007 because so many fans of Waldo were creating user-generated content and having a dialogue,” adds Blake. “We saw that and reacted very quickly, and now Waldo has more than 3.75 million likes on Facebook. There are several pages, one is called Where’s Wally? and one is Where’s Waldo? We have Wally fans everywhere from Australia
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An electronic trail: Classic Media has embraced Facebook, Twitter and other destinations to relaunch Where’s Waldo?
to the U.K. to France to the U.S.... It creates a great built-in network for us to let them know about upcoming products and promotions.” MAKING A CONNECTION
Producers and distributors agree, the most valuable aspect of socialmedia sites is their ability to reach viewers directly and create awareness for a property—but this process must be gradual and lasting. “How we’ve built Peppa Pig and now how we’re building Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom is that we really want parents and kids to find the properties as opposed to marketing them down their throats,” says eOne Family’s Dumont. “That’s something that we feel extremely strongly about. Obviously, it takes more time, but it’s so much more rewarding in terms of the longevity of the brand.” As Dumont explains, this slow progression has contributed to the success of Peppa Pig in the U.K. “It has been built very patiently over time using social media and blogs and publications, which are more low key as opposed to mass marketing. When a property is too mass marketed you create a spike in interest. People feel like they are part of a craze, but then they just move on to the next thing, as opposed to connecting emotionally in a much deeper manner with the brand.We need to avoid this sort of oversaturation of the market, so we’re very conscious about how we build the brands, and social media is a great way to create that connection with the audience.” Just as it’s important to use social-media sites to provide fans with news, updates and fun tools about a property, it’s important to remember that not all the fans are adults. Children do sit with parents and caretakers as they surf sites, so all material must be fit for little eyes and minds. “The main difficulty when you have a preschool property is ensuring that the content on the Facebook page remains appropriate,” warns DHX Media’s Scherba. “We have to monitor it quite closely and make sure that we remove posts that aren’t appropriate for the brand. That goes for YouTube as well. We’re completely open to people doing their own user-generated content related to the brand, whether it be their kids dancing in front of the television or a kid singing the theme song... but if someone does something inappropriate and changes lyrics or doctors photos, anything that ultimately goes against what the brand is, then we have to be monitoring it closely and remove those right away.” Fans young and old want to feel they are getting something special when they visit a property’s blog, Facebook page or Twitter account. “You really get the sense that it is rewarding the fans of the property, that they have a way to engage with the brand, and we can definitely see that becoming more and more valuable, particularly as we roll out our consumer-products campaigns,” says eOne’s Dumont. As producers and distributors continue to try new ways of strengthening the connection between their brands and viewers, one thing is certain: social media is an indispensible tool.
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When Phineas and Ferb premiered on Disney Channel, in August of 2007, its creators, Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, did not know the animated series would become such a huge hit. But soon enough, the zany adventures of two schoolboys trying to find fun things to do during summer vacation, their annoying sister and pet platypus (who, unbeknownst to anyone, is a secret agent trying to foil the evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz) caught the imagination of kids. Since then the series has spun off video games, a live show and a Disney Channel original movie. In their inimitable way, Povenmire and Marsh talk about the success of the show.
TV KIDS: How did the idea for the show come about? POVENMIRE: Swampy and I were writing a show together in 1993 and we wanted to continue to write together, so we were trying to come up with another show idea so we could do that. MARSH: We thought, here’s a simple idea, we’ll create another show, sell the show and keep working together.
Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh POVENMIRE: And then it just took 14 years. But I actually drew the first Phineas on some butcher paper on a table in a restaurant where they give you a little can of crayons to doodle with while you’re waiting for your food. I actually tore it out, took it home and brought it to work.
Dan Povenmire
TV KIDS: What has made the show so successful? POVENMIRE: We tried to make the show different from the
other shows we were seeing on the air at the time. A lot of kids’ shows had a lot of mean humor, a lot of snarky humor. MARSH: If they had a lesson at the end they always hit you over the head with it. We decided we should do something that’s really intelligent and wasn’t targeted at kids.We just made the show to make ourselves laugh and didn’t include anything we thought might be inappropriate. POVENMIRE: We always try to just make it funny for ourselves and we’re big enough kids that I feel like most of the stuff that we laugh at, kids will laugh at too. TV KIDS: How have you kept the show fresh season after season? MARSH: We have a lot of help. We’ve got a crew that one
could only dream of, and they have come up with so much stuff and taken our characters in places that, quite frankly, we never imagined when we first started the show. And that’s been really exciting and rewarding to see these characters that we created and watch people take them and really surprise you with them. We’re lucky. 10/11
Jeff “Swampy” Marsh
POVENMIRE: I don’t think there is a finite number of ideas that any person has. I think that the more different ideas you come up with on a subject, you’re sort of stretching muscles and it becomes easier to come up with more ideas.When they first said we were doing 16 episodes for the first season, we thought,“Sixteen episodes? That’s like 32 stories. How are we gonna come up with 32 stories?” And now we’ve done almost 100 episodes, so it becomes easier as it goes. TV KIDS: How important is it nowadays to offer kids con-
tent on more than just the TV screen? POVENMIRE: It’s really important. Disney Interactive Studios released a [Phineas and Ferb] video game for the Wii system, Nintendo DS and PlayStation 3. A Disney live show opened in August, and we also did a Disney Channel original movie, Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension. MARSH: What amazed me in the early days is how quickly all of this stuff started being shared on the Internet in all different forms. And I really thought I was fairly Internet savvy, but I realized there are avenues that kids have for sharing conWorld Screen
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tent with each other that I wasn’t aware of at all. I had no idea of the scope or size of this whole other world, and that was really exciting. We’re starting to see and now get to play with all these different digital avenues that kids have. TV KIDS: Do all these different digital avenues influence or inform how you create the show or are you just thinking of doing the best story possible? POVENMIRE: We’re just trying to make the best story possible, the way we would have done it had all this other stuff not been there, but it’s nice to know that that stuff is there for exploiting…for lack of a better word. MARSH: On the smallest level, there are gags that we may have let go before but now [when we are pitching ideas] somebody will say, “Yeah, but that’s gonna end up on the Internet.” And you think, yeah, probably; let’s leave it in. It’s one of those quirky, weird clips that you just think, somebody’s gonna use that. TV KIDS: There are a lot of songs in the show. I’ve read that
Road trip!: Phineas and Ferb has been a breakout hit for Disney Channel, spawning video games, consumer products and a top-rated TV movie.
MARSH: He accidentally erased a song one time. POVENMIRE: And we had to re-figure out the song.We were
like, Oh my God, we came up with that three weeks ago and we only played it that one night, so now we have to figure out the melody again. MARSH: The nice thing is now we’ve recruited many of the other crew members who have some latent musical talent—and some who have some not-so-latent musical talent—to pitch in and write with us. So we’ve got a group of about four or five guys who are capable of pitching in on the songs, which has been a relief. TV KIDS: How many writers do you have writing the episodes and how do you work with them? MARSH: We have a group of four writers that help to generate outlines, which is kind of the bigger story idea. POVENMIRE: And then we hand it off to a team of two storyboard writers who storyboard it and write the actual dialogue and the gags and sometimes restructure the story a little—while they’re drawing it, which is different than most shows.We have six teams of two people each who take an episode and then we get the original writers back in with us.When they put [the storyboard] up on the wall and pitch it, we go through and see if anything needs to be punched up and we put Post-it notes up over dialogue and try to fix stuff that’s not working. MARSH: By the end it’s just sort of a writer free-for-all. POVENMIRE: It’s the closest thing to improv that you can do in animation.
the two of you come up with brief melodies and play them into the composer’s phone’s voice mail and then he takes it from there. How does that work? POVENMIRE: In the early episodes we would write the songs on the guitar, which we still do, but we used to just call him up and say, “OK, don’t answer the phone, we’re gonna sing this into your voice mail.” And then we would send him chord charts and lyrics and he would just record from the voice mail into his computer and use that as the basis. MARSH: No matter what we did it always sounded like a folk song, and usually at the end of the message we would say, “OK, that’s the song, but it should sound like Dean Martin meets the Clash.” [Laughs]
episode and we’re finishing an episode every week, so you can imagine how many different stages different episodes are in.
TV KIDS: And how do the songs get written now? POVENMIRE: Now we usually sing it into GarageBand and
TV KIDS: How do you keep it all straight? MARSH: We don’t. We get to meetings and pretend that we
actually send him an MP3, because then we have a copy of it.
know what’s going on and halfway through somebody will clue us in. We have people that are pretty good about briefing us and letting us know and, yeah, sometimes you start out a meeting not being able to remember a story at all, but it isn’t too long before you pick it up and go, “Oh yeah, yeah, OK, now I remember where we’re going,” and you’re back into it pretty quickly.
TV KIDS: You work on more than one episode simultaneously? POVENMIRE: Yeah, it takes about ten months to do an
TV KIDS: So could a subhead to the title The Making of Phineas and Ferb be Organized Chaos? POVENMIRE: Yeah, it’s sort of like a big train wreck and you’re trying to keep it in the general vicinity of the tracks all the time. It’s like, “Oh no, I’m falling; no, I’m back up this way.” TV KIDS: What do you enjoy most about
your job? POVENMIRE: Just coming to work every day and trying to make each other laugh.That’s what we would be doing if we were unemployed. “Hey, Swampy, why don’t you come over? We’ll draw some silly pictures.” MARSH: I still get to work with him, something we tried for 14 years, and it’s awesome. 332
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and I love the fact that we have the U.S. learning from all of those launches. TV KIDS: What prompted the decision to launch Disney Junior? SWEENEY: Well, it made sense. We had a very strong Disney
Channel, we had launched Disney XD, which is our boyfocused, girl-inclusive service, and we also had a third service called SOAPNet where we were seeing performance issues related to the availability of the audience for the soap operas. So we made the decision to convert SOAPNet to Disney Junior in the U.S. again, because we had so much learning and great experiences from the Disney Juniors that had launched around the world.The Disney Junior brand is very closely aligned with the overall mission of the company’s preschool business. It’s also a wonderful thing for parents to have 24 hours of preschool programming available to them every day.
Disney/ABC’s
Anne Sweeney The Disney Channels Worldwide portfolio, which includes the brands Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Cinemagic, Hungama, Radio Disney and Disney Junior, reaches millions of viewers in some 170 countries around the world. These services cater to children from preschool through their tween years with a mix of animated series, live-action shows and original movies. Disney has created some of the most popular kids’ franchises: Hannah Montana, Handy Manny, High School Musical, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Phineas and Ferb and Wizards of Waverly Place, while newer series, like the comedy Good Luck Charlie and the dance-driven sitcom Shake It Up, are aiming to follow suit. Anne Sweeney, the co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group, talks about reaching children wherever they are.
By Anna Carugati
TV KIDS: What growth opportunities do you see for the Disney channels? SWEENEY: We just launched Disney Channel in Korea. We have the Disney Junior U.S. launch coming, and there were ten international Disney Juniors that preceded the launch in the U.S. That has been a wonderful learning opportunity for us. All of these international channels are doing extremely well. They have been very experimental 334
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TV KIDS: Disney Channel has had great success with liveaction series for tweens and has set the bar so high for the genre. But many of the stars are now aging out of the demographic, so how do you seek out and develop new talent and shows? SWEENEY: What Gary Marsh [the president and chief creative officer of Disney Channels Worldwide] and his team have done so artfully is find the right stories and pair them with the right stars all in an effort to enrich kids’ and families’ lives. These are great stories with relatable characters, and on the production side, this strategy has also provided wonderful opportunities for some very talented performers to follow their dreams across multiple Disney businesses. You only have to look at Miley Cyrus’s recording career or even Hilary Duff in her Lizzie McGuire years—there have been many wonderful successes.We have an amazing casting team that searches for talent every single day. Diversity is always at the forefront of their efforts because we really want viewers to see themselves.We want them to see their families and their cultures on television, so we look for talent all over the world to create content that’s global as well as localized for our 100-plus channels out there. TV KIDS: And, of course, kids aren’t only watching TV, so
how are you reaching out to them beyond the TV screen? SWEENEY: The first thing we do is put them first.The rea-
son we have done well is that we put our viewers ahead of our business model, and really learn how they’re using our content. The strategy plays out in different ways based on the content of the target audience and our goals. The recent premiere of the Disney Channel original movie Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension is a perfect example of how we leverage content across multiple platforms to maximize our performance. We made previews of the movie available a couple of days before the television premiere and we did it through our Disney on Demand VOD service. When the movie officially premiered on Disney Channel in August, it did so with a video simulcast on Sprint and Mobitv mobile devices. Several months before the premiere, Disney Channel.com and DisneyXD.com had invited users to visit an enhanced Phineas and Ferb supersite complete with all of the new interactive content and games that became available during the summer. We were operating on multiple platforms, not just to create excitement for the movie, but also to continue the excitement through the premiere and after the premiere. 10/11
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Super RTL’s
Claude Schmit Super RTL is the most popular children’s channel in Germany. With two powerhouse shareholders, The Walt Disney Company and the RTL Group, Super RTL is able to tap into treasure troves of programming, which it uses to target different audience groups throughout the day. As CEO Claude Schmit explains, the linear channel has evolved into a cross-media brand in order to better serve today’s media-savvy children.
By Anna Carugati
TV KIDS: How has Super RTL managed to maintain its market-leading position for so long? SCHMIT: Our success is due to our ability to adapt our programming to our target group throughout the day. In the morning we go after the preschool audience, which is traditionally a very strong target for us. We get very high ratings in the morning; we are number one with some 30-percent market share. We are way ahead of KI.KA and way ahead of Nickelodeon. Our programming in the morning is softer in tone, slower in movement, less bright in color: typical preschool. In the afternoon, we really cater to the school-age audience, so we skew slightly older and we are strictly animation. We used to air repeats of live-action Disney shows from access prime time. We do not do that any longer. We now skew slightly younger and more for boys, and that is very successful.The third slot we have is access prime time. It is the most difficult one because here the competition is highest. But it is the most interesting one because TV usage is highest as well. In this time slot we have two main competitors. One is KI.KA, which offers programming for the very, very young, who watch with their parents before going to bed. So KI.KA serves the preschool audience, while Nickelodeon skews older. We have to navigate carefully between KI.KA and Nickelodeon and we have been doing that for 15 years mainly with Disney programs. During the last four or five years, we have broadcast the fantastic Disney Channel live-action series. Hannah Montana, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Wizards of Waverly Place—you name it, we have it.These are the main reasons for our success in daytime. In prime time, although we are not a kids’ channel, it is very important for us to offer programs that are watched by parents but are suitable for children as well. We have to be number one in the ratings among kids as well, which we are, although we do not offer children’s programming, but family programming. [Our ability to] cater to the target audience that is watching at a given time of day is the reason why we have been successful. TV KIDS: In the last few years, you have been transforming
Super RTL from a linear channel to a cross-media brand. Why has this been important? SCHMIT: It is important for two reasons.The first one is, running a TV channel is very expensive.We became market leader in 1998 and we were very proud of that. Unfortunately, we were still losing tons of money in those days, and that is not a very good condition to be in, especially if you consider the reaction of your shareholders! So we created our cross-media strategy, which helped us generate more money and transform 336
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Super RTL into a very profitable business. We had to develop more sources of revenue to make the company profitable. The other reason is that we believed that TV alone is not the model of the future—I think everybody agrees with that. The difference is that we were already pioneering this idea 10 to 15 years ago, and in those days we were really the first ones because everybody else was saying, “Yes, cross media might be the sum between Internet and TV,” and we said, “No, it’s much more than simply that.” It’s really covering all media, 360 degrees. We always say we are not a typical TV operator, we are more like a marketing company and we have to be present wherever our target group is.We also discovered that our customers—the advertisers—were looking for ways to get their marketing messages across. And they didn’t care if they used the Internet, pigeons or other animals! They were just considering how they could get their message across properly and they really loved our cross-media approach. TV KIDS: And children today are using multiple media. SCHMIT: We see that especially with the Internet. If you
consider, for example, the 10-to-13 age group, their Internet usage is equal to their TV usage. That is something that is going to translate downward to younger children in coming years, and we have to take that into account. So if you want to address the older children you cannot do it with TV alone. TV KIDS: You have also done considerable work on your websites in providing them with content.You have catch-up TV on your websites as well? SCHMIT: Yes, we have. We have almost ten different websites. It’s a mixture of advertising-supported websites and subscription websites because we believe that is an interesting business model.We have our main platform,TOGGO.de, which is the largest [portal] of children’s entertainment content in the German market.We have upgraded it with video, because that is very important to our target group. We have more than 40 series running on our Internet video player, with more than 400 episodes.We launched our own gaming platform, called Zaga.de, a year ago, where we have 3,000 games, and not only for children.We have 10/11
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that our colleagues from Nickelodeon get as small a piece of the pie as possible. TV KIDS: You mentioned the subscription websites. Are you looking for ways to diversify your revenues? SCHMIT: Absolutely, and we are in a very good position now because we started more than ten years ago, and about 25 percent to 30 percent of our net revenues are generated outside of classical television.There are very few TV companies in Europe that can show a similar figure.
A scientific approach: Super RTL complements its strong lineup of imported fare with locally produced series like Schlau mal— Wissen, wie's geht.
an online platform only for girls that is running smoothly. We have our clubs,Toggolino Club and TOGGO-CleverClub, which are subscription-based. We acquired Scoyo a year ago, which is an online learning platform, and it’s doing fantastic. So online is definitely a growing business. I’m not 100-percent satisfied with the online revenues we generated even though everyone said the advertising money is going to flow from TV into the Internet. We see tremendous growth rates in the Internet advertising business, but it’s in no way comparable to what we do in television, so the big money transfer has not taken place yet. And I don’t think it’s going to be equal to TV in any way, but the financial numbers should increase. TV KIDS: How is advertising for the children’s market? SCHMIT: We are seeing growth. We closed the first half of
the year with an increase of about 5 percent in our kid ad revenues, and that is higher than the general TV advertising market, which does not mean that the children’s TV advertising market is outgrowing the general market, it means our sales are outgrowing the market, so we have to pay tribute to our sales teams. On the other hand, we know that about 80 percent of the TV advertising market in Germany flows through our books, and that number is not likely to double! [Laughs] It’s not even likely to increase tremendously, so what we have here is a very classic fight against the other commercial broadcaster, which is Nick. The market is growing, but it’s nothing to write home about. We have to make sure 338
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TV KIDS: Not long ago, in Europe, there was the idea that only public broadcasters would serve the needs of children. And yet, Super RTL does quite a lot of pro-social campaigns and quite a bit to serve the needs of children, even though it is a commercial broadcaster. SCHMIT: Yes, that was when public broadcasters only had a few hours of children’s programming on Saturday and Sunday morning and so did the private stations. There were no dedicated children’s channels either on the commercial side or on the public side. But our colleagues from public service are slightly arrogant.They think they have invented the [concept of doing] good, which unfortunately for them is not really true. We are a full-fledged children’s channel, and there are some people who say, “Television for children is not a good thing, they should go outside and play.” It’s a very laudable idea but it is not very realistic. Then we have another faction that says if children are to watch television, they should at least watch advertising-free television, which I can understand, especially for younger children, but again that’s not what makes the world tick. If you see the numbers, Super RTL is number one in its target group and it is not a public channel, so obviously that equation doesn’t work. We have been the market leader right from the very beginning. And over the last 15 years there has been no indication whatsoever that we have taken advantage of our market leadership. It should be noted that 50 percent of the programs we run on Super RTL could run on the public channel KI.KA. From a content point of view, there is not a substantive difference.The difference is in the advertising, but that is our business model, so that is why we have to be even more socially oriented than any other channel, including the public channel, because we have that image deficit to fight. We have developed our own shows, like Pepp & Pepper, where we try to teach our preschoolers to participate in sports on a regular basis, to eat properly, etcetera. We have launched a campaign (Media Smart), which is not typical for Super RTL, because through it we provide schools with educational materials to show the youngest children how to deal with advertising, how to deal with media, how to deal with the Internet, and this is supposed to be included in schools’ curriculum. That is not something that Super RTL was intended for, but we do it because it’s important.We are also very aware of the risks of the Internet for children. Here, together with companies like Google, Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, and the federal government, we have launched an initiative (fragFINN) that checks the safety of a list of websites for children. We have a team of educators in Berlin who check some 4,000 websites on a regular basis and greenlight them so that children can surf in a safe environment.We are also very active in rebuilding German kindergartens, some of which unfortunately are in a very dire state and in need of repair. 10/11
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the world. It’s been running for a few years now and in the last 12 months we’ve seen a real connection with it; audiences are really starting to believe in it and we’re seeing parents have faith in the channel and kids coming to the programs. We’ve seen audiences grow, which is fantastic. [Cartoon Network is] in all the European territories, all of Africa and the Middle East, and when we looked at taking a portfolio approach, we didn’t have a dedicated preschool block or channel outside the U.K. So we figured that we could take all the knowledge that we have [from the U.K.] as well as most of the programming and take the channel out into the wider world. TV KIDS: Is this EMEA Cartoonito service being pro-
grammed separately from the U.K. channel? CARRINGTON: Yes. We’ll be rolling it out as a block of pro-
Turner Broadcasting’s
Michael Carrington Building upon the broad reach of Cartoon Network across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Turner Broadcasting added another brand to its pan-regional portfolio last month: Cartoonito. Available in the U.K. since 2007, Cartoonito has been entertaining preschoolers with signature programming like the Australian import Bananas in Pyjamas and the Spanish co-production Jelly Jamm. Michael Carrington, the chief content officer for Turner Broadcasting EMEA, shares with TV Kids the thinking behind Cartoonito’s regional expansion and discusses his role on Cartoon Network’s global programming council.
By Mansha Daswani
TV KIDS: What prompted the decision to take Cartoonito
out into the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa? CARRINGTON: Cartoonito had just existed in the U.K. as a
dedicated preschool channel. The schedule consists mostly of acquired programs—the best preschool programs from around 340
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grams; the minimum block will be two hours in most countries and it could extend to four hours in some countries.That block will sit on Boomerang, wherever Boomerang exists. There are only two areas in our region where we don’t have it—the Middle East and Turkey. So in the Middle East and Turkey, this Cartoonito block will sit on Cartoon Network itself. And then in Italy and Spain we’re actually launching full channels. They’re very big markets for us. We have lots of kids watching Cartoon Network, and in those two particular territories we have a free-to-air channel called Boing, which has exposed our brands to a much wider audience than in most of our other territories. We feel that those two markets are particularly mature and they can cope with us launching full-blown channels.The ambition in the long term, of course, is that we would have Cartoonito as a channel everywhere, but we have to be sensible about our approach. In terms of the brand, look and feel, it’s all the same, so it won’t matter whether you’re in Italy or Denmark or Hungary, your experience of Cartoonito will be identical. Although it’s targeting 3- to 6-year-olds, the focus is aspirational, so 5- and 6-year-olds. The feel of the channel is quite dynamic and [it’s not a] traditional preschool channel. We push the storytelling to a certain degree, so we have quirky programming like Bananas in Pyjamas, which is something that we bought for every country. Jelly Jamm is a co-production with Vodka Capital; it’s very dynamic, with CGI, and is a little bit in your face in terms of a preschool program. We’re just making sure that we have this great sense of humor, because as a portfolio of channels we’re taking the essence of Cartoon Network and trying to transform that into something that works for the younger audience. At the end of the day we know all about making kids laugh out loud, and that’s what we’re trying to do with Cartoonito. TV KIDS: How do you work with your international colleagues on joint-programming initiatives? CARRINGTON: Ninety percent of our original production comes out of our studio in Burbank, [which is headed by] Rob Sorcher [the chief content officer at Cartoon Network U.S.]. Each of our four regions has a Rob Sorcher. So I’m responsible in EMEA; Mark Eyers is responsible in Asia Pacific and Pablo Zuccarino is responsible for Latin America. It’s literally just the four of us and we talk with each other all the time. We [offer] input into Rob’s programming development strategy and his production strategy; we actually work with him and his creative executives on the shows. So, for exam10/11
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that we’re looking to put into production.
Jam time: Vodka Capital’s Jelly Jamm has been a tremendous success for Cartoonito in the U.K. and is now airing on the EMEA feed.
ple, the new series of Ben 10 is in production right now and we have creative input. Outside of the original production, there are of course co-productions and acquisitions, and likewise each of us has an acquisition and co-production team and they [all talk to each other] very regularly. They discuss what’s in the market, what the trends are, what the gaps are in their own territories and regions.We will always look globally first, whether it’s original production or acquisitions. If we can’t make something work globally we look internationally—outside of the U.S. If we can’t make something work internationally then it goes into the regions and then territory by territory. So there is a big filter-down process. We’ve worked globally outside of our own productions. We’ve worked with producers and distributors and toy companies. TV KIDS: You’ve rolled out your first global co-production
made in the U.K. studio, The Amazing World of Gumball. How has it performed? CARRINGTON: Amazing! [Laughs] Honestly, I am so thrilled with that production. For me it’s like going back to the launch of In the Night Garden and Teletubbies. It just feels so emotional. In the same way as those landmark series, it’s groundbreaking in that it uses 3D and 2D animation, mixing it with photorealistic images, and it has real character development. Gumball and Darwin, the two main characters, feel like real kids and so they connect with audiences in a way that other shows that just tell stories don’t necessarily do. It’s in the top five [on Cartoon Network U.S.]; it’s one of their best performing programs. It does just as well if not better in repeats. We are just thrilled by it. We’ve already commissioned season two, and we’re in preproduction now. At the same time, the development team [in the London studio] is working away. We do have two very strong ideas 342
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TV KIDS: Cartoon Network Asia does a lot of original animation. Does any of that make it to your region? CARRINGTON: It hasn’t in the past because they concentrate on specific territories. A lot of their production is made for India or it’s made for China, and so the storytelling has been very focused on those particular territories; it hasn’t necessarily traveled outside. But we are working with [the team in Asia], and we’re involved with them in the next development round. We’re trying to identify programs that might reach outside of their own region. We would love for that to happen. They have produced a Johnny Bravo movie, which [will air on Cartoon Network globally], which is very exciting. That’s going to launch next year. There’s also a Ben 10 CGI movie [produced out of Asia, that] we’re all in for. TV KIDS: As you head into MIPCOM, is there anything in
particular you’re looking for? CARRINGTON: We are on the hunt for comedy. Comedy is our
big focus at the moment.We’ve got lots of action stuff coming out of the [U.S.] studio and we’ve got Adventure Time and Regular Show. But there’s a real [demand from] audiences now in all of our countries for comedy. Something with a really unique visual style to help differentiate us from our competitors, but at the end of the day it’s good strong humor we’re looking for, and if it comes with a unique style, then that helps us. TV KIDS: It’s difficult to find, though, isn’t it? CARRINGTON: It really is. Two years ago it was impossible
because everybody was making action-adventure shows, but this year we’ve been pitched more comedy, so I’ve got a good feeling if it’s not MIPCOM this year, certainly MIPTV next year should show some comedy jewels. TV KIDS: You used to work at the BBC. How has the transition been for you, from public broadcasting to the commercial sector? CARRINGTON: It’s been brilliant. I’ve loved every minute of it. My life at CBeebies was amazing and I had the most incredible time there, but the focus is very much on the U.K. I lived and breathed U.K.-focused programming, whereas here I sit on the international board, I’m part of the international process. I have 14 countries that I look after, so it’s much more outward-looking, and that has brought a really interesting approach to how I look at programs and talk to producers now. 10/11
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TV KIDS: TiJi is more than ten years old. How have you kept
the channel popular with young children and their parents? LEYZIN: Parents have real confidence in us with this channel.
They know that they will find the best programs for their young children and a schedule perfectly adapted to their [day-to-day schedules]. We have worked on modern adaptations of classics and we like innovation with incredible shows like Yo Gabba Gabba!, which has aired on TiJi since December 2010. TV KIDS: What is your programming strategy for Gulli? LEYZIN: Gulli is the leader in daytime in the children’s tar-
get.We are seeing ratings increases in adults, especially in prime time. We must continue to make progress in prime time and prove to adults that we are the only channel carrying programs for the whole family on DTT at all times. TV KIDS: How much are you acquiring from the interna-
tional market? LEYZIN: Acquiring programs for our three successful chan-
nels enables us to make more interesting deals, granting better exposure of the series to more viewers. The percentage of programs from the international market on TiJi is 50 percent, Gulli is 65 percent and Canal J is 50 percent.
Lagardère Active’s
Karine Leyzin The French media conglomerate Lagardère has solidified its hold on France’s kids’ content sector with its pay-TV channels Canal J and TiJi and the DTT offering Gulli. For the past year, the portfolio has been overseen by Karine Leyzin, the general manager for TV programs and youth and women’s channels at Lagardère Active Group. She shares with TV Kids her broad strategy for consolidating and expanding Lagardère’s activities in the children’s media business.
By Mansha Daswani
TV KIDS: How do your three kids’ channels serve different demographics, and how do they complement each other? LEYZIN: We have 25 years of experience and know-how in the field of youth programming. Parents and children aged from 3 to 14 years old can find a complementary offer with entertaining, early learning and discovery programs. Our programming has no violence, which has allowed us to maintain throughout the years the necessary bond of trust we’ve created with parents. Together, the three channels comprise the leading youth offer in France with a 37-percent market share among 4- to 10-year-olds, according to Médiamat Thématik in July 2011. TV KIDS: Animation has long made up the majority of Canal J’s schedule. What role do live-action shows play? LEYZIN: Live action is particularly appreciated by teens. This year, we [will offer] them several exclusive series, like Mr.Young and Life with Boys. And they can find Power Rangers Samurai, My Babysitter’s a Vampire, How to Be Indie and Samantha Oups!, a French comedy series. And we are always looking for new liveaction series. Nevertheless, animation is the most popular [genre] on Canal J, especially those series adapted from comics. And we are also looking for new [action] heroes. 344
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TV KIDS: What kinds of shows are you looking for? LEYZIN: At Gulli the target audience is families and kids
aged 6 to 14, boys and girls. We are looking for TV movies, live-action and animated series and entertainment shows.The target audience at Canal J is boys and girls aged 8 to 12. We are looking for animated and live-action series in the adventure and slapstick comedy genres. TiJi targets boys and girls aged 3 to 7. The need there is for puppets, live action or animation in the areas of edutainment or full entertainment. TV KIDS: How important are co-productions for your channels? LEYZIN: Co-productions give us the chance to participate in the
creation of programs tailor-made to suit our audiences. Our coproductions are developed mainly by French producers who then try to find international partners.We also attend markets such as Cartoon Forum, where we meet our counterparts [from other countries] and determine the needs of each potential partner. TV KIDS: How have you extended your brands into the areas of online, on-demand, mobile and social media? LEYZIN: The goal is to be everywhere kids and their families are. And we have already achieved it. We are the leader online. Six million videos are seen each month on Gulli Replay [Gulli’s online on-demand service], and there are 400,000 views per month on Gulli VOD and SVOD.The free Gulli app for the iPad has been downloaded 110,000 times since last December. We are going to launch an Android version on mobile, tablets and connected TV sets. And we are of course in social media. Before the end of 2011, we are going to launch our first indoor leisure park for children and their families in Paris. The Gulli Park will have numerous activities and several specific areas such as a “party village,” an “energy space” with climbing walls and fun tubular structures.The younger ones will find plenty of early-learning activities. A lounge area dedicated to parents will have a terrace with Wi-Fi access.This park is the perfect combination between leisure and learning and will allow parents to share very special times with their kids. 10/11
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can lean on that and create shows on a daily basis to give news to kids. Our variety has made us strong in the market. KI.KA is the market leader with preschool and does very well with 6- to 9-year-olds. But 10-plus is a hard age group to get, so we work intensively on this specific age group while offering programs like Krimi.de, Schloss Einstein or H2O: Just Add Water. Additionally, our daily docs try to cover the needs, thoughts, dramas and sorrows of these preteens. TV KIDS: How are you reaching the tween audience? DEBERTIN: You have to understand where they are nowadays.
When we started the channel, we had them, but times change; so have technologies over the last decade.Therefore [we reach out to tweens] with shows that on one hand try to be great drama, mostly live action, because it better reflects where tweens are in life than animation ever could. There are live-action shows like H2O: Just Add Water, which bring glamour and glossy elements together with good storytelling.We have developed on our own a crime series, Krimi.de. These shows are key to getting these older kids back because they see their own problems and own lives and hear their own music.
KI.KA’s
Sebastian Debertin Kinderkanal, also known as KI.KA, is a leading destination for children in Germany. Owned by the German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, KI.KA has access to considerable programming and financial resources. This is a key advantage against competing kids’ channels Super RTL and Nickelodeon, both of which have parent companies with huge libraries. Sebastian Debertin, the head of fiction, acquisitions and co-productions, talks about the shows and programming strategies that are contributing to KI.KA’s popularity.
By Anna Carugati
TV KIDS: What are KI.KA’s main strengths? DEBERTIN: KI.KA is extremely successful. We have devel-
oped the channel into one of the most well-known brands. Every kid and every parent knows what KI.KA is, and that makes us strong. Our two wonderful parent companies also make us strong. Normally parents can be a nightmare for a kid! But for KI.KA, ARD and ZDF are very nice and caring parents and have helped us grow the brand to where it is now. We don’t have access to the Disney library [as Super RTL does] and we don’t have access to Viacom’s output [as Nick Germany does], so what makes us strong is that with the help of the ARD stations and ZDF, we are creating brands that are as strong as Disney’s or Viacom’s. Our innovation makes us strong, not only in animation, or live-action drama, or comedy, but also by being able to bring the whole variety of television to kids. Daily news—who can afford to do that? We can, because we have ZDF and their world network of correspondents. I 346
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TV KIDS: When is it desirable to commission a show versus entering into a co-production or buying something as a finished product? DEBERTIN: If you can co-produce or buy signature shows like H2O: Just Add Water you get great value for your investment while entertaining with great production values. To cover the local issues of kids here, producing locally is a must, whether it is fiction or documentaries. TV KIDS: What shows on air now have strong audience appeal? DEBERTIN: All the preschool programs within our toddlers’
brand KiKANiNCHEN are top: Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks; Pocoyo; Chloe’s Closet; Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies; Roary the Racing Car; Lunar Jim; Little Princess; JoNaLu; Care Bears; Little Red Tractor and Babar. The animated series Yakari is so successful with toddlers and their older siblings alike that we decided to go for another season, with Mediatoon’s Storimages and ARD as co-pro partners. For older kids and families, ARD’s Garfield delivers extremely good ratings, so another season is a must. TV KIDS: What are some of your upcoming shows? DEBERTIN: On the daily doc side, Mein Style—Die Mod-
eremacker (My Style: The Fashion Makers) is bringing teenagers and pros from the design and fashion industry together. Supported by ESMOD, the international arts and fashion academy in Berlin, the kids are going to design and make their own new fashion styles. An experienced jury is looking for the new teenage queen or king of fashion. In September KI.KA launched a new virtual host named LiLA. She is really cool and trendy and will host KI.KA’s slot for older kids starting at 8 p.m. daily, and for the first time will bridge [the linear channel] and KI.KA’s online community www.mein-kika.de (My-kika.com). [We have a new] live-action mystery series that will thrill and entertain KI.KA’s audiences in a new afternoon slot. It’s about six students on a trip who are grounded in a strange forest. Even worse, they are caught in a kind of time trap, facing strange and paranormal phenomena and magic. 10/11
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