Cover Story: CTC Media

COVER STORY:

Interview with Ksenia Gordienko, Director of the Animation Department at CTC Media

Total Licensing talked to Ksenia Gordienko to find out more about leading Russian animation and broadcasting company CTC Media.

Can you tell us about CTC Media, and give us some background and details of your activities?

CTC media is a leading Russian entertainment media holding. Our company incorporates four national TV channels and one Pay TV channel in Russia. CTC media is part of National Media Group, one of the largest private media holdings in Russia merging assets of key segments of the Russian media market. Animation is a relatively new business for the company: we started to develop it back in 2015 when we launched our first animated TV series - KID-ECATS.

Kid-e-Cats is a key brand for you, and one that you are taking globally. Can you tell us a little about Kid-e-Cats?

Kid-E-Cats is our first animation series and it quickly became a resounding success in Russia and is now gaining more and more popularity all over the world. I’m proud to say that I’m one of those people who have been part of the Kid-E-Cats journey from the very beginning and one of those who helped bring the project to life. It’s amazing to see how the seed that was planted six years ago has grown into a massive, strong tree that will hopefully stay evergreen. Our preschool show tells the story of three kittens: Cookie, Pudding, and their kid sister Candy who are always ready to jump into action with endless enthusiasm and energy. Their imagination knows no bounds; these kittens can come up with the most absurdly funny problem-solving ideas. The show has a strong emphasis on friendship, family, and learning through play, it is positive, fun, and safe – that is why it has won the hearts of children and parents around the globe.

What do you think makes this animated series ideal for overseas markets?

International partners are looking for strong and interesting stories that are appealing to global audiences, for great animation and also for a largely supportive content owner who stands behind animation projects and who is easy to work with. If you want to see your animated series on a global scene as a content and as a consumer products franchise you need to develop your IP having international experts on board. Kid-E-Cats series is produced by Metrafilms Studio for CTC Media. The idea and the concept of the project were developed by Dmitry Vysotsky and Andrey Sikorsky, two professional animators and veterans of the Russian animation industry. The creators have put their heart and soul into this show and that care and attention is what makes it so special and beloved by millions of viewers. But we also have an international story editor working on the show based in London, and we also have input into the show from our

global rights distributor APC Kids that is based in Paris. And dubbing of the series is done in New York.

Can you tell us about the licensing program for Kid-e-Cats globally?

Actually, we are just now gaining momentum globally. Together with our dear partners at APC Kids, we are building the brand in multiple Europe-

an and Latin American licensing markets. We have established a global network of fifteen licensing agents across the world, and we are working hand in hand with them to bring the brand to their territories. In China, we are partnering with the highly professional team of Joy Media, as China needs special attention and care. Kid-E-Cats licensed products are already in stores in Italy, Eastern Europe (Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, the Baltic states) and China. Despite the pandemic, we managed to get licensed Kid-E-Cats products (toys, publishing, candy) onto the shelves in Chinese stores in 2020. China is one of the first markets where we’ve started offline retail sales. Last September toys went on sale in Italy, Poland and several other European countries. In 2021 we are rolling out the licensing program in Spain with toys sales launch planned for September 2021 in all El Cortes Ingles stores.

A further project within your organisation is Little Tiaras. Can you tell us about this animated series?

I think we have developed a great IP – not only beautiful, but also very up-to-date. Little Tiaras is targeting girls aged four to nine, teaching them about girl power, teamwork, tolerance, and diversity. We’ve had excellent results over the two years this project has been in existence. We have three seasons, 26 episodes each. In Season 3, we introduced two new main characters – Li Van (who is Asian) and Vasko (who is Black). We’re very proud to be the first animated series in Russia with racial and gender diversity among the main characters. The show has been at the top of the audience rating charts for Russian children’s television channels (Karusel) for over six months now, more than 200 licensed products have been put in big retail chains on the Russian market, and over 300 products are currently in development. Also, we are more than happy that APC Kids and Joy Media came on board for the international distribution of the series. Together with our partners, we’re already taking our first steps into international markets: the exclusive free-to-air rights for Season 1 and 2 have been picked up by the Noga for The Children Channel in Israel, TVP for TVP ABC in Poland and All Media for Kanals 2 in Latvia and MBC in Middle East. Since October 2020, Little Tiaras series are available in Chinese on major local VOD platforms – Tencent and IQiYi – and on many other platforms in China. Earlier this year Little Tiaras was selected for a showcase (non-competition) by the 27th Shanghai TV Festival in China which is one of the most prestigious and well known TV Festivals in China. I should mention that Little Tiaras is owned by two major Russian companies – CTC media and CTB Film Company – and this partnership gives extra power to the brand. Ksenia Gordienko is the Director of the Animation department in CTC Media. During 2012 – 2014 Ksenia worked at ELC, who represented such studios as Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks in Russia. Ksenia’s responsibilities included the FMCG & Promotional licensing business for the studios’ operations in the Russian market. In May 2014, Ksenia joined CTC Media, as Head of the Licensing & Merchandising department and built the consumer product business for the company from scratch. In January 2019 and following promotion to the role of Director of the Animation department she assumed control of the Animation business in the company. She is responsible for the production, digital development, marketing, the licensing and merchandising of CTC Media’s own animation brands including Kid-ECats, Little Tiaras and a number of others and for their global development and expansion.