ONES TO WATCH
Colin Williams SIXTEEN SOUTH What does your company do and what role do you play? We create and produce television for children – it’s in every home and every country across the world. We make shows which are most of the television networks. Shows we have include Claude on Disney Junior, that airs in every country in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia. It’s Disney’s number one in Australia and second in UK. There is also Pinkalicious – which is a long-term production with PBS Kids. There are 100 of us, and I oversee all the creative output – my main job is overseas development and the creation of new ideas. How did the business start and how has it grown? The business started 11 years ago and the first show we made was Sesame Tree – a version for Northern Ireland. Since that we have made eight shows, that have since sold into 120 countries. We started as a studio which made
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one show, and next year that will be four or five.
work in our studio, which could mean further expansion and possible outsourcing.
What is your background? I am a graphic designer and I went to art college, and came through the visual route.
What challenges have you faced? The truth is, the biggest challenge is probably production capacity versus opportunity. We would love to do more in Belfast as well. But there is a limit to the talent pool here. We are making a move to help that, and we have a foundation academy to teach and train.
What do you do differently from your competition and what are your strengths? It is the quality of our work which differentiates us from the rest of industry. We have an uncompromising approach to quality, and only make the highest quality work. We take the slightly harder road to go down. Who are your main customers? We create the shows and then we licence them to people. Our customers include Disney, PBS, Nickelodeon, Hulu, Netflix and BBC. Do you have a target in mind in terms of where you want the business to grow? We have been on quite a steep trajectory in terms of our growth, moving from one show at a time to three, to potentially five at a time. That will mean we can’t produce all the
Who most inspires you? Probably my kids. I have done this for 11 years, they are now 16 and 12 and they were preschoolers when we were making pre-school shows. I’m constantly looking at what they are into. Where do you see yourself in the next few years? We have already had a number of offers of investment and haven’t taken that yet. While we are growing as a studio, we will continue, or be acquired, or invested by a larger party. The next few years will be interesting to see how it pans out.