TV Kids Licensing Expo & NATPE Europe Edition

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TVKIDS

WWW.TVKIDS.WS

JUNE /JULY 2015

LICENSING EXPO & NATPE EUROPE EDITION

L&M Trends / m4e’s Hans Ulrich Stoef

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CONTENTS FEATURES

Mini Power Players

10 TOY WITH ME

A look at the strategies for turning kids’ shows into successful L&M properties.

The phrase “children should be seen and not heard” is long gone in today’s media world, where kids are key influencers for entertainment brands, licensed products and new services.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Joanna Padovano Associate Editor Joel Marino Assistant Editor Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Simon Weaver Online Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Alberto Rodriguez Sales & Marketing Manager Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Coordinator Fiorella Martinez Sales & Marketing Assistant Terry Acunzo Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids © 2015 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.ws

Parents are quick to give in to a child’s “I want!” request when strolling through the toy aisles, so retailers and licensees are well aware of the power these youngsters yield in the licensing and merchandising (L&M) arena. Having a robust consumer-products business can contribute greatly to a company’s vibrancy as well. Disney’s latest financials were lifted by gains from its consumer-products division, for example, with much of this due to the continuing success of Frozen products at retail. As the Frozen phenomenon persists, Elsa and her pals are getting a sequel, which is sure to again be a merchandising juggernaut for Disney while delivering at the box office—not to mention satisfying the calls from kids all over the world who just don’t want to “Let It Go.” Children are also changing the game in terms of how content is offered, with their penchant for on-demand viewing driving the proliferation of dedicated SVOD services and apps. Kids today are no longer tethered to the TV set with only a handful of channels to choose from; they are engaging with tablets and smartphones to watch exactly what they want to watch, wherever they may be.

In some cases, they’re even helping to choose the content. Amazon Studios recently greenlit six new pilots for its roster of kids’ programs. The pilots are made available for children and parents to watch, and their feedback helps to determine which will move forward into full series.

In this issue of TV Kids, we explore how kids’ connections to their favorite TV shows are central to the L&M market. We hear from m4e’s Hans Ulrich Stoef about the company’s expanding stable of brands, and from 41 Entertainment’s Allen Bohbot about reimagining iconic properties to make them relevant for children today.

Kids nowadays are growing up quickly; they’re technologically savvy and accustomed to high-quality entertainment. They are also used to having their favorite TV properties at their fingertips, be it with a plush toy or on a tablet. Their powerful influence in the worlds of television and retail cannot be ignored.

—Kristin Brzoznowski

10 18 SWINGING INTO ACTION

41 Entertainment has a stable of iconic brands that have been reimagined for kids today.

INTERVIEW

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m4e’s Hans Ulrich Stoef

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41 Entertainment PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures / Kong: King of the Apes / Tarzan and Jane The properties that 41 Entertainment (41e) is touting for the L&M market are all based on established, iconic brands. PACMAN and the Ghostly Adventures grew out of the beloved video-game franchise, making it well suited for additional brand extensions, says Allen Bohbot, the managing director of 41e. Bohbot also has high hopes for Kong: King of the Apes in the L&M arena. “With a brand that everyone knows, it’s much easier [to extend it into licensing and merchandising],” he says. “You have a parent saying, That sounds cool! King Kong, sure! So, if the kid is asking and the parent is welcoming, then the retailer is much more comfortable taking it and licensees know that they can get it on the shelves.” The newest property in the 41e stable is Tarzan and Jane.

“We always make sure there’s an L&M application within our properties.”

—Allen Bohbot PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures

Cyber Group Studios Zorro the Chronicles / Zou The upcoming action comedy Zorro the Chronicles, part of the Cyber Group Studios catalogue, centers on the famed masked swordsman. “There’s a lot of diversity in the series and I think there’s a massive amount of potential in terms of merchandising,” says Pierre Sissmann, the company’s chairman and CEO. Zorro the Chronicles, meant for kids between the ages of 6 and 12, is one of the properties that Cyber Group is focusing on at this year’s Licensing Expo, along with the book-based animated series Zou. “The show is very family-oriented and the range of merchandising can extend from plush to interactive apps, and from books to puzzles,” says Sissmann. Cyber Group is currently looking to secure a worldwide master toy licensee for Zou, which is geared toward 3- to 6-year-olds.

“We have lifted Zorro a bit with some new characteristics—he’s younger, he’s hip, he has a twin sister—but it’s the same Zorro.”

—Pierre Sissmann Zorro the Chronicles

Grand Prix Media Mika’s Diary / Chiquititas / PinguiNics Grand Prix Media is heading to NATPE Europe with a number of kids’ programming highlights within its broad catalogue. This includes Mika’s Diary, which centers on a 4-year-old girl, Mika, as well as her imaginary friends and her tablet. There’s also a youth-skewed telenovela, Chiquititas, about a group of girls who live in an orphanage built by a wealthy man with a family secret.

PinguiNics, meanwhile, is about three penguin pals who have exciting adventures in Antarctica. Chun Kim, sales manager at Grand Prix, will be at NATPE Europe talking to buyers about these series and many others. “We’re hoping to meet as many partners as possible to showcase our new highlights,” says Kim.

“We firmly believe that our catalogue is very attractive for Eastern and Central European audiences.”

—Chun Kim

Chiquititas

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m4e/Telescreen Wissper / Mia and me / Tip the Mouse The central character in the new animated series Wissper, a highlight from m4e, is a quirky little girl who can talk to animals. Wissper sits in the catalogue alongside the girl-skewed fantasy adventure series Mia and me, which has two completed seasons of 26 episodes each and a slew of licensing and merchandising extensions. A third season is in the works for Mia and me. The catalogue also includes the 52x7-minute series Tip the Mouse, based on a brand that started its success in the world of publishing. The company has already lined up a master toy deal, 40-plus broadcasters and a second season for the property, according to Hans Ulrich Stoef, the CEO of m4e.

“Linear television still matters—it’s still the key driver to get the [attention] of kids.”

—Hans Ulrich Stoef Wissper

Mondo TV Giochi Preziosi / Aurora World Corporation / Abu Dhabi Media At this year’s Licensing Expo, Mondo TV is presenting a number of titles from its co-production partners Giochi Preziosi, Aurora World Corporation and Abu Dhabi Media. Highlights from Giochi Preziosi include Dinofroz Dragons’ Revenge and Atomicron. “Both properties were born from successful Giochi Preziosi toy lines,” says Roberta Puppo, Mondo’s international licensing and marketing manager. “This means there is already awareness among kids.” Co-productions with Aurora include YooHoo & Friends and Cuby Zoo. “YooHoo & Friends is a very well-known property and a lot of activities and promotions have already been done by Aurora,” says Puppo. Mondo’s collaborations with Abu Dhabi Media are Majid, Karamella and Kasslan, based on famous characters from the United Arab Emirates.

“[YooHoo & Friends] deals with friendship, adventure, exploration, the environment and rare and endangered species—themes and values that perfectly match the [interests] of children.”

—Roberta Puppo YooHoo & Friends

Studio 100 Media K3 / Heidi / Tashi Kim, Kylie and Kate, the central characters in Studio 100 Media’s K3, are three ordinary girls taking part in an extraordinary world; they are teen pop singers on a global tour, where unexpected diversions lead them to fun stories. The trio is characterized as being sweet and cheeky and always having a positive attitude. Studio 100 Media’s catalogue also includes Heidi, about an 8-year-old orphan who lives with her grandfather in the scenic idyll of the Swiss Alps. This CGI/3D animated series is an update of a classic property. In Tashi, the characters Tashi and Jack are always finding themselves in wild adventures while exploring a fantastical kingdom, where they face off with mythical creatures. Their whimsical female accomplice Lotus Blossom helps them navigate tricky situations.

K3

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TOY W In the intense battle to make sure their

ou’ve undoubtedly seen the joy on the face of a child who receives a toy or another product connected to their favorite TV show. That palpable excitement is fueling the powerful licensing and merchandising (L&M) engine that helps drive the kids’ television business. Even though the L&M market continues to evolve—providing opportunities as well as challenges—leading content executives headed to this year’s Licensing Expo are bullish on the many possibilities the segment continues to offer.

According to data from The NPD Group, U.S. retail sales of toys generated $18.1 billion last year, an increase of 4 percent over 2013. Licensed toys, which represented 31 percent of total industry sales, rose 7 percent in 2014 compared to the previous year. Of course, toys are not the only kids’ L&M category, and the U.S. is merely one of many territories, but these figures represent a step in the right direction for an industry that is still recovering from the economic woes of years past.

An ongoing trend in the L&M segment has been the continued demand for properties that consumers already know and trust.

“In the past decade, licensees and retailers have seen a number of potentially exciting properties fail in the market,” says Allen Bohbot, the managing director of 41 Entertainment (41e). “Often, new properties look attractive and have a lot of potential, yet they disproportionally fail at retail.

“With well-known and established brands, it’s much safer and they increase the chances of success,” Bohbot continues. “There’s a safety factor. It gives you the comfort that this has been done before and it’s worked, so if done well, it should work again. Brand-new stories need more time to become established.”

FAMILIAR FACES 41e has several titles in its catalogue based on tried-andtrue brands, including PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures, Kong: King of the Apes and Tarzan and Jane (the latter two being original series for Netflix). “With Kong, MGA Entertainment has a deep and great toy line developed in part with master designer Avi Arad,” says Bohbot. “[There are] toys in various sizes, plush and electronic—a full assortment. Imagine a King Kong backpack—who would not want that?”

Saban Brands’ Luna Petunia.

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Y With Me

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for retail space, kids’ content owners are using a variety of approaches brands cut through the clutter.

By Joanna Padovano Another known character that has been refreshed for a new audience is the famed masked swordsman Zorro, who is featured in the upcoming CGI show Zorro the Chronicles. “I think there’s a massive amount of potential in terms of merchandising,” says Pierre Sissmann, the chairman and CEO of Cyber Group Studios. “We’d love to have a master toy deal on Zorro and move to all the different categories, whether it’s apparel, accessories or home furnishing.”

The huge hit Teletubbies, now part of the DHX Media catalogue, is gearing up to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2017. The preschool brand is being rebooted with a new series for CBeebies. “We’ve really thought hard about the strategic rollout,” says Peter Byrne, the executive VP of DHX Brands. “We’ve got some fantastic partners on board: Character Options, master toy, and Egmont, global publishing. We’ve pretty much covered all of the major licensing categories, from bedding to party to electronics, in the first wave.”

A CLASSIC RETURNS From the ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) portfolio, Thunderbirds Are Go is based on the iconic brand that first appeared back in 1965. “Thunderbirds lends itself perfectly to merchandise,” says Trudi Hayward, the company’s senior VP and head of global merchandising. “The craft and characters are hugely inspirational for kids. Boys in particular want to be the Tracy Brothers and be part of International Rescue, piloting the Thunderbirds craft.”

Thunderbirds Are Go has already landed 30 licensees in the U.K., including for toys, clothing, puzzles, games, toiletries, food and more. “We’re still looking for partners in the liveevents and promotional categories,” adds Hayward.

Saban Brands boasts Power Rangers, whose superheroes have been thrilling kids for more than two decades. The latest installment of the television series is Power Rangers Dino Charge, which premiered on Nickelodeon earlier this year.

“Ratings are great and toys are selling really well with our master toy partner, Bandai,” says Kirk Bloomgarden, the company’s senior VP of global consumer products. “We’ve got great retail presence, so we’re really excited about the strength of this franchise and how it continues to excel and perform year after year.”

Another familiar property in Saban’s catalogue is Popples, an upcoming animated comedy series for Netflix that is based on the classic toy line from the 1980s. “We have a great toy partner with Spin Master, which has done exceptional products that we’re launching later this year,” says Bloomgarden.

“Research has shown that young moms who were playing with Popples in the ’80s are very excited about sharing that experience with their daughters.”

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a long-running property represented by 4K Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Konami Digital Entertainment. The brand, known for its popular trading-card game, has a licensing program that spans a variety of categories. “For the older demographic, we have collectibles in place with both Mecca and WizKids,” says Jennifer Coleman, 4K’s VP of licensing and marketing. “We have housewares and impulse items, as well as beverageware, with Just Funky. We’ve also got Star Cutouts doing life-size cutouts [of the characters]. We also have Freeze on board as our master T-shirt [licensee].

“For the younger boys’ set, we’ve got Cartorama in place— though that’s really just for Italy—and they’re doing back-toschool,” continues Coleman. “We also just announced that we’re going to be working with Bioworld, and they’re going to be doing accessories and headware. [There is also] Buckle-Down, and they do funky, patented belts as well as some pet accessories and keychains; that’s more for the older demographic. And then we have a number of home-video licensees in place as well.”

FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment (FMKFE) is distributing Danger Mouse, a cult-classic animated series that has been updated for a new generation of kids. “There’s a fantastic production team on board that has created a range of exciting, action-packed missions for the world’s greatest superspy, with great gadgets and vehicles that will really appeal to the boys’ market,” says Rick Glankler, the company’s executive VP and general manager. “The show’s surreal comedy, distinctive mix of 2D and brilliant visuals set it apart from other current boys’ properties and make the target audience want to engage with the brand beyond simply viewing the show.”

While many retailers prefer to play it safe with properties that are already known, there are still those that are willing to take a risk on something new.

IN WITH THE NEW Sitting alongside Teletubbies in the DHX catalogue is Twirlywoos, a preschool series on CBeebies featuring bird-like creatures. “It certainly resonated among retailers and licensees instantly,” says Byrne. This led the company to fast-track the property’s L&M program, which was announced at Brand Licensing Europe last year. “The response from all of the retailers was, This is one of the most unique properties we’ve seen in preschool! When can we take part?”

Many of the core L&M segments for Twirlywoos have been secured, with Golden Bear appointed as master toy partner and Ravensburger handling puzzles and games. “We’ll be shipping toy products [this summer] in the U.K.,” adds Byrne.

Another new property repped by DHX is Make It Pop, targeted at girls aged 6 to 12. The show, about a group of teens who form a

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eOne’s Peppa Pig garnered $1 billion in retail sales this financial year, with more than 600 licensing deals in place globally.

band, premiered on Nickelodeon in the U.S. this spring. “Ratings have been fantastic; Nickelodeon has just announced the secondseason pickup and it’s already going to be expanding internationally in July,” says Byrne. “We believe very strongly [in the brand] and certainly the response from licensing partners has been huge.

We will be announcing a toy partner at the Licensing Expo.”

Alongside Power Rangers and Popples, Saban Brands is also concentrating on the L&M for Luna Petunia, a new series developed in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil Média. “We’re in the early stages on [Luna Petunia], but it’s very much a focus and we’ll be talking about that property at the Licensing Expo with our partners,” says Bloomgarden.

A relatively new title for Cyber Group is Zou, a book-based show that began airing in 2012. Sissmann explains that Zou had limited reach initially, “and now it’s all over the world.”

The brand has already been very successful in such categories as books, plush, puzzles, interactive and play sets, with several more on the horizon. There is also an upcoming promotion that will see Chick-fil-A restaurants around the U.S. giving away Zou books to kids. “We’re still looking for a major worldwide toy master,” adds Sissmann.

Among the key L&M properties for Entertainment One (eOne) Family are Peppa Pig and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, two award-winning preschool series produced

by Astley Baker Davies.

For Peppa, the company is juggling multiple licensing campaigns around the world that are in various stages of development. “Most of the programs are at least two to three years in maturity, extending to places like the U.K., where they’re moving into their 11th year,” says Andrew Carley, the head of global licensing at eOne. “In general, the strategy for Peppa is one of sustaining the business and ensuring we’ve got a coordinated marketing campaign behind the program that pulls together TV, licensing, digital and home entertainment—all those key components.”

The strategy for Ben & Holly is more about building the brand and its presence at retail. “Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom was really launched in the U.K. via our new toy partner Character Options early last year,” says Carley. “This year, in territories where we’ve launched and been in place for the last 12 to 24 months, such as the U.K., Spain, Italy and Australia, [our strategy is] making sure that it’s top priority for retailers and ensuring that it can justify its place on the shelf.”

In addition to Danger Mouse, FMKFE has a number of other properties that are ripe for L&M expansion, including the preschool shows Tree Fu Tom, Kate & Mim-Mim and Ella the Elephant. Tree Fu Tom already has 50 international licensees, including master toy partner Jazwares. Since its launch last year, Kate & Mim-Mim has received “a fantastic reaction” worldwide, with “parents actually pleading for products,” says Glankler.

Ella the Elephant also has Jazwares as its master toy partner. Penguin Young Readers is slated to release a publishing program based on the brand in North America this fall.

Among Rainbow’s most successful properties are the international hits Winx Club and Mia and me, both girl-skewing and offering a wealth of L&M possibilities. “Our brands [are present in many] categories and have been in place for a long time,” says Matteo Olivetti, the company’s head of sales. “In general, we are always looking for new opportunities in different countries, and we are looking for strategic collaborations with leading companies in each category.”

TIMING IS EVERYTHING There is no hard-and-fast rule for deciding when a brand is ready to start generating toys and other consumer products. It can be difficult to determine the perfect time to launch a licensing program, because doing so either too early or too late will likely both yield undesirable results.

Rainbow’s Winx Club has been an L&M success in such areas as back-to-school.

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“The child has to engage and believe in the show before they are going to want to have any related merchandise,” says FMKFE’s Glankler. “Toys are central to all our consumerproduct strategies, and given the time it takes to design, create and ship them, we always need to be thinking a couple of years ahead. It is critical to find the right window of opportunity to launch your products. The brand has to have been on air long enough for the audience to be familiar with it (and also be keen to extend their engagement with it), but not so long that the audience has moved on to the next new thing.”

“We like the property to establish itself prior to launching merchandise, so if it’s launching on TV, ideally we wait six to nine months before we launch products,” says ITVS GE’s Hayward.

“We want to ensure that kids are fully engaged with the property and want to own merchandise before product goes into market.”

“At the end [of the day], it’s the market that decides the success of a brand,” says Rainbow’s Olivetti. “But once the show is placed on TV, usually we start with [lead] categories like publishing, home entertainment, digital and toys, and then we extend into the other categories.”

It’s also important to find the right balance when it comes to incorporating elements of a show into its licensing program, and vice versa.

[you would be] if you had a reputation for short bursts of activity that burn bright and disappear.”

But even if a company is able to offer retailers both exclusivity and longevity, there is still no guarantee that their property will make it to store shelves—this is because there is a lack of available space.

“There’s been a lot of consolidation in retail,” says Saban’s Bloomgarden. “And not just in the U.S., but internationally.

With the consolidation, there are just limited stores, limited shelf space, and everybody’s competing for that.”

VOLUME CONTROL

What makes limited shelf space even trickier is the sheer volume of kids’ properties. “It’s highly competitive, preschool in particular; there’s a saturation of brands,” says DHX’s Byrne.

“Retailers tend to look to window product. If it performs, it stays; if it hasn’t performed in a few weeks, it’s gone.”

“There are a lot of properties in the marketplace,” says eOne’s Carley. “So gaining credibility, gaining your foothold in the marketplace, is increasingly difficult.

For buyers, understanding which property they need to back is very hard.”

Despite the challenges currently facing children’s L&M, there are still plenty of opportunities emerging for the segment, including those in the digital space.

PERFORMING AT RETAIL “Where I see growth and the most “When we create new prosuccess has really been in social gramming, we think about media and mobile,” says 4K’s creating things that we can Coleman. “They allow you to take from the content— connect with your fan base in a maybe it’s a story line— way that you weren’t able to and put that into the in the past, certainly not as licensing program,” says inexpensively, and also not as eOne’s Carley. “What we deeply. Mobile and social don’t do is create overtly media are really changing the licensing-[heavy] story face of marketing and the way lines that feed into the toy that we interact with our cusor the licensing program— tomer base.” it feels very exploitative and “Digital technology just it’s just a springboard with which to sell product. continues to provide opporI think nowadays, parents see through that, so tunities for all of us,” says Saban’s we’ve avoided it. But certainly we can inject elements Bloomgarden. “Kids are now doing everyinto the show that we know will help support the thing on tablets and smartphones.” licensing program.”

“Licensors are having to be a lot more creLike any business, retailers are continuously looking ative, definitely thinking about a full 360for ways to drive traffic, both to their brick-and-mortar degree approach, making the property availstores and to their websites. A good way to accomable not just on TV but now also online and plish that is by having exclusivity for a hot property. on mobile,” says ITVS GE’s Hayward. “You “An exclusive allows [retailers] a big point of need to be available at all touch points.” differentiation from their competition; they have No matter the product—be it physical something in their store that they know nobody or digital—the key to success for kids’ L&M else has,” says 4K’s Coleman. “That’s still extremely is to be able to connect with children by important and I think that will continue to be a offering brands they can relate to while also driver for retailers.” convincing parents to purchase associated According to eOne’s Carley, retailers are looking merchandise. It’s not always easy for a TV to work with companies that have earned staying property to establish and maintain a profpower in the market. “If you can develop a relaitable presence off screen, especially tionship with a retailer that offers longevity in a constantly changing media landand trust, you’re going a long way,” he says. scape, but when it does happen, the “It means that while newer properties results can be very rewarding for all come in, because you’ve got that longevity, ITVS GE’s Thunderbirds Are Go is a particular hit in the you’re perhaps not threatened in the way boys’ arena, with action figures among the L&M products. parties involved.

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TV KIDS: You’ve expanded your alliance with Gerhard Hahn, with whom you worked on Mia and me. Tell us about this relationship.

STOEF: With Gerhard we had a company called Lucky Punch.

That was our production joint venture for Mia and me. We are in a third season now for Mia and me. We thought it would make sense to combine our production efforts in a new entity called Hahn & m4e Productions. We love his creativity and his creative skills. He loves our marketing, distribution and licensing power. We said, let’s put the m4e developments, creations and co-productions into an entity together with his under this umbrella brand. We went to MIPTV with 11 new development projects. We have another nine in early development. A development slate like that requires some significant funding. We want to bring at least six to seven [of these development projects into production] in the next three years.

Hahn & m4e Productions will also be available to third-party creators and third-party co-productions. We’ll help in making content more appealing for the international market, injecting ingredients to make them [more attractive] for licensing and merchandising. We’ll help finance and presell shows. If needed, we have the capacity to come in with some gap financing.

What we have now with Gerhard attached with our creative

m4e HANS ULRICH STOEF

By Mansha Daswani

With its roots in the licensing and merchandising sector, m4e has expanded rapidly in the last few years to become a full-service brand-management company in the kids’ and family entertainment arena. The company is active in production, distribution and consumer products, amassing a slate that includes the global hit Mia and me, the publishing-based Tip the Mouse and the brand-new Wissper. As CEO Hans Ulrich Stoef tells TV Kids, m4e has set itself on a path to becoming a European powerhouse in kids’ entertainment.

TV KIDS: What’s been driving m4e’s growth over the last few years?

STOEF: When we started in 2003, we tried to get some grip on the market but we didn’t have the financial capacity. A major step for us was raising some capital in order to be able to go into producing in a deeper way. A milestone for the company was our development, creation and production of Mia and me, and then distributing it to so many countries and getting Mattel as a toy partner. After that, we were able to produce and deliver Tip the Mouse. [That sent the message] that we are really putting out quality productions. We’ve again been able to deliver a master toy deal and 40-plus broadcasters, and we’re now going into a second season. We also bought many companies and now we have a library of 2,500 episodes of programs.

team and his creative team is a broader capacity to oversee those developments from third parties and help make them better. Wissper with Dan Good [and Absolutely Cuckoo] and his co-producing partners Telegael and Discreet Art Productions is a very good example. We were able to raise the financing and finish the deep development in six months. The financing was raised with only one broadcaster attached.

That’s very rare. It was only the commissioning broadcaster, Channel 5 (Milkshake!), and then we brought in a toy company, a worldwide publishing partner and ourselves, and it was done.

TV KIDS: You mentioned earlier the growth of your catalogue. How important is volume as you’re dealing with the new digital players?

STOEF: Very important. The market is in the midst of a big change right now. Content really matters, so that’s the good news. But the size of the company and its library matters, too.

We have a library that services some of the needs of OTT platforms. It’s also important to go to platforms like YouTube and create our own channel business, especially for back-library titles. We have a great appetite to grow our library business.

We are currently in discussions with many people on how to do that. It could be acquisitions, it could be mergers, it could be anything. From about €20 million to €25 million in revenues, we need to move this company into €80 million to

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€100 million in a short amount of time. That’s very important in order to generate cash flow on a broader basis with a large library and become a major player in Europe. I think we are already a major player with regards to our production output, and based on the number of developments and productions that we have in place. There are not many companies from Europe that have 150 episodes simultaneously in production, but it will be key to grow the library besides that in a faster way.

TV KIDS: And you’ve expanded your output without having any German production incentives to take advantage of.

STOEF: No tax breaks, no big subsidies for television. We look outside of the box [for financing]—so it’s not necessarily just presales and broadcast agreements. We also attack the consumer-product side at a very early stage, as well as the publishing side and the video-on-demand side.

TV KIDS: Can the lack of government financing be an advantage, in terms of making sure that the shows you deliver have commercial appeal?

STOEF: In the last 15 years, there were many shows, for example from Canada, that were just produced for tax credits and subsidies. They were filling the pipelines for the broadcasters, but they didn’t please the audience. I think it’s fantastic to have [subsidies and tax breaks].

We do use them—we don’t have studio capacity, [so we co-produce with countries that have subsidies available]. But it’s very important that you have a functional business model rather than just a subsidy and tax-credit model. You need to understand your broadcasters, you need to understand the audience and you need to understand the consumer-products side and how to synchronize all of that.

TV KIDS: What are some of the upcoming shows you’re excited about?

STOEF: We’re doing our first live-action show, Me, Mum & Mystery.

It’s a detective series based on a book line we optioned from Atlantyca.

We’re in deep development and there are good signs we’ll be able to greenlight the show this year. That’s the next milestone for our company, because we have never been a live-action producer. We have some great talent attached. And there’s been fantastic response so far.

The relationship with Hahn Film is very important. Gerhard has developed a line of plush dolls called the Worry Eaters [known as Sorgenfresser in Europe]. Together we will bring a 52x7-minute CGI animated show to the market. We’re in the financing and presale process. The consumer-product partners are lined up for that, because the line of plush dolls has already sold millions and millions [of units] for Gerhard in Europe. We are developing another CGI series, Siggi, based on the famous Nibelungen saga. We have lots on the plate. We need to stay focused and not lose ourselves in too many opportunities!

TV KIDS: In the current climate, what qualities does a property need in order to find retail space?

STOEF: First, we need TV exposure, and linear television still matters— it’s still the key driver to get the [attention] of kids. Of course, we all need a multichannel, multimedia concept in order to launch a new property. The internet, social networks, etc., all need to be included in a concept from the beginning. But in order to get the attention of retailers, you need to have the gameplay in the show itself, and it needs to translate well into toys. You also need to be better than the existing shows. There’s only so much shelf space. Much of it is dedicated to existing brands that drive [retailers’] revenues. You need to prove in advance in whatever way that you will sell more toys than the existing brand they’re pushing off the shelf. In the end, it requires strong ratings, great storytelling, gameplay, a transmedia experience and a toy partner that has the capability to develop a great line of toys, which will be supported by a strong marketing campaign.

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TV KIDS

SWINGING into ACTION 41 Entertainment and its partners are reinventing iconic brands for a new generation of young viewers.

Among the newly reimagined properties that 41e has developed are (from left) Kong: King of the Apes, Tarzan and Jane and PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures.

By Kristin Brzoznowski

n a marketplace as crowded as the kids’ content landscape is, it helps to have built-in brand recognition when it comes to the intense battle for viewership and retail dollars.

41 Entertainment (41e) has tapped into this niche, putting together a stable of iconic brands made relevant for kids today.

The company, led by Allen Bohbot as managing director, set out on this strategy about three years ago with the revival of the PacMan brand. Born out of the classic 1980s video-game franchise, the 52-episode series PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures has now aired in 100-plus markets in more than 20 languages. The show was produced by Avi Arad, a former Marvel executive whose long list of production credits includes the blockbuster Spider-Man, X-Men and Iron Man movie franchises.

Following on their successful collaboration for PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures, Arad and 41e reteamed to bring another iconic property to the small screen: King Kong. The CGI animated series Kong: King of the Apes, created by Arad and Bohbot, is set in 2050, offering up a fresh take on the classic King Kong legend. The story is set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island, which has been transformed into a vast natural-history and marine preserve where Kong is the star attraction. In this version, there are even gigantic robotic dinosaurs that Kong must battle in order to save humankind.

Having sold PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures to Netflix, Bohbot struck up a conversation with the global streaming service regarding Kong: King of the Apes. Netflix gave it the greenlight as an original series for its expanding roster of kids’ programming, slating it for a spring 2016 launch.

Bohbot and Arad decided to keep the momentum going, developing another classic-made-modern kids’ show, this one featuring the beloved character of Tarzan. They wanted to update the setting, with the action taking place both in the jungle and in the city, and make the character of Jane a central part of the show, presenting her as Tarzan’s equal.

41e then went back to Netflix, which again moved the property forward as an original series. Tarzan and Jane will launch on the platform globally in the fall of 2016.

“The idea is to find a really great, established brand and give it a very modern twist, doing it in a way that an 8-year-old can relate to,” says Bohbot. “This is not easy to do! [The Tarzan character] is

over 100 years old; King Kong was [first] done in 1933. It’s not about digging up old stuff—anybody can do that. The key is in how you make it relevant for kids today. If we just did another Tarzan that looked like your typical Tarzan—a good-looking guy in a loincloth swinging on vines—what kid is going to relate to that?

It’s not going to work. We wanted to do it in a new style.”

Part of this new style comes in the form of CGI. Bohbot explains that the level of quality seen in animated theatrical movies has set a high standard in terms of what kids expect to see in their entertainment nowadays. As such, TV producers are having to up their game. “CGI allows you to create something that kind of looks like the movies; you could never do that when it was just 2D,” says Bohbot. “It just looked cartoony or very cutesy. Kids are so sophisticated now; they expect so much more than they used to. Therefore, you have to raise the bar. The theatrical business raised the bar so high that television has had to rise with it.”

In addition to delivering high-quality animation, careful attention has gone into updating the story lines to make them resonate with today’s audiences. In the case of Tarzan and Jane, the central premise sees both characters fighting against injustice in the world. Tarzan maintains the animal instincts that he acquired after being raised in the jungle, but applies them to his current surroundings, living with his billionaire grandfather in London. Bohbot says that part of the humor in the show comes from this fish-out-of-water scenario with Tarzan, a jungle boy navigating boarding school and life in the big city. Jane, meanwhile, is a far cry from the “damsel in distress” she was once portrayed as. Meant to empower the girl audience, Jane is now often the one saving Tarzan in sticky situations.

“Avi [Arad] is really a storyteller,” says Bohbot. “He creates the story that makes the series hum, then we work with [top-level producers]. When you start with an iconic brand that people recognize, then take his story and work with high-end, quality studios, you really have a point of difference. That’s been our pitch!”

The goal for 41e is to do two of these types of projects per year—one in the spring, one in the fall. All will be rooted in properties that already have a level of awareness in pop culture, done in a way that’s innovative, exciting and fresh, according to Bohbot. “We’re trying to get people to say, I know that brand, but I’ve never seen it quite like that!”

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