Channel focus > KIds channels

Digital TV Europe

April 2010

really the case, says Flamman. “The digital business model is still evolving,” he says. “What we’ve really noticed is that our distribu- tion growth has reached a critical mass that appeal to advertisers. We’ve also got the kind of scale that retailers want to see when it comes to backing a licensing and merchandis- ing property. It used to be the case that they would only be interested in free exposure.” The kind of themes outlined above also underpin the work being done at Disney. In pre-school, the recent focus has been on expanding the global footprint at Playhouse Disney, with particular emphasis on drilling down distribution in Asia. Among older kids, the focus has been on building Disney XD, the boy-skewing action-adventure brand that replaced Jetix during 2009. Like Nick, the goal here is to link all channels through the medi- um of the master-brand. Now that XD has settled in, it’s interesting to note that attention has switched to the development of content brands that work across platforms. In March, for example, Disney unveiled plans for a TV series based on the revitalised movie franchise Tron. Tron first saw the light of day as a film in 1982 and will see an updated sequel Tron: Legacyreach

cinema screens in December 2010. Then in 2011, there will be a CG-animated TV series preceded by promotional micro-episodes. Given the size and scale of the big three international players, it’s hard to believe that anyone else can survive in this market. But the reality is that there are a few players that have found ways of offering an alternative kids channel proposition. One of the best exam- ples is preschool channel JimJam, a joint-ven- ture between Liberty Global-owned Chellomedia and Hit Entertainment. “Creatively, the strength of the channel is Hit pre-school brands like Bob The Builder,

Thomas The Tank Engineand Barney, which

tell platforms and parents that JimJam is a trusted, safe environment,” says general man- ager Wayne Dunsford. “These shows have real cachet in the international sector.” Dunsford does buy in channel-appropriate third-party content, but is limited to some extent by the fact that JimJam operates via four pan-regional feeds. This makes it harder to clear rights on shows. That said, says Dunsford, “We don’t need to buy in too many titles because pre-schoolers are happy with higher repeat patterns. More of an issue is evolving the look of the channel, which is why

we did a channel refresh in February to inject more personality into JimJam.” JimJam’s success is not just about its con- tent, however. The fact that it has managed to secure distribution in 15 million homes since 2006 is partly down to Dunsford’s experience and partly to do with Chellomedia’s astute understanding of the distribution landscape. “Platforms are definitely taking more time over their decisions because of the business climate,” says Dunsford. “But we have contin- ued to make good inroads in Asia and the Middle East. We recently secured distribution on the Showtime Orbit platform, which was great news for us because all channels were vulnerable when those two businesses decid- ed to merge their operations.”

Localised services

As a group, Chellomedia mixes its portfolio between pan-regional thematic channels and much more localised services. So alongside JimJam, it now has investments in Portuguese kids broadcaster Panda and central European kids channel Minimax. “The thing that distinguishes us from most of the international majors is our commitment to localisation,” says Peter Lakits, chief operating officer of Chello Central Europe. “All of our channels are fully-localised, something our audiences really like.” This goes well beyond market-by-market language tracks, says Lakits: “We air a lot of locally-produced classic animation which appeals strongly to parents who remember it from their own childhood. But in addition we do a lot of events and promotions designed to appeal directly to the local audience. We also cherrypick quality international shows but it is the localness that makes us stand out from rivals.” Localness is of course expensive, which explains why Minimax isn’t available wall-to- wall across the region: “But we are looking at further expansion,” says Balázs Hajós, region- al director, affiliate sales and business develop- ment, Chello Central Europe. “Bulgaria, Albania and further development within for- mer Yugoslavia are possibilities, as is Poland although it is very competitive.” KidsCo, which aims at an older kids demo- graphic, has a similar strategic framework to JimJam. With the big studios increasingly favouring their own in-house content, KidsCo

The BBC held events in South Africa to

promote In The Night Gardenbooks.

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