The Legend of Prince Valiant. © Hearst Entertainment

Stan Sagner, Director of Program Service Development for Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, sums up the fact that, "Hearst has been aggressively and actively producing over the last five years. We actually were producing long before then, as King Features Entertainment, and are continuing to develop and produce on an ongoing basis."

While these shows will form "the core of the programming," he admits they will "not be sufficient to program a whole network. So, we will be acquiring additional programming from around the world." For the immediate future, though, this does not include original shows made just for Locomotion. "For the time being," he says, "we're focusing on acquiring the best animation that suits the market."

Variances in Taste
Sagner suggests that there are some distinct differences between Locomotion and other cartoon/children's channels. "First of all," Sagner states, "it's not a children's channel. It's an animation channel. Second, unlike other channels, this one was created specifically for the Latin American market, and we're selecting animation that best suits that market."

I asked Sagner how the market in Central and South America differs from American or European markets. In response, he said that, "There are subtle variances in taste and exposure. There are certain types of animation that, I think, you would have a harder time showing, for example, on Saturday morning in the US. For example, Asian animation from Korea or Japan, or certain European animation that I think the Latin American market is much more open to. He further points out that, "there are some Japanese series that would probably never see the light of day in the United States that have done exceptionally well in Latin America. Nevertheless, without getting too specific, the intent is to program the channel with a sensitivity to that market, instead of just taking what we have here and playing it down there."

This comment is an indirect reference to Locomotion's most direct competition, the ubiquitous Cartoon Network, which already broadcasts to the Latin American marketplace on a split day with its sister channel, TNT. (The two channels have a similar arrangement in both Europe and Asia.) The Cartoon Network, of course, has ready access to the Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros. and MGM animation libraries, which are owned by its parent company, Time Warner.

Flash Gordon. © Hearst Entertainment.

Thus, it is obviously counting on its partnership with the Cisneros Group to help level the playing field. "They bring," Sagner states, an unprecedented, for us, level of expertise about the Latin American marketplace, about programming, distribution and marketing.

"Locomotion," he points out, "is a 50/50 joint venture. So, they've been involved every step of the way, from the beginning, in terms of the development of the channel; and they will certainly be involved every step of the way in running it with us."

This partnership, however, will not extend to commissioning original programming produced in Latin America for the foreseeable future. Though there has apparently been some very preliminary exploration of the capabilities of the Latin-American animation industry, Sagner points out that they are "not quite there" in being able to handle series production.