Animation
World Magazine, Issue 3.2, May 1998
MIP-TV: Animation in Crisis?
by Julien Dubois
The 35th MIP-TV, held in Cannes from April 3 to April 8, 1998, was
marked by a slight lowering of attendance. The absence of South-East Asian
countries, because of grave financial difficulties, partly explains this
decrease. None of this hindered China, however, from making its intentions
known to play an important role in the world television market. Central
and Eastern Europe made a remarkable entrance into the market, especially
the Russians, whose financial means are in full growth.
Cartoon Network's inflatable character
float livened up the bay
and set the scene for the market in Cannes.
Photo by and © Scott Ingalls.
"The market for animated programs in Germany
is very difficult, as well as in England, where many shows are stockpiled,"
stressed Peter Worsley, Director of Sales and Operations at Europe Images,
one of the largest distribution companies in France. "The same in
the United States, where there seems to be less money in the syndication
market, and in Japan, where local productions remain quite dominant. On
the other hand, there are opportunities where the market is growing, like
in South America, Italy, and also in Spain for the regional broadcasts."
In this general context, a remark by one of the participants perfectly
sums up the ambiance of this MIP-TV: "You're no longer there for show,
but to do business." MIP was calm, professional and very dynamic.
The market is now at a stage where a company's library demands priority.
Without a doubt this year's MIP-TV allowed one to take note of the "new
world order" which now reigns in the audiovisual program industry,
that of the advent and multiplication of channels broadcast by cable and
satellite, whose direction and buyers are presently clearly identified
by the sellers.
Photo by and © Scott
Ingalls.
Just Try to Get Some Air Time
"The principal difficulty at present
consists of managing and trying to procure the broadcast windows between
general and thematic channels," detailed Peter Worsley. This new order
is evidently not without consequences in the production sector, which includes
animated programs and series. "We're leaving a period in which animation
production enjoyed a spectacular growth," explains Christian Davin
of the French production company Alphanim. "Growth and the merging
of companies have gone hand in hand in Europe and in the U.S.. However,
independent American producers have suffered a lot from this phenomenon
of vertical integration. European production, very successful thanks to
the boom that took place in the old world, is currently very much in demand
by the American market, which is looking to Europe for 20% to 30% of the
financing for its programs." As an example of this point, one could
cite the co-development and co-production agreement signed during MIP-TV
between Porchlight Entertainment (U.S.) and Millimages (a European studio
grouping) for The Rooties (26 26-minute episodes), an "animated
cartoon fantasy" destined for the four to eight year-old audience.
"The opportunities for co-production between the two continents have
multiplied, while the cultural gap that separates them is less important,"
adds Christian Davin. "The artists have traveled a lot during the
past five years. The Americans are less reticent than they used to be regarding
artistic collaboration, and it's no longer rare that a series conceived
in Europe finds partners and markets across the Atlantic. The world is
getting smaller."
Fred Flintstone in front of the
Warner Bros. booth at MIP TV `98.
Photo by and © Scott Ingalls.
Shrinking Financing
And so is the market, it seems. Financing
is becoming more difficult, due to the joint effect of the fragmentation
of the audience and the fall of advertising revenues from commercial broadcast
channels, which have always been the only ones able to finance animation
programs. Even if the new cable and satellite channels multiply pre-sales,
as one saw at the MIP-TV, a recession is on the way. "We're entering
a period of crisis," stressed Marc du Pontavice, director of Gaumont
Multimedia. "A lot was produced during the last five years. The stockpile
of programs is at the highest level. There is a very important multiplication
of possibilities to broadcast programs, but at the same time there is a
certain shrinking of the opportunities for financing."
Two trends will probably prevail over the market in the upcoming years:
one, an increased concentration of production in fewer hands, and two,
large studios will gather necessary capital by considerably augmenting
their part of the market, which is on par with stressing the importance
of a library and the management of rights to receipts. "When a market
is on the verge of recession, you have to increase your part of the market,"
declared Robert Rea, Director General of Ellipse at the opening ceremonies
of MIP-TV. His department, Ellipsanime, the youth and family wing of Ellipse
(a partner in audiovisual production with Canal+), announced shortly before
this 35th MIP-TV its intention to expand its production considerably by
going from 3 to 8 series a year and from 200 to 400 million francs [roughly
$33 million U.S. to $67 million U.S.] of business volume. It is also a
goal to double the size of the catalogue exploited by Ellipse and Canal+DA,
which is currently 600 half-hours, within the next three years.
For the independents, who work in Europe or across the Atlantic, the chances
of survival undoubtedly rest in lowering costs. "Soon you won't be
able to market a 2-D series for more than 35 million francs [roughly $5.8
million U.S.], when the production is sub-contracted in Asia," Marc
du Pontavice estimates. "With the new technologies -- whole computers
can be carried in the palm of your hand! -- we're going to have to produce
series of 26 episodes of 26-minute shows for less than 30 million francs
[roughly $5 million U.S.]."
Quality and Niche Audiences
Cheaper series, if they want to sell,
will have to prove their excellence on the level of writing. In a market
where the audience is more and more fragmented, the targeted audience evolves
over time as a result. "We've left the Disney era," explains
Christian Davin. "Animation today reaches a larger and larger public,
a family public. There are a lot of projects in development, but still
few venues for distribution of this type of program. One can expect that
the venues will follow."
Gaumont MultiMedia announced during MIP-TV an agreement with TPS, a digital
platform rivaling that of Canal+ in the French marketplace, involving the
pre-purchase of the series Oggy and the Cockroaches (78 7-minute
episodes), which will be broadcast every week in prime-time before a program
on the cinema channel Cinestar. "The broadcasters need a programming
leader, an engine," added Marc du Pontavice from his viewpoint. "There
are niches to exploit with a very high-scale cartoon series. The positioning
in prime-time is one of these niches. There will be many called but few
chosen. The financing, which should be on a comparable level to live-action
stories, is there. You have to be in the position to develop a series in
which the writing is of excellent quality in order to convince the programmers
that the audiences will follow."
Julien Dubois is a journalist who lives in Paris, France. For 10 years,
he has been exploring the wings of this gigantic dream industry, the television
industry.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
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