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Tag: Carlos Biern

  • Jim Henson Co puppets its way into European distribution deal

    Jim Henson Co puppets its way into European distribution deal

    MUMBAI; The Jim Henson Co, currently celebrating seven decades of making children talk to felt, has appointed DeAPlaneta Entertainment to handle European distribution and licensing for several of its beloved children’s programmes.

    The agreement, signed as the puppet powerhouse marks its 70th birthday, covers distribution rights for award-winning shows including Dinosaur Train, Pajanimals, and Dot. Perhaps most notably, the deal includes the 1980s classic Fraggle Rock – proof that even after 40 years, audiences still can’t resist small creatures who live in caves and sing about radishes.

    DeAPlaneta Kids & Family content and media sales director Carlos Biern waxed lyrical about the partnership: “We are firmly committed to celebrating children’s content that encourages viewing as a shared experience. There is no better example than the output of The Jim Henson Co,” he said, presumably without having his hand operated from below.

    The Jim Henson Co  chief operating officer & president Chris Lytton added: “Parents around the world know that our productions will be innovative, educational, and of course entertaining,” neglecting to mention how many of those parents still feel emotionally scarred by the Skeksis from The Dark Crystal.

    DeAPlaneta Entertainment, a joint venture between Grupo Planeta and DeAgostini, has previously distributed acclaimed films including The Pianist, The King’s Speech, and 12 Years a Slave – all of which would have been markedly different had they featured Muppets.

    The Jim Henson Co’s recent productions include the Oscar-winning Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix and Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock for Apple TV+.

    The company continues to operate from Los Angeles, New York and London, quietly refusing to acknowledge that most children today would rather watch a teenager unbox toys on YouTube than engage with a talking sock.

  • Mip Junior puts spotlight on VOD

    Mip Junior puts spotlight on VOD

    CANNES: Mip Junior took off on 5 October at the tony Carlton Hotel in Cannes.

    The spotlight was on children’s content as delegates discussed everything from tight budgets to the change in focus to Video on Demand (VOD) to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

    The first session ‘Money Matters: Finding Finance in New and Different Ways’, moderated by Debbie Macdonald consultant Debbie Macdonald and presided over by Snow River Media chief executive Angus Flethcher, concentrated on new business models, opportunities and challenges facing the independent creative and producing world.

    “Technology has changed and so has the audience. The audience is moving dramatically from one platform to the other. There is an extraordinary revolution going on, and it’s exciting to be in the middle of that change,” said Flethcher, adding that though television could be scary, the good part is: “We can directly speak to our audience. Producers today need not make a half an hour or one hour series. Instead they can create a one minute video for the internet and get immediate feedback.”

    He said content producers now had both newer entry points and people to talk to. Citing the example of Angry Birds, he elaborated: “The character was developed with a story, not as a series, but as a game, and it has done tremendously well.”

    The first session stressed on the importance of the VOD platform. While it was the success of Netflix that made everyone think of VOD as a medium to reach out to audiences, BRB Internacional CEO Carlos Biern said, “Most important is the audience (kids), who can, with VOD, be glued to animation 24X7.”

    Whereas the second session, ‘New Content Deal-Making: get the most of your VOD rights’, spoke about how the VOD platform could be utilised to reach out to audiences. Biern observed it could prove fruitful for advertisers as well while The Jim Henson Company executive vice president, global distribution Richard Goldsmith informed: “VOD is quickly becoming television. So while we look at VOD as a separate source of income, every time we have a conversation with channels, they also want to buy the VOD rights. This shows how important it is becoming for all of us.”

    What emerged is that while Netflix and Amazon may continue to rule the roost, the remaining VOD players had to stand out from the crowd. “We want to become the only option in children’s tablets and smart phones. We all need to involve with our brands to be able to connect with our target group,” said Toon Goggles managing director Stephen L Hodge.

    The key takeaways of the talks seemed to be that every show will sooner than later turn into an app and that SVOD will soon replace standard linear television.