Lionel Marty

March 23, 2009 World Screen

President, Worldwide Distribution
MoonScoop Group

The case of the new preschool series Chloe’s Closet is a good demonstration of the scope of the MoonScoop Group’s operations. Conceived of in the U.S. by its L.A.-based subsidiary, the show is being produced in the company’s animation studios in Wales and co-produced via MoonScoop’s LA office with KI.KA in Germany and ESP in the Benelux, while its Paris-based distribution arm has presold it to Disney Channel France, with other territories expected to follow throughout the year following its MIPTV launch. 

Born from the merger of Antefilms Production, France Animation and Mike Young Productions, the MoonScoop Group is rebranding all of its subsidiaries this year under the MoonScoop banner, including Taffy Entertainment, its worldwide sales division. The business represents the rights to all properties produced by MoonScoop companies, as well as third-party fare, with Lionel Marty overseeing the placement of these shows on networks around the globe.
 
"I think one of the strengths of the MoonScoop slate is that it has a high level of quality across all genres," Marty notes. "It’s a mix of either original productions or adaptations from books, and also it’s across preschool to comedy 6-to-9 to action-adventure shows."
 
On average, MoonScoop delivers five or six new series to the market every year, and it has amassed a catalogue of about 3,000 half hours and counting. It’s that sort of volume, Marty says, that will be the key to the company’s success as broadcasters scale back on their commissions and look for library fare to fill their schedules.
 
The bulk of MoonScoop’s business is derived from its own productions and co-productions, with recent successes that have included Dive Olly Dive! and Code Lyoko. A lead offering for MIPTV is Geronimo Stilton, which MoonScoop is producing and distributing with Italy’s Atlantyca Entertainment. The show is based on a book series that boasts more than 30 million copies published worldwide. "It is a strong background on which to build a brand with the animated series," Marty says.
 
Pre-sold to Radio Canada, and produced with the participation of RAI and M6, the series has also inked a master toy deal for Europe with Giochi Preziosi, and Marty says that MoonScoop is actively seeking other partners as additional broadcasters come on board in key territories worldwide. While MoonScoop is a key co-production partner on Geronimo Stilton, there are other properties where the company has come on board solely to handle distribution, as in the case of Gasp from Australia’s SLR Productions, which the company intends to launch internationally at MIPCOM.
 
About 10 percent of the MoonScoop catalogue is made of third-party acquisitions, Marty says. When evaluating potential properties to take on, Marty says there must be a "real attraction" to the brand, it must have some international appeal and it should easily extend to other platforms, beyond the TV screen. Lastly, Marty says, "it should complete our slate and not compete with one of our in-house shows."
 
Top offerings for MoonScoop at MIPTV, beyond Geronimo Stilton and Chloe’s Closet, include the French-Korean co-production Ava Riko Téo, which has already performed well on France 5 and EBS; Twisted Whiskers, in partnership with American Greetings Properties; and the 3-D comedy Bunny Maloney, about a fluffy rabbit with a serious temper.
 
As it continues to build its business, MoonScoop has identified live action as a growth area for this year. "We have plans in the pipeline," Marty says. "We will come to the market with an extremely high quality of production because competition is very strong and it will be our first move in that direction as a producer—we really want to make a big splash.