Amberwood Entertainment

September 23, 2009 World Screen
Jonathan Wiseman
Senior VP
 
What are some of your top properties for MIPCOM?
The Secret World of Benjamin Bear in cycle four, produced in HD and complimented by The Benjamin Bear Online Experience, currently in production for Playhouse Disney Canada. RollBots, with 26 HD half-hours commissioned by YTV and set to launch fall 2009 in the U.S., Latin and South America, Australia and Europe. Rob the Robot, a preschool series of 52×11-minute episodes currently in preproduction, commissioned by TV Ontario and co-produced with Singapore’s One Animation. The series is launching in 2010. We will also be bringing a very active slate of development properties covering several genres and demographics within the children’s arena and offering a sneak-peak to key broadcasters and potential co-producers.
 
Why will these programs appeal to buyers?
The Secret World of Benjamin Bear has been licensed to over 120 territories worldwide. It is a proven property that generates strong performance ratings. Cycle four freshens the brand will all-new HD episodes and engaging story lines. It is also further enhanced by Benjamin’s introduction to the online space with interactive activities, online games, and streaming video, which will be made available to all existing and future licensees of the brand. RollBots is a groundbreaking CG property with a sophisticated series arc and kinetic visuals. The brand continues to be picked up worldwide by top-tier broadcasters, strong merchandising agents, and world-renowned licensees in major product categories. The series is complimented by RollBots Online, which is an extensive gaming world for kids with original content that deepens the RollBots experience. Rob the Robot is wonderfully rich property based on a set of Australian books. Starring the ever-appealing Rob the Robot, children will be whisked away to the robot galaxy along with Rob and his friends as they accomplish everyday missions with the help of fun and laughter. The property launches in 2010 but early test scenes and scripts are garnering significant attention from potential broadcasters and licensees. Amberwood has an aggressive development slate with fresh and unique properties for preschoolers, 6- to 11-year-old viewers, and tweens. The concepts have a natural online and merchandisable element that is key to the brand. Amberwood’s revised development approach has also allowed us to push these concepts further down the creative process and we will be presenting impressive pitch material along with animation demos for the majority of our projects.
 
What are some of the trends you’re currently seeing in this market?
Although the market is challenging due to the economic climate, broadcasters are still looking for innovative concepts with brand potential and are willing to get involved at an early stage. Online still continues to be of importance in order to compliment new potential properties but content and mainly characters are still king. Engaging characters and story lines will always be in demand even through difficult times. One of the main issues at the moment is timing. Producers are being forced to be creative in terms of how they produce and how they finance new properties in order to move them forward on a timely basis. Co-productions continue to be of great importance to tap into additional creative and financial resources.
 
 

What are your goals and expectations MIPCOM?

Amberwood plans to continue to license its properties to top-tier broadcasters throughout the world at MIPCOM. Many existing buyers will be renewing Amberwood titles and acquiring additional cycles of proven properties. Amberwood’s other main goal is to connect with existing and new potential partners for future properties, whether they be international production companies, broadcasters or licensing entities.