Marc Buhaj

TV Kids Weekly, September 9, 2008

Senior VP, Programming

Jetix Europe

The last year or so has seen a fair bit of restructuring at Jetix Europe, the kids’ service that stretches across almost 60 markets and some 51 million homes in Europe and the Middle East, broadcasting in 19 different languages. Its distribution is now being handled by Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, a division of Jetix’s majority owner, The Walt Disney Company. And on the content front, Marc Buhaj, the senior VP of programming, has been hard at work diversifying the Jetix brand beyond action fare for boys.

“Broadening the audience is definitely part of the strategy,” says Buhaj, who relocated to London early in 2007 to take up his current role following a successful stint at Cartoon Network in the U.S. “We have changed direction somewhat. We’re not just about men in Lycra,” quips Buhaj, referring to the channel’s long-running success with that evergreen boys’ TV hit, Power Rangers. “We’re focusing on character-driven comedy with both animation and live action and adventure comedy. We’re going to bring the laughs!”

“We’ll still have a boy core and a boy focus,” Buhaj continues, “but we will be girl inclusive. It does mean we’re going to need to raise the quality of what we do so that it doesn’t turn girls off. The onus is on us to step up to that.”

The channel has two series that reflect its new mandate: Kid vs. Kat and Jimmy Two Shoes. Kid vs. Kat, a co-production with Studio B and YTV in Canada, is about a 10-year-old boy who brings home a mysterious cat that turns out to be a malevolent alien. Jimmy Two Shoes, meanwhile, also a Canadian co-production, in conjunction with Breakthrough Animation and TELETOON, looks at what happens when you “introduce an unstoppable thrill-seeking optimist to the most miserable place in the world,” Buhaj says.

To ensure a robust development slate, Buhaj says he works with a variety of models to attract talent and quality projects to the network. “We can take a pitch from a writer who doesn’t have an artist attached, or an artist and we’ll attach a writer. We’ll work with a studio once they’ve optioned an idea, or we can come on board once there is another broadcast partner in place. As far as how we troll for ideas, it’s a combination of all the tried-and-true methods. Yes we’ll sit down and bounce ideas around ourselves. We’re constantly getting pitched. [We also get ideas by] looking at our audience and seeing what they’re doing—this is a big part of Jetix’s new direction. We’re doing a lot of research, globally and within Europe, on what our audience wants out of an entertainment brand.”

Buhaj adds that Jetix Europe is also looking to work more closely with its Disney Channel and Jetix colleagues in the U.S. for live-action series, tapping into the creative expertise that has gone into such global hits as Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

Acquisitions also form a core part of the Jetix Europe grid, and the service recently firmed up a deal for the 11th season of Pokémon. “Unlike most series, Pokémon has continued to gather momentum,” Buhaj says. “In the last two to three years, [it has] picked up and become one of the most potent kids’ brands with viewers.”

Heading into MIPCOM Junior, Buhaj says he and his team are on the lookout for series with a comedic bent that complement Jetix Europe’s original productions. “[We’re looking for] brands and characters that we can put front and center alongside the characters we’ll be focusing on out of our own production slate. I know that’s a broad shopping remit, but it really will be dictated by looking at each style as it comes on the screen at MIPCOM Junior and then assessing it show by show. The next hit isn’t something that we’ll be looking for; when Power Rangers became a hit back in the day, who would have said that live-action, Lycra-clad dudes and dudettes running around would capture the imagination of everyone? Who would have thought that a bunch of turtles, named after famous artists, who lived in a sewer and ate pizza would be a big hit? Who would have thought that a musical would be loved by kids and become a billion-dollar franchise? As I go to MIPCOM, it’s [about] not being too prescriptive.”

Buhaj has developed an eye for compelling kids’ content over numerous years in the business, getting his start in his native Australia as a children’s TV presenter. He soon decided to move behind the camera, landing at Seven Network before joining Turner Broadcasting System, first in the Sydney office and then later in Hong Kong, overseeing programming and acquisitions for Cartoon Network in such diverse markets as India and Taiwan. In 2004, Buhaj moved to the U.S. to become VP of programming and scheduling at Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

A key lesson he has learned over the years is that it’s not enough to just have a great TV show—scheduling and utilizing all the platforms available today are crucial. “The linear networks will sometimes be scheduled differently [from] broadband networks, wireless platforms. We’re scheduling content on sometimes four or five different platforms in any one territory. We’ve got some territories, for example the Netherlands, Israel, parts of CEE, that are almost 50/50 boy/girl. We’ve got others that are almost 80/20 boy/girl. As we roll out the new shows, we’ll have strategic events to make sure that they make as big a splash as possible. There’s no secret ingredient there, but if you get the alchemy right then you may strike gold.”

Buhaj has also learned that you’re not always going to get that mix right. “It’s knowing your market and your audience, and, eating a big slice of humble pie every now and then when things don’t go right! Believe me, I’ve had my fill. You have to listen to your audience.”

And those audiences are expecting multiplatform content as a given, Buhaj says. "As competitive as the landscape is, you want to have great pieces of media, whether they be the traditional 22- or 11-minute formats or great short-form content that can then sell the characters and the main locations of your series on other platforms. It’s important, but it’s not special, because our kids expect that. I’m sick of us patting ourselves on the back and saying, Hey, look at how we supplied this stuff to all these platforms.”

Adapting to the changing needs of young viewers is part of what Buhaj most enjoys in his role today. “You’re never going to feel safe or satisfied or complacent because it’s such a dynamic environment. We’re working to [serve] an audience and their tastes are constantly shifting. Ours is the most blunt and honest audience in the world. If they don’t like it, they’ll tell you—you have to have the mettle not to fall to pieces!”

—By Mansha Daswani