TELETOON’s Len Cochrane

October 2007

By CONTACT _Con-3F4A1850B c s l Mansha Daswani

It has been a decade since
viewers first tuned in to TELETOON, Canada’s first and only 24-hour animation
station. As it celebrates its tenth anniversary, the station reaches more than
7 million homes and 3 million kids aged 2 to 11, broadcasting English- and
French-­language programming. TELETOON has expanded beyond
the linear space, launching its brand online, on mobile and in the
video-on-demand arena. It has also launched a new service, TELETOON Retro, a
channel that offers classic animation. As president, Len Cochrane has been
driving TELETOON’s growth. He came up with the concept for the network and was
a founding board member until taking on his current role in 2001, following
more than a decade at Family Channel. He speaks with TV Kids about the network’s history and plans for further
growth.

TV KIDS: What
have been some of the highlights for the channel in the past decade?

COCHRANE: I
am most proud of our steady growth, year after year, to bring us to the point
where we are now: in over 7.2 million homes across Canada. Over the ten years
we have consistently been one of the top Canadian cable and satellite
viewership performers, plus our brand now has a 97-percent recognition factor
with Canadians.

For the first five years
we were primarily a kids’ network, but in September 2002 we added our
post–9 p.m. teen/ adult block, The Detour. This allowed us to expand our reach, gave us two
distinct demographic groups and was key in bringing TELETOON to where it is
today.

TV KIDS: How are you celebrating the anniversary?

COCHRANE: One of the major ways was by relaunching our brand
in February. We worked for 18 months to build a strong branding strategy that
carried the essence of TELETOON programming. Our new brand identity, including
on-air logos and IDs for daytime and The Detour, is smart, savvy and pop-culture
relevant—just like our shows. It was created with on-air, interactive,
print, new platforms and the launch of our new digital channel, TELETOON Retro,
in mind. We’ve built in a cohesive brand feeling regardless of platform or
channel. The launch was a great way to celebrate TELETOON’s past ten years and
energize us for the future.

TV KIDS: Sixty percent of your schedule is from Canadian
producers—how are you working to foster the local animation industry?

COCHRANE: First off, we invest 47 percent of our previous
year’s gross revenues in Canadian content. This is a tremendous investment in
the industry, but we don’t stop there. TELETOON goes beyond the financial
commitment by supporting Canadian shows on-air, off-line and on the other
platforms. We play Canadian shows in prime-time slots to ensure that they are
seen and have the opportunity to be highly successful. One of the network’s
most successful shows, Fresh Animation’s 6teen, is a Canadian production. We also support the
industry by nurturing new talent through our scholarship program for animation
students and our new Detour Pilot Project, where we offer full funding for the
production of pilots aimed at our nighttime, 14-plus audience.

TV KIDS: What are the major issues facing the Canadian
animation industry?

COCHRANE: The development of new, unregulated distribution
channels is a major challenge. While the number of platforms available for kids
to get content is increasing and audiences continue to fragment, the industry
is facing increased competition from abroad through unregulated distribution
channels.

TV KIDS: How are you serving your viewers across those
multiple platforms?

COCHRANE: Canada
is a little behind Europe and the Far East in this area, and the infrastructure
necessary to make VOD widely available has only recently been added. In April
of this year, we launched two new digital services, VOD and mobile TV. I am
extremely excited about the possibilities these new platforms present for
TELETOON and our partners. We also have a wildly popular interactive, gaming
website, teletoon.com, where we are seeing tremendous growth. We currently have
an amazing 1.3 million visitor sessions per month. TELETOON is up to the
challenge of delivering our programming on a full spectrum of platforms and I
look forward to working closely with our strategic partners to wholly take
advantage of future developments in new digital technologies.

TV KIDS: The U.K. is coping with the new ban on junk-food
advertising. What role should the industry play in regulating the kinds of
advertising kids are exposed to?

COCHRANE: I don’t want to speculate here, but perhaps the
U.K. industry should consider looking at the English Canadian model. Canada is
a world leader in responsible approaches to advertising to children and has a
strong system of checks and balances. The Broadcast Code for Advertising to
Children ensures that only those commercial messages that recognize and respect
the developing characteristics of the child audience are shown during
traditional children’s television viewing hours. The Canadian Code of
Advertising Standards provides a responsive consumer-complaint system where one
consumer complaint about an advertisement in any media triggers a review of the
ad and possible removal or changes. Plus, in 1990, the industry formed
Concerned Children’s Advertisers, which develops social marketing campaigns and
media literacy initiatives for kids, such as the current Children’s Healthy
Active Living program. This program provides Canadian children with tools to
support a balanced lifestyle and achieve optimal health and development.

TV KIDS: What
are your long-term goals for the channel?

COCHRANE: Right
now we are focused on launching the new TELETOON Retro channel, coming this
October. A number of years ago TELETOON had a very successful retro cartoon
block. Having the experience of airing these vintage cartoons informed us of
their wide audience appeal, so in the ensuing years we looked for a business
model that would work for us to bring them back with their own channel. I
really see this as a springboard for new growth for the network. In the
research we conducted that led us to launch Retro, we saw audience demand for
many niche areas within our core business of animation. Once we have that under
way we’ll certainly be looking out on the horizon for new opportunities.

TV KIDS: What’s the key to remaining competitive in an
increasingly cluttered marketplace?

COCHRANE: Listening to our audience and constantly adapting.
When our audience told us that our branding was no longer as fresh, smart, and
savvy as our shows, we listened and undertook a re-branding process. Throughout
the entire creative process we consulted not only our strategic partners, but
talked and listened to our 1,000-strong online youth advisory panel. Now our
audience owns our brand more than we do.

TV KIDS: What
attracted you to working in kids’ and family programming?

COCHRANE: My
first position in kids’ and family programming was at Family Channel in 1990.
At that time, I had three young children and I saw the opportunity to really
influence the programming my kids were watching. I was inspired to work closely
with Canadian producers to create quality children’s entertainment, the kind of
shows I wanted my kids to see.

TV KIDS: What
do you love most about your job?

COCHRANE: First let me say, What fun-loving adult wouldn’t
want my job? To work in the cartoon world is like being a kid every day. When
talking about this business, I like to say, “If you don’t like it, just wait a
minute.” Our business moves at light speed, with amazing creativity and
technological breakthroughs coming at us every day.