{"id":10723,"date":"2016-09-09T13:08:48","date_gmt":"2016-09-09T17:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/m4es-hans-ulrich-stoef\/"},"modified":"2016-09-09T13:11:34","modified_gmt":"2016-09-09T17:11:34","slug":"m4es-hans-ulrich-stoef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/m4es-hans-ulrich-stoef\/","title":{"rendered":"m4e’s Hans Ulrich Stoef"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hans Ulrich Stoef, the CEO of m4e, tells<\/em> TV Kids about the company\u2019s current production and development pipeline and shares insight into what retailers are looking for in the competitive L&M space.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since its inception, m4e has focused on turning children\u2019s and family entertainment IP into fully developed brands, with extensions that go far beyond the TV screen. This includes a robust licensing and merchandising (L&M) business, in addition to the creation, production and distribution of original animated and live-action programming.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> What are some of the current drivers of m4e\u2019s business?
\nSTOEF:<\/strong> Our major brand is Mia and me<\/em>. We are in the third season, which will be delivered by the end of 2016 or start of 2017. We are already in development on season four and a feature film on top of that.<\/p>\n

We came to MIPCOM 2015 with the new preschool show Wissper<\/em>, which has sold really well for us. We\u2019re very happy to have Nick Jr. in the U.S. on board. We have Discovery Kids as our partner in Latin America, ZDF and KiKA for Germany, CANAL+ in Poland and many others throughout Europe. The commissioning broadcaster on that show is [Channel 5\u2019s] Milkshake! The latest ratings showed that it\u2019s performing 75-percent above the channel average, which is a phenomenal success.<\/p>\n

We are going into a second season on Tip the Mouse<\/em>, so we\u2019re quite busy!<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> Tell us about m4e\u2019s foray into live action.
\nSTOEF:<\/strong> We have a series in development called Me, Mum & Mystery<\/em>. It\u2019s a family-oriented co-viewing show based on a book that we optioned from Atlantyca IP Agency. During the development process, Atlantyca signed on as a co-producer as well. MIPTV was the first market where we introduced Me, Mum & Mystery<\/em> to our broadcast partners in order to close the financing. This is our first trial on the live-action side. From time to time there will be more, but it\u2019s not our core discipline. Our core will remain animation.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> Is there a certain volume you try to maintain for production and development each year?
\nSTOEF:<\/strong> We are not a volume producer. It sounds like we have a large volume because we have so many series in development and shows going on simultaneously. We have 150 episodes in production, but it\u2019s mostly second or third seasons of our existing brands.<\/p>\n

We never had a very large development slate before. It takes a long time from [starting with an] idea until you can get it financed and produced, so we need to have a number of quality projects in development to make a long-term plan for the next six to eight years. That\u2019s what\u2019s happening for us right now. We believe more in quality than in quantity.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> What qualities does a property have to have to secure shelf space in the crowded L&M market?
\nSTOEF:<\/strong> Retailers are looking for big brands. It helps if you have a series that\u2019s been adapted from a very well-known book; that at least can open some doors. Retailers are also looking for famous brands that are coming from toy companies. On the other side, though, broadcasters don\u2019t like this as much. They don\u2019t want to just be a gatekeeper for the toys.<\/p>\n

The key is to have a good balance between story, brand and digital these days. It\u2019s not enough to just create a TV series based on a book. You need to add more to it in order to really attract [retailers] and the toy aspect needs to come in right from the beginning.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so difficult. Sometimes retailers will say, We want to see something fresh and have a new toy concept. Then you come with something new and fresh and the next day they tell you, We need a pre-promoted brand in order to put you on the shelf. Everybody believes that the [licensing] of existing brands is the safest business, and I would agree. It\u2019s not a guarantee for success, but it is the safest [strategy].<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> What areas of the business will you be focusing on in the year ahead?
\nSTOEF:<\/strong> For Mia and me<\/em> we have many more markets that we\u2019d like to crack. So far it\u2019s doing really well in Italy, Germany, France and some Eastern European territories. Next, we\u2019d like to go into Asia; this is a big priority.<\/p>\n

We want to have a successful launch for Wissper<\/em>. It has only started broadcasting in two territories so far, and we have another 45 territories where it\u2019s been sold and still needs to launch. We will then be coming out with the first licensing and merchandising products in about 12 to 16 months.<\/p>\n

We also need to fill the pipeline of projects for the coming years. We need to close the financing [on a number of them]. Coming from Germany, it\u2019s not an easy task! We are not a country with a lot of subsidies and don\u2019t get the necessary tax breaks in order to have a fair competition against other countries. So it takes a little longer [to put the financing together].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The CEO talks about the company\u2019s current production and development pipeline and shares insight into what retailers are looking for in the competitive L&M space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":10724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[1738,174],"class_list":["post-10723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","tag-hans-ulrich-stoef","tag-m4e","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nm4e's Hans Ulrich Stoef - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/m4es-hans-ulrich-stoef\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"m4e's Hans Ulrich Stoef - 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