{"id":16523,"date":"2019-06-07T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2019-06-07T13:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2019-06-10T09:29:58","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T13:29:58","slug":"france-toons-in-2019-06","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/france-toons-in-2019-06\/","title":{"rendered":"France Toons In"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristin Brzoznowski explores the current opportunities and challenges facing the French animation sector.<\/em><\/p>\n

The history of French animation is among the longest, and most enviable, in the world. France was the birthplace of some of the earliest animated films, dating back to the late 19th century. Throughout the years, the country has cultivated a rich tradition of storytellers and animators that is still alive and thriving today, as it\u2019s home to a number of highly respected and internationally renowned animation schools, the famed Les Gobelins among them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is not only a long tradition of French animation but also a strong foundation,\u201d says Pierre Sissmann, chairman and CEO of Paris-based Cyber Group Studios. \u201cI\u2019m talking about 70 or 80 years of people working in the industry, learning and being nourished by fairytales and then creating original stories. That explains why France, today, is the number one country in Europe for animation, not only with television series but also feature films.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, the latest figures from the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image) and TV France International illustrate animation as France\u2019s most valuable programming export. In 2017, a year when the country set an all-time TV-programming export record, animated content accounted for 37 percent of French sales, for a total revenue of nearly \u20ac76 million\u2014compared to \u20ac64 million for fiction and \u20ac36 million for documentaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe industry has reached a new high,\u201d affirms J\u00e9r\u00f4me Alby, managing director of Mediatoon Distribution, which is part of the French conglomerate Media-Participations. \u201cThere are lots of good IPs in Europe that travel quite well. The free-to-air channels were commissioning so much animation, plus movies, that France developed an expertise. That is a key asset that we have in terms of having students who are very well taught; we have very strong schools and very good writers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commissioning landscape in France, however, is bracing for some changes, Alby explains. For one, France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions is planning to shut down the free-to-air France 4 channel, which boasts a bevy of kids\u2019 and family programming. Meanwhile, Gulli, the country\u2019s leading free-to-air digital channel for children, and its sister networks, Canal J and TiJi, are transitioning ownership to M6 Group. \u201cSo, there are some worries within the French animation sector,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

CHANGING TIMES<\/strong>
\n\u201cThe French and European animation market is definitely going through some big changes, which triggers numerous new challenges but also creates many new opportunities,\u201d says Delphine Dumont, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and co-productions at Zodiak Kids. \u201cThese opportunities vary, depending on what point of view you are looking at things from (content creators, producers, distributors and platforms, both linear and digital), but we are all in a period of transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The transformation of distribution and the proliferation of platforms are causing the biggest changes in the sector, she says. \u201cViewing habits are now incredibly varied, but importantly, demand for content has never been so strong, resulting in a healthy commissioning market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the greatest challenges is being able to produce enough content to satisfy the demand, which has accelerated as a result of the rapid multiplication of platforms,\u201d says Morgann Favennec, the executive VP of global sales development at Xilam Animation. \u201cWith so much competition, it\u2019s also a challenge for the industry to create content that will cut through the noise and keep audiences tuning in. Our strategy is to look for new properties with a distinct, unique concept and engaging characters, to hook kids in immediately and keep them coming back week after week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lionel Marty, the managing director of APC Kids, agrees that competition is as stiff as ever. \u201cMore and more titles are produced in Europe every year, and the traditional content-provider markets, such as France, the U.K., Italy, Spain and Germany, are now not only facing competition from the U.S., Canada and Japan, but also from growing rivals, including Russia, Latin America and Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeanwhile, broadcaster demand has not accelerated at the same pace as the content offering,\u201d he continues. \u201cTraditional broadcasters still have limited time slots for kids\u2019 content, and the schedules of kid-dedicated channels rely heavily on multiple runs of the most successful titles, while SVOD platforms tend to focus on properties with built-in audience awareness. Therefore, it takes high creative values, combined with the right marketing approach, for a property to stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n

RAISING THE BAR<\/strong>
\nCyber Group\u2019s Sissmann says that with regard to creativity, digital platforms have opened up more potential for serialized storytelling. \u201cAnother good thing is that some of the platforms have a lot of money, so your ambitions, in terms of special effects and storytelling, can be [greater]. One of the series that we\u2019re currently doing has a budget of about \u20ac9 million, another one has a budget that went to \u20ac12 million, and these are both for traditional television. We felt that we had to compete\u2014in terms of visuals, special effects and storytelling\u2014with all the other new series on digital platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, being ambitious is a good thing for the animation business at large, but the issue is finding the financing to remain competitive, says Sissmann. \u201cIf you look at the traditional [budget] for a French series, the average price is \u20ac7 million to \u20ac7.5 million, because that\u2019s what the market allows in terms of financing and how you can recoup your investment. To compete on the world market can be much more expensive, and hence, this creates financing issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sissmann also notes that many OTT platforms want to own all rights to the IP created for them. \u201cI\u2019m afraid that independent producers are going to struggle,\u201d he says. \u201cThey will need to fight to get this new budget and will eventually wind up doing work for hire and not for their IPs anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mediatoon\u2019s Alby says that in this changing marketplace, it\u2019s important for distributors to \u201cmanage the best possible balance between exposure, exclusivity, holdback and revenue. For the time being, we found a maximized balance by starting with linear broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sees that digital platforms are increasing in importance for the French animation sector. \u201cFor Mediatoon, if we add up free VOD, AVOD, SVOD and TVOD, it\u2019s more than a third of our global turnover, in terms of exploitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the growth in OTT and the impending changes to the country\u2019s free-to-air landscape, the pay-TV channels \u201care facing new challenges,\u201d says Alby. \u201cThey are constantly enriching a combined linear and nonlinear strategy so as to avoid being cornered by the linear free-to-air channels on one side and the SVOD and OTT on the other side. So, most of the key pay-TV networks are developing their SVOD and\/or OTT offers. The same goes for the free-to-air channels, making for exciting times ahead!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe OTT alternatives created by European networks and telecom companies keep improving,\u201d notes APC Kids\u2019 Marty, highlighting the impact this has had on the creative community in France, and in Europe as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe anticipate that the demand for more and more content will continue to grow, with an increasing number of requests for exclusive rights,\u201d says Xilam\u2019s Favennec. \u201cAs a result, if you want to produce for a broad range of platforms and broadcasters, you have to be robust and have a solid business strategy, while also remaining attractive to new creative talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrench animation remains one of the most prolific markets, thanks to an abundance of kids\u2019 channels and service providers\u2014producers, studios and distributors\u2014and very strong funding grants such as the CNC model,\u201d adds Zodiak Kids\u2019 Dumont. \u201cThe metamorphosis of France TV and the arrival of Disney+ in the territory will definitely change the landscape and the way things have traditionally been done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with the changes looming in France\u2019s TV market, Cyber Group\u2019s Sissmann maintains an optimistic outlook for the country\u2019s animation sector. \u201cI\u2019m feeling positive about the future,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I think the challenges are very big. How do you adapt to the new platforms? How do you manage your SVOD rights? How does that impact storytelling? These are some of the challenges that we\u2019re facing. But, with its strong foundation and tradition of artists, with its world-renowned animation schools and with the French government\u2019s support, France is better positioned than anywhere else to face these challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kristin Brzoznowski explores the current opportunities and challenges facing the French animation sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":16524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,21],"tags":[1894,145,231,1867,207],"class_list":["post-16523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-apc-kids","tag-cyber-group-studios","tag-mediatoon-distribution","tag-xilam-animation","tag-zodiak-kids","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nFrance Toons In - 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\/france-toons-in-2019-06\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"France Toons In - 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