which you can watch here<\/a>.<\/strong> \u201cThunderbird is a high-quality, global content company,\u201d said Twiner McCarron. \u201cWe create, own and distribute award-winning factual, animated and scripted content worldwide. One of the differentiators for us is making sure that content is diverse and inclusive. Our studio was awarded most diverse and inclusive company in British Columbia this year.\u201d<\/p>\nAtomic Cartoons, which Thunderbird acquired in 2015, was formed as largely a work-for-hire outfit. Beat Bugs<\/em>, however, \u201creestablished Atomic as a co-producer and back on the IP side of things,\u201d Berkowitz explained. The goal, he said, \u201cwas to try to get to a point where we could be 50\/50 between service work and IP.\u201d<\/p>\nThe company\u2019s recent credits include Molly of Denali<\/em> for PBS KIDS and The Last Kids on Earth<\/em> for Netflix.<\/p>\n\u201cOn the service side you\u2019re operating on the margins of the production and getting your profits there,\u201d said Berkowitz on the business case for Thunderbird to develop and own its own IP. \u201cOn the IP side, if that shows takes off there\u2019s a lot of upside there and a lot of room to grow. We felt we were mature enough in terms of working on content that it was time to switch over and get into both revenue streams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goldsmith joined Thunderbird to oversee its IP distribution and consumer-products business across the company. \u201cOur main goal is to sell series and bring financing to make our productions happen. The company has largely been focused on North America, yet through relationships with other distributors before I joined, [our] series have been distributed all around the world. The second opportunity is to distribute other people\u2019s content. We soon will announce our first series that we\u2019re investing in as a distributor, not a producer. On the consumer-products side, we own some fabulous brands, whether it\u2019s The Last Kids on Earth<\/em> or Highway Thru Hell<\/em>. We think there\u2019s great value in mining the consumer-products rights that have not been mined before.\u201d<\/p>\nTwiner McCarron then talked about the studio\u2019s approach to attracting and retaining talent. \u201cOur job is to give them the best runway and experience possible so excellence can shine. We continue to focus on creating a safe space where no one feels like a number, where innovation can happen, mistakes are allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n
She went on to note that diversity and inclusion is a driver for the company. \u201cAs content providers, we feel it\u2019s our responsibility that every person, regardless of race or gender, can see themselves reflected back in content in a positive light, especially with kids\u2019 shows. It\u2019s the right thing to do, and it\u2019s good for business.\u201d<\/p>\n
On what\u2019s driving the surging demand for animation and content in general, Goldsmith noted, \u201cThe stage was set before Covid with the growth of the subscription VOD platforms. The fact that this year Netflix is going to spend about $17 billion on content, there\u2019s a lot of pressure on all of these subscription platforms to have just as much content and great quality. There\u2019s a huge appetite at the subscription platforms for high-end series, the kinds of series that we make. At the same time, you have the new AVOD platforms coming up that are mostly acquiring existing content, but in our recent conversations, they are going to go into the original content business, and that will open up even further for us. Lastly, the traditional television networks all have to compete with the ones we just talked about. Everybody needs content, more than ever. We think this boom will continue for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berkowitz also referenced the demand for animation outside of the kids\u2019 space, notably in co-viewing and family content, as well as in adult animation.<\/p>\n
The conversation then moved to brand-building strategies. Goldsmith noted that a lot of platforms are seeking out established IP. \u201cIt allows us to have a leg up with awareness, globally. Given that discoverability of shows is such a huge issue, it\u2019s one strategy to break through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, M&A is seen as part of the company\u2019s strategy for becoming a global studio. \u201cWe want to have other people at our table who represent regions that are important, like the U.K. and Europe and Asia and other places, to give a global perspective,\u201d Goldsmith said. \u201cIt will make us a better production company.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thunderbird Entertainment\u2019s Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO; Matt Berkowitz, president and chief creative officer; and Richard Goldsmith, president of global distribution and consumer products, shared details on the company\u2019s strategy to become a global studio at the TV Kids Festival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":22390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[6371,6372,1691,5723],"class_list":["post-22389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-jennifer-twiner-mccarron","tag-matt-berkowitz","tag-richard-goldsmith","tag-tv-kids-festival","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n
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