{"id":9272,"date":"2016-01-15T11:58:48","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T16:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/tg-takes-off\/"},"modified":"2016-01-27T14:28:19","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T19:28:19","slug":"tg-takes-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/tg-takes-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Toon Goggles Takes Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kids\u2019 content platform Toon Goggles has ambitious growth plans for 2016, including ramping up its slate of original IP. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Since its launch in 2012, the children\u2019s content platform Toon Goggles (TG) has been working aggressively to establish a presence on as many consumer-electronics devices as possible. The on-demand entertainment platform, delivering games, animated and live-action series and music, has deals with Verizon\u2019s mobile service go90, smart-TV manufacturers like VIZIO and Hisense and tablet makers such as Kurio, among many others. That extensive reach has been key to the platform\u2019s growth, says CEO Stephen L. Hodge.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs crowded as the market is, in a lot of places we\u2019re the only children\u2019s service available,\u201d Hodge notes. \u201cIf you were to turn on a VIZIO TV, we\u2019re the only children\u2019s service there. If you were to turn on a Panasonic, we\u2019re one of two children\u2019s services there. You turn on any smart TV, you\u2019re going to find Toon Goggles. On a lot of those devices we\u2019re preloaded and \"Image\"on some of those devices we have buttons on the remotes [as is the case with] Seiki, and we\u2019re on the packaging. From the very beginning we have focused on being where children are consuming content. There are a lot of other companies that just exist in the App Store\u2014we\u2019ve always focused on being a bit more than that. That\u2019s helped us with a lot of our consumer recognition. We haven\u2019t been spending capital on user acquisitions. Our users are discovering us from unboxing their Panasonic TV, going to the children\u2019s section and seeing Toon Goggles heavily promoted. They\u2019re going onto their VIZIO TV or the recently launched Hisense TV and as soon as you launch the on-demand section, you see Netflix and you see Toon Goggles.\u201d<\/p>\n

To propel the company forward into its next stage of growth, TG is now focusing on more original IP development and ramping up its licensing and merchandising activities. \u201cWe want to separate ourselves from others in this space,\u201d Hodge says. \u201cWe\u2019re at a point where we have enough distribution that our service is recognizable on many different platforms. We\u2019d like to build our service into a destination where more engagement can happen. The easiest way to make that happen is for us to be in control of the IP, so that we can quickly make a decision to turn an IP into a show, turn it into a game, turn it into an interactive book, etc., and then licensing and merchandising plays into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

To aid in its IP and L&M expansion efforts, TG recently brought on Lee Adams as its CCO. For Adams, developing content for an on-demand service presents a range of new opportunities as compared with the development process at traditional linear broadcasters. \u201cWe can accelerate the development and production process,\u201d Adams says. \u201cUsually there\u2019s a testing phase and then a focus group. When we have the first episode, we\u2019re able to put it up and in real time see how kids are reacting to the characters or the plot. So it\u2019s kind of like our audience is going to be developing the series as we are developing it. And it keeps the show relevant as we\u2019re able to see how the trends are changing and adjust accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, Hodge adds, \u201cWhile production is happening, the assets that are created can be used to produce different types of interactive books and games and other experiences that further promote the coming show, as well as provide good engagement for our users.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams also points to the flexibility that an on-demand platform offers in terms of content duration. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to do three 7-minute [segments] to fit into a half-hour. We want IP holders to lose those restrictions. So if [someone] wanted to do a show that\u2019s 2.5 minutes or 6 minutes, but could never get it on Nick or Disney, we\u2019re the platform for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

TG is also looking to add more third-party content to its offering. \u201cWe\u2019re basically open to any acquisition or co-production model, any genre as long as it fits into family, and any medium,\u201d Adams says.<\/p>\n

TG\u2019s first foray into original programming was Eddie is a Yeti<\/em>, produced in association with Italy\u2019s Mondo TV, which is distributing the show worldwide. Also in production are The Magic Academy<\/em> and Fairy Tale<\/em> Stories from Real Life Puppets.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hodge says that expanding the reach of TG\u2019s original IP is key. \u201cWe want other platforms to also be able to enjoy our properties, exploit our properties and help with distribution of those properties, because merchandising is where we really have our hopes and ambitions set. The only way for us to truly be successful in that arena is to have as many eyeballs on our content as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The platform has found that shorter-form content of 3- to 5-minute episodes tends to be more popular on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Users on set-top boxes and smart TVs are more likely to be engaged in shows of more traditional 7- or 22-minute episode lengths.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also find that, because of the nature of the devices that are being used, our users want content that is as high-definition as it gets,\u201d Hodge says. \u201cThat\u2019s the reason Toon Goggles is also a pioneer in the distribution of 4K content. We actually have one of the largest libraries of 4K content for children, which is being consumed heavily on our platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hodge believes that this 4K expertise gives TG a leg up in its expansion plans. \u201cA lot of cable companies are adopting an IP-based method for distributing their content. The main reason for that is so they can broadcast 4K, which cannot be distributed on traditional cable coaxial lines. That opens the door to over-the-top services like ours to become cable channels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hodge and Adams have identified a number of other key growth opportunities for 2016, among them eBooks. \u201cWe\u2019ve created a proprietary technology that makes the experience robust and the turnaround quite quick,\u201d Adams says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also really want to focus on second-screen engagement,\u201d Hodge adds. \u201cA children\u2019s platform is probably the perfect place to promote some type of second-screen engagement, where an application can be interacting with the program that\u2019s on TV or on a set-top box or on a gaming system.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The kids\u2019 content platform has ambitious growth plans for 2016, including ramping up its slate of original IP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":9273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[133,278],"class_list":["post-9272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","tag-ott","tag-toon-goggles","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nToon Goggles Takes Off - 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\/tg-takes-off\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Toon Goggles Takes Off - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The kids\u2019 content platform has ambitious growth plans for 2016, including ramping up its slate of original IP.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/tg-takes-off\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-15T16:58:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-01-27T19:28:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2015\/09\/toon-goggles.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/tg-takes-off\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/tg-takes-off\/\",\"name\":\"Toon Goggles Takes Off - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-15T16:58:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-27T19:28:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/tg-takes-off\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/tg-takes-off\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/tg-takes-off\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Toon Goggles Takes Off\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\",\"name\":\"TVKIDS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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