Feb 12, 2018

Now is the time to buy anime. So hurry up and read this!

One month into 2018, Kidscreen starts today in Miami. For us animation people (and entertainment in general), that means the real beginning of the buying season.

It's time to stop saying "Happy New Year" to clients and get back to work! So get to it, write up your pitch bible, and set up your meetings. It's time to save your project from the PowerPoint, from the sketchbook, and into the hands of the buyers.

But before you start cold-calling and spamming everyone, here are some of my thoughts on the matter.

As you know, 2017 was a year of reckoning, beginning with the downfall of Harvey Weinstein. But with the fall of Roy Price (Amazon) and the firing of Chris Savino (creator of Nickelodeon's "The Loud House"), we got a jolt of animation. in 2018, Amazon and other streamers (Netflix, Hulu, Apple, etc.) will need to do business and meet their revenue targets. As such, they are still buying at a frenetic pace, but with one major caveat. Some of the majors in the digital distribution space are getting used to their new jobs and adapting to their new corporate structures in response to the aforementioned situation.

Here's the problem... They still desperately need content! There are literally billions of dollars in the budget. The downside is that these schedules are getting tighter and tighter as cash-rich companies need to prove their numbers in time for or before the launch of even more new services (Disney, Warner Bros/DC, Viacom).

But they've already gotten off to a nasty start, with executives dropping phrases like "ASAP" and "Q1 2019."

I am already feeling the squeeze. We will all have to be resourceful to meet the deadlines that are about to be imposed on our projects. But, as the saying goes, 'cheap, fast, and good - you only get two.'

On the more traditional side, TV stations and their affiliated production companies have been around for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 years ...... And I bet they would even say that they have continued business as usual, with the same sincerity they have had for the past 30 years.

In my experience, it is still a dream come true to be able to sign a contract with such a major company. However, I see no real change in their development process. This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good side is that they still have cash to spend and there are certainly smart people working in those places. So I believe in the power of good ideas and good packages. So I believe in the power of good ideas and good packages.

If your project can survive that process, the eyeballs are still bigger than any streamer can offer, especially with how good "well-established" children's marketing is. Networks are good at coordinating with toy companies to get their products on the shelves in sync with their programming. Vertical integration is a good thing.

The bad side, as far as I can tell, is that "business as usual" in these places is the same old glacially slow development-to-pilot-to-test process that can suck years out of your project and your life. Not to mention the odds of... Well, they suck. But people keep buying lotto tickets too. It may seem like they're tired of it already, but I still believe in Kickstarter, Patreon, Indiegogo, new Youtube channels, self-published comics, etc. Some ideas just need attention. Maybe today is not the day to sell, but to create.

Happy selling everyone, and may all see the green light in 2018!