Cake's sales manager, Julien Farcat, talks about surfacing content, improving discoverability, YouTube, IP and rights, Asia's acquisition habits, monetising kids content and what the biggest influences in 2020...

Are you seeing any significant changes in the way kids buyers are acquiring content in/for Asia?
"The main change would have to be the growing importance of new media rights. Many Free and Pay TV channels now insist on VOD rights which come in addition to the existing standalone SVOD platforms. VOD platforms including SVOD, AVOD and TVOD are more popular now and we have seen many requests for YouTube channel collaborations.

Windowing has become increasingly more complex. Indeed, new media platforms require further exclusivity, which can make some linear deals more challenging. in response, some linear channels will ask for longer exclusivity as well as additional holdbacks.

In terms of content, series aimed at 4-7 years and 6-12 years continue to work well and we have requests for educational content from time to time although less so than in Europe."

Did monetising kids content in Asia become more difficult in 2019? Why?
"Recent regulations have reduced opportunities in China by limiting foreign acquisitions to 30%. In the rest of Asia, the acquisition strategy has remained the same on the whole, although budget constraints have been experienced by some companies."

Do you think it will become easier to monetise kids content in 2020?
"With less foreign content in China, platforms have become more selective, as they are unable to acquire as much volume as before. In the rest of the region, we hope to conclude more VOD deals especially in India, with the launch of more VOD platforms. We need to be flexible ensuring our deals maximise revenue and exposure while ensuring we remain sensitive to different windowing requirements."

What do you think will have the biggest influence on kids programming (production and distribution) in Asia in 2020?
"New platforms such as Disney+, Warner Media, Universal etc will have an impact on the way in which broadcasters and platforms select their series. Some series will only be available exclusively on platforms and won’t be able to reach Free or Pay TV channels as they did before. Broadcasters and platforms will become more selective in their acquisitions whilst retaining as many rights as they can in order to meet tough competition and a growing number of broadcasters."

What industry sector in Asia acquires the most from you (free-TV, pay-TV, streaming, other)?
"Across the region, we are working mainly with Free TV channels followed by Pay TV channels. However, in China on the whole, we work with VOD platforms where we have successfully concluded deals with Tencent for PBS space series Ready Jet Go! and BAFTA-nominated Pablo which reflects the real-life experiences of children with autism. Space Chickens in Space, our co-pro with Anima for Disney XD is airing on Mango Hunan TV along with CBeebies pre-school series Olobob Top. We are working regularly with Free TV channels including RTHK in Hong Kong and EBS in Korea, as well as CJ for pay TV in Korea and across the region with Turner Asia, who acquired Total Dramarama, the much anticipated prequel to the globally successful Total Drama franchise."

How have rights negotiations for kids content changed in the past year or so?
"As VOD rights are taking on more significance, the strategy is now to include those rights in free and pay TV deals. Some standalone VOD platforms can provide additional business, but are not replacing linear deals in some regions in terms of value. Increasingly, key platforms are asking for exclusive rights and different windowing models that used to be possible, are now difficult to manage. The key now is to continue to develop business while simultaneously managing to accommodate each broadcaster’s requirements."

Excerpts of this interview were published in ContentAsia's print magazine for the ATF 2019