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Developing Flashanimated
series Qumi
Qumi from scratch, The
Riki Group has a global
audience in mind
20 May/June 2012
Nick appointed The Riki Group as its exclusive licensing
agency in the Russian market.)
“We’d like to be part of the story of helping the thriving
Russian animation market develop,” says Walters. Nickelodeon
has a track record of working with local content producers
to develop strong shows, and Walters points to series
like House of Anubis (Studio 100) and Rainbow’s Winx Club
as projects that were hatched in smaller local markets and
then introduced internationally.
Walters says collaborating with TNT to create a complementary
programming schedule has helped to drive viewers
to the pay channel. Roughly 3.7% of the Russian population
tuned into Nickelodeon last year, according to French ratings
fi rm Eurodata. But Walters says since 2010, the channel has
doubled the viewing time of its nearest pay-TV competitor.
Russian airwaves
Previously closed off to international content, the volume
of children’s programming in the Russian market has increased
tenfold in recent years. Besides Cartoon Network
and Nickelodeon, which both operate pay-TV channels in
the territory, Disney recently announced that it’s launching
a free-to-air channel that will reach 40 million households
via a 49% stake in Seven TV (a broadcast channel
owned by Russian media fi rm UTH). The launch is slated
for this year and will include Disney programming plus
original Russian content.
“Digitization has brought international channels to Russia,
which stimulates market competition,” says Tatiyana
Tsyvareva, editor-in-chief at Carousel, a 24-hour children’s
channel that terrestrial broadcaster Channel One (Russia
1) launched in December 2010. It’s available as part
of free-TV packages across cable, satellite and broadcast
digital networks. “Competition inevitably benefi ts the audience,
as TV producers strive to bring viewers the best,
highest-quality content.”
She explains that acquired content comprises less than
50% of Carousel’s schedule and includes international cartoons
and features. The majority of the channel’s airtime,
however, is devoted to classic Russian animation and new
originals from local producers.
Though the availability of children’s programming has
increased in Russia, opening up a market for animation
production, the domestic broadcast scene is not without its
challenges. While Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network currently
have Russian feeds, and Carousel off ers free digital
kids programming, RAFA’s Popov says kids and families are
largely still watching free-to-air terrestrial programming.
Additionally, the territory has no laws limiting the presence
of foreign content, so Russian shows—which make up the
bulk of kidsnet programming in the country—have to compete
for timeslots against all-ages foreign acquisitions.
But obtaining backing from a local broadcaster is an
important part of any co-production equation, so RAFA is
also working with Russian broadcasters to create a national
program that will actively solicit channel involvement in
projects at an early stage of development. “RAFA’s objective
is the development of a mature market in which conditions
exist to ensure that all players are developing the animation
market,” says Popov. She says plans also include lobbying
for a partial relaxation of current legislation that bans
advertising during all children’s terrestrial programming,
which aff ects license fees. “If broadcasters have the ability
to sell advertising, they’ll be able to pay more for animation,
which will have a positive impact on studios,” says Popov.
The association also plans to use the power of its membership
to work together on initiatives to combat piracy, an issue
that plagues the territory.
Keeping up with demand
Though the domestic broadcast scene is still developing,
Popov says the signifi cant increase in locally produced
original series over the last decade has nevertheless created
a demand for Russian animation. In fact, she says
several of the larger studios now outsource their more labor-intensive
production to Asia, India and smaller studios
located outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg, where rates
are lower. Unlike other fl edgling animation territories that
have built up industry cred through service work, Russia’s
reputation has gotten a boost from its feature fi lm production
activity over the past few years. Service work, however,
isn’t out of the question and Popov says a number of RAFA
members are planning to develop service units. She adds
that one of Russia’s largest studios, Soyuzmultfi lm, is in
discussions to create a shared production facility. “The idea
is to give private studios access to service and resources to
create their projects,” says Popov.