06 August 2008
Pre-school kid's channel JimJam, which was launched in the Middle East on Showtime Arabia in April, is looking to expand its reach in the region through additional distribution deals, according to its general manager.
Wayne Dunsford told Emirates Business the channel is not ruling out other platforms, and is currently in talks with satellite TV and radio network Orbit.
JimJam is also launching into Russia and Bulgaria through its new Middle East feed.
Dunsford said the brand's recognition has opened doors in terms of negotiating with potential platforms and promoting the channel to subscribers. "Showtime is the first platform that we're launching, but it won't be the only platform. The wider the distribution, the easier it is for us to meet the inherent costs in producing a channel like this for the region," he said. The channel hopes to more than double its current 7.5 million global subscribers to 20m in the next five years, said Dunsford.
What's driving JimJam's interest to expand its global reach in the Middle East at the moment?
JimJam is a commercial channel so our interest in the Middle East is getting the best possible distribution on the best platforms to drive revenues - particularly as we are dubbing the channel fully in Arabic so there are inherent costs in that.
What's the business case for launching in the Middle East given the fragmentation of the cartoon market?
There is no doubt that not only is there fragmentation, there's also a lot of competition, and we recognised right from the outset that we've come to the children's channel market very late. However, the business model is based on knowing that we've got content that parents and guardians of pre-school children will want them to watch. If you've got programmes on your channel that are instantly known, then no matter what fragmentation or competition there is in the market, you've got something that's strong enough to stand out.
How do you rank the size of the Middle East out of all the markets you operate in?
Our largest market is Italy and that is in fact where JimJam started in 2006. The Netherlands is our second biggest market, where we now have about a million subscribers. The Showtime platform [in the Middle East] in terms of its subscriber numbers is certainly one of our biggest single operators.
Do you expect the Middle East market to match the success you've had in Italy?
Not in terms of subscriber numbers, no. There are 4.2 million subscribers to JimJam on the Sky Italia platform it's a huge market. There isn't that distribution opportunity in the Middle East, in terms of pay-TV platforms, even if you put them all together. So in actual numbers it's not possible. In terms of potential viewership and appreciation of the channel, I hope we can achieve the same, if not more.
What are your future plans and growth targets for the next five years?
We're currently at about 7.5 million subscribers globally. I certainly hope we will be around 10m by the end of the year, looking at 15m over the next two years. The magic 20m is always one that appeals to me globally. Showtime is the first platform that we're launching but it won't be the only platform. We're in negotiation with other platforms; we're currently in talks with Orbit. The wider the distribution the easier it is for us to meet the inherent costs in producing a channel like this for the region.
What are your thoughts on the ad market and brand optimisation opportunities here?
It's something we want to explore in time but to drive any kind of ad sales on the channel you've got to have volume of distribution. We've got a small subscriber base so we're not looking upon ad revenues being a major source of income for the channel. We will look at advertising in different markets as we build up the distribution base. We're not going to see ad breaks between all of our programmes, so I think it's limited as to what we can expect [from ad revenues].
What's been your main challenge for expanding in the Middle East?
Just convincing the platform. Without the distributor being on board, we'll never have a business. When you go to a platform such as Showtime with another kids' channel, you've really got to identify what separates you from the other channels. Once you've convinced them the next challenge is to work with that in terms of driving viewership and audience appreciation.
Pre-school kid's channel JimJam, which was launched in the Middle East on Showtime Arabia in April, is looking to expand its reach in the region through additional distribution deals, according to its general manager.
Wayne Dunsford told Emirates Business the channel is not ruling out other platforms, and is currently in talks with satellite TV and radio network Orbit.
JimJam is also launching into Russia and Bulgaria through its new Middle East feed.
Dunsford said the brand's recognition has opened doors in terms of negotiating with potential platforms and promoting the channel to subscribers. "Showtime is the first platform that we're launching, but it won't be the only platform. The wider the distribution, the easier it is for us to meet the inherent costs in producing a channel like this for the region," he said. The channel hopes to more than double its current 7.5 million global subscribers to 20m in the next five years, said Dunsford.
What's driving JimJam's interest to expand its global reach in the Middle East at the moment?
JimJam is a commercial channel so our interest in the Middle East is getting the best possible distribution on the best platforms to drive revenues - particularly as we are dubbing the channel fully in Arabic so there are inherent costs in that.
What's the business case for launching in the Middle East given the fragmentation of the cartoon market?
There is no doubt that not only is there fragmentation, there's also a lot of competition, and we recognised right from the outset that we've come to the children's channel market very late. However, the business model is based on knowing that we've got content that parents and guardians of pre-school children will want them to watch. If you've got programmes on your channel that are instantly known, then no matter what fragmentation or competition there is in the market, you've got something that's strong enough to stand out.
How do you rank the size of the Middle East out of all the markets you operate in?
Our largest market is Italy and that is in fact where JimJam started in 2006. The Netherlands is our second biggest market, where we now have about a million subscribers. The Showtime platform [in the Middle East] in terms of its subscriber numbers is certainly one of our biggest single operators.
Do you expect the Middle East market to match the success you've had in Italy?
Not in terms of subscriber numbers, no. There are 4.2 million subscribers to JimJam on the Sky Italia platform it's a huge market. There isn't that distribution opportunity in the Middle East, in terms of pay-TV platforms, even if you put them all together. So in actual numbers it's not possible. In terms of potential viewership and appreciation of the channel, I hope we can achieve the same, if not more.
What are your future plans and growth targets for the next five years?
We're currently at about 7.5 million subscribers globally. I certainly hope we will be around 10m by the end of the year, looking at 15m over the next two years. The magic 20m is always one that appeals to me globally. Showtime is the first platform that we're launching but it won't be the only platform. We're in negotiation with other platforms; we're currently in talks with Orbit. The wider the distribution the easier it is for us to meet the inherent costs in producing a channel like this for the region.
What are your thoughts on the ad market and brand optimisation opportunities here?
It's something we want to explore in time but to drive any kind of ad sales on the channel you've got to have volume of distribution. We've got a small subscriber base so we're not looking upon ad revenues being a major source of income for the channel. We will look at advertising in different markets as we build up the distribution base. We're not going to see ad breaks between all of our programmes, so I think it's limited as to what we can expect [from ad revenues].
What's been your main challenge for expanding in the Middle East?
Just convincing the platform. Without the distributor being on board, we'll never have a business. When you go to a platform such as Showtime with another kids' channel, you've really got to identify what separates you from the other channels. Once you've convinced them the next challenge is to work with that in terms of driving viewership and audience appreciation.
Profile: Wayne Dunsford, General Manager of JimJam
Prior to his post at JimJam, Dunsford spent 19 years with BBC where he was responsible for programming and presentation of BBC TV Europe later renamed BBC World Service Television. Among his many endeavours at the BBC, Dunsford led his team to create the international commercial television channel BBC Food, which launched into Africa in 2002, in Europe in 2003 and in the Middle East in 2005.
As general manager for JimJam, Dunsford manages the relationship between the joint venture partners and co-ordinates the pre-school TV channel's business activities.
The channel was acquired in September 2007 as part of a joint venture partnership between Chellomedia, a Liberty Global company, and UK-based HIT Entertainment, to launch and distribute JimJam internationally.
By Safuri Rahimi
© Emirates Business 24/7 2008
