The man who runs Cartoon Network and Adult Swim tells Jesse Whittock about targeting full-evening wins over individual slots, the rise of gaming and developing hits in today’s environment.
Stuart Snyder
His predecessor Jim Samples had resigned after an Adult Swim marketing campaign in Boston ended with police carrying out a controlled explosion to deal with a suspected bomb threat. The incident cost Samples his job and Turner US$2m.
Snyder, then senior VP and general manager of former Turner-owned gaming business GameTap, came in as Samples’ replacement with a brief to continue growth of Cartoon Network’s biggest television brands, which include the ever-popular boys’ action adventure series Ben 10.
In the following four-and-a-half years, Turner’s president and chief operating officer for animation, young adults’ and kids’ media (which Turner abbreviates to AYAKM) has kept a markedly lower profile. He has focused on building his own vision of the third-largest US kidsnet through new show brands, digital content initiatives, international partnerships and community-focused campaigns against childhood bullying.
“When I look at where we are compared to 2007, we’ve got good momentum, we’ve got good brands and we’re set up for success. The network is – and this is a bold statement – in its best shape in a long time,” Snyder says.
This isn’t meant to be a slight to his predecessors. Snyder believes the network is simply in a stronger position and has numbers to prove it. “One of our main focuses is our primetime delivery – 19.00 to 21.00 in the States. All our numbers are up in our key demos,” he says. Viewing by kids aged 6-11 is up 10% (averaging 607,000), kids 2-11 is up 4% (874,000) and last year the network had its “best year ever” among kids 9-14, up 17% to 452,000.
The Amazing World of Gumball
The latter came out of Turner’s long-running relationship with sister firm Warner Bros Animation Studio, headed by veteran toon exec Sam Register. The partnership remains a fruitful one, says Snyder. “We’ve got a lot of shows we’re doing together, such as The Looney Tunes Show, MAD and Thundercats, and we’re talking about a lot of things for the future. It’s a great period for Warner Bros Animation and Turner.”
However, it has been a tougher period for the broadcast industry in general, Snyder notes. “The past few years has just been a tough time for business across the board. Everyone is looking to figure out what the next model and next step is. Everyone is being prudent, particularly when it comes to companies understanding how to deal with networks and bring their shows to market.”
Snyder’s tenure hasn’t been without its detractors. Animé series, once so popular with the network’s boy audience, have been scaled back as fresh content such as live-action series have risen, much to the chagrin of some Cartoon Network fanboys (as a quick Google search highlights).
Snyder is further embracing this “diversified air” (how Cartoon Network executives often describe the channel’s current make-up) by launching co-viewing programming such as Gumball and new live-action series Level Up.
Ultimately, Snyder says the fact that “children are truly embracing Monday night’s new generation of comedies” – which include Adventure Time, Regular Show and DC Comics’ MAD – prove the network is heading in the right direction. “It is important networks and brands know what they are and what their strengths are. What we’ve cultivated and what our audience has reacted to is focusing on boys but making programming that invites girls, and that’s exactly what we’ll continue to do,” he says.
Moving towards a more balanced channel has been taken by some fans as a betrayal of the network’s perceived ideals, but it’s equally true that children’s television across the board has moved towards shared viewing and co-gender content. This is highlighted by the musical live-action genre led by Disney’s Hannah Montana and Nickelodeon’s iCarly and Big Time Rush.
Level Up
The show began with a telemovie special on November 23, which was a ratings success. “The movie was number one in its time period for kids aged 6-11s on all television. Not just cable – all TV,” says Snyder. The series began airing last month.
Continuing the topic of co-viewing, Snyder adds: “We look at our strategy as always being a comedy focus, boys-skewing but girls-inviting. Then we look for the right opportunities where co-viewing or expanded viewing is possible.” He notes the upcoming animated series How to Train Your Dragon has potential within this strategy, as the franchise’s original 2010 Paramount Pictures feature film scored well with parents, boys and girls.
Snyder’s previous role before joining Cartoon Network was general manager of online video games service GameTap, once dubbed the first “broadband gaming network.” The platform offered classic video games titles from the likes of Eidos Interactive, Sega, Namco and Take-Two Interactive, and original Turner games too. Though GameTap ultimately wasn’t a success for Turner, which sold it to French games service Metaboli in 2008, Snyder saw gaming as a real opportunity.
He has since launched a number of branded interactive games on Cartoonnetwork.com and made them available through social media networks such as Facebook; and launched a Game Creator app through which “you can literally create your own games with our characters.” FusionFall, a massively multiplayer online game developed with South Korea’s Grigon Entertainment in which kids take control of their own avatar and features heroes and villains from the Cartoon Network universe, launched in January 2009.
“We start from the position of knowing you have to be in the gaming space if you’re going to be in the kids’ or young adults’ world. That’s what they’re living and doing; gaming is such an important part of their lives. You have to be there if you’re going to have shows and brands that connect with that audience,” says Snyder. “Gaming just provides another relationship point with our audience.”
While Cartoon Network has focused on online gaming, digital rivals are emerging in the online space, such as content platform Kabillion and recently launched VoD platform Moshi TV.
Snyder says the key for kids’ broadcasters that want to remain relevant is to trust their own instincts and not focus on the competition. “We continue to stay focused on our strategy. Gaming is something young adults and kids are into and we’re doing that. We’re looking for the right opportunities and the key question is what’s the right financial model. That’s the core question anyone has to ask and answer.”
Snyder believes this year will be one in which Cartoon Network reaps the benefits of its latest round of development. “For growth, it’s about building on the hits we have now and turning them into global brands, and also cultivating the next hits. We also want to continue to grow our actions shows like Ben 10,” he says.
Among Cartoon Network’s top priorities is How to Train Your Dragon, a series that taps into the growing trend for animated feature film spin-offs for kids’ broadcasters. “When you have a feature film that’s supported by a major marketing campaign and enjoyed by audiences, it provides wonderful tent poles for television series,” says Snyder.
Meanwhile, a live-action Ben 10 feature film is in development. “It’s a very successful global brand with an animated series, merchandise and a toy line and now we’re looking to go to the movies. We signed a development deal with Joel Silver of Silver Pictures and we’re at the early stages of scripting at the moment,” says Snyder.
From a broader perspective, Snyder predicts coproduction will continue to drive the international production community as the global economy stumbles. “There are lots of conversations – from an observational standpoint more than ever – about coproductions, in terms of how to spread the risk. We have people approaching us who have two, three or four partners attached before they come to us. For independents and production companies, it could be the right step for them,” he says.
For Snyder, every move he makes has to be right for Cartoon Network, and ratings suggest it’s a case of so far, so good. Plus, there haven’t been any more bomb scares. The industry is already explosive enough.
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