Programming Profile

Selina She, director of children’s IP development and programming at Tencent Video, outlines the Chinese streamer’s global expansion strategy and the fruits of its international coproduction plan, as part of its content showcase on C21’s Digital Screenings this week.

Chinese streamer Tencent Video has been making plenty of international moves in recent months, particularly in the children’s content sector. The company has been busy securing international sales for its homegrown animated content, for example, with shows such as Monsters in the Forbidden City, Kung-Fu Wa, Super BOOMi and Pet Hotel selling into new markets.

Furthermore, it is increasing its global footprint by forging coproduction deals with studios in Europe and elsewhere in Asia. It has a coproduction deal in place with Luxembourg-based Zeilt Productions for a show called Deep in the Bowl, a 52×5’ series aimed at eight- to 12-year-olds inspired by French comic book Le Fond du Bocal, by Nicolas Poupon.

Tencent’s deal with Belfast-based studio Sixteen South, meanwhile, sees the duo working on an original 3D comedy series titled The Coop Troop (52×11’). Paying homage to 1970s and 80s TV classics like The A-Team, the show follows a gang of five unlikely heroes: a hyperactive rabbit, an eccentric inventor chicken, a bon vivant swine, an excitable yet insecure lamb and an enigmatic egg.

The company has also sealed another copro pact with UK-based Silvergate Media for a project yet to be announced, while more recently it teamed with Live Fun and South Korean partners Campfire Aniworks on original kids’ series Rainbow Bubblegem, with Korean broadcaster EBS already attached. Currently in production, Rainbow Bubblegem recounts the magical adventures of seven mermaid princesses who must go to school on land to search for enchanted jewels to save their undersea realm from an evil witch.

Tencent Video, which is the biggest player in the burgeoning Chinese OTT market with 125 million subscribers, is evidently expanding globally in the kids’ content space. Here, Selina She, director of children’s IP development and programming, outlines the company’s global expansion strategy and the fruits of its international coproduction plan.

Tell us about the strategy behind your new slate of kids’ shows on C21 Digital Screenings.
By 2016, we had built up an extensive content library and – while we continue to acquire the best programmes from others – we felt the time was right to begin producing our own original content for kids. There is an emerging pool of brilliant creative talent here in China, which continues to grow. This inspired us to develop our own innovative and engaging content that will be fun and entertaining for kids as well as helping them to learn and grow.

We were ready to broaden our perspectives and possibilities and so took the next step: to collaborate with international partners on joint productions. We have been working with some renowned and exceptional production companies and are really excited about the first shows to come out of these collaborations: The Coop Troop with Sixteen South, Deep in the Bowl with Zeilt and The Adventures of Little Penguin with Luce Creative. These are high-quality series with fresh and original appeal for a global audience.

Which Tencent-owned shows have travelled the most internationally so far?
Exciting action-adventure show Super BOOMi (52×11’), one of Asia’s most popular shows, is now available in North America and Europe, winning fans on Treehouse in Canada and Canal+ in France with its universal themes of the power of imagination and friendship. Positive and innovative, with vibrant characters and richly envisaged worlds, it follows BOOMi, his puppy Bibop and their best friends as they play and learn in a wondrous virtual reality game universe that they created.

Kung-Fu Wa (52×11’), the new show from Chinese animation company UYoung (Love Monster, P.King Duckling), is being distributed internationally by Federation Entertainment. Funny and fast-paced, it has a smart and feisty heroine whose can-do attitude will be an inspiration to children everywhere. When ordinary girl TZ finds an odd, talking sock, it transforms her into superheroine Kung Fu Girl – because the sock, Kung Fu Wa, is actually a Kung Fu master from another time. Together, they must complete Kung Fu Wa’s mission and follow an ancient scroll to defeat evil and protect their world.

Which international territories are the biggest buyers of Chinese animation?
At Tencent Video, we don’t particularly want to be thought of as producing Chinese animation, but rather as a company that produces great kids’ animation for everyone. While we obviously want to create content that will engage audiences domestically, we also want it to have global appeal. Given that kids’ animation travels well compared with certain other genres – dramas and variety shows, for example – we are looking at producing shows for all territories. And, thanks to our amazing partners, our originals have already been sold into various international territories including Europe, Latin America and South-East Asia.

What is the thinking behind your recent moves into international coproduction?
Tencent Video has a multi-year strategy to partner with major international studios across Europe in mutually beneficial coproduction agreements that will enable us to create outstanding content with enduring and engaging appeal – not only to air as originals on our platform, but also for children worldwide to enjoy.

How do these copros work in terms of creative development and production?
By working with some of the best talent in the industry from around the world, we can learn from them and share our deep understanding of the local market and our streaming expertise to create high-quality shows. While the ideas are generated by our partners, and the majority of our copros so far have been produced in Europe, we work closely alongside them to ensure they will work for our audience.

How has animation been impacted by lockdown over the past 18 months?
Animation has been relatively unscathed during the pandemic, as the animators were able to work from home. All our Chinese-based animators are now back in the studio. The demand for animation also went up as broadcasters needed to fill gaps in their schedules caused by the lack of live-action content.

How has the streaming market changed in China over the past 18 months?
Across all streamers during the pandemic, viewing went up as people binged shows during lockdown. However, even prior to that, we had seen our audience growing rapidly – we recently reached 125 million subscriptions and are the leading online video streaming platform in China. By providing quality and original content, we are driving subscription growth and viewership, while our rich IP portfolio enables us to drive synergies across different media formats – animation, drama, movies and variety shows – with high-quality video content. In addition, leveraging short video content helps to maximise the audience reach and appeal of the longform content.

How has Tencent’s international distribution strategy been impacted by the boom in streaming?
We have already found that it is providing more opportunities, and this looks set to continue. We’ve been in touch with several major platforms – not only for content distribution, but also for coproduction/co-commission opportunities, such as our recently announced collaboration with BBC Children’s Productions and BBC Studios on Supertato (52×7’). A 2D-animated comedy show, this coproduction is based on a bestselling book series of the same name by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet. It revolves around the world’s first potato superhero and his supermarket battles against the villainous Evil Pea.

What are your company’s plans for the rest of 2021 and beyond?
Having been delighted with the results of our international coproduction collaborations so far, we are keen to expand on this to develop even more high-quality content with compelling stories, engaging characters and strong global appeal – and we have some exciting new international projects in the pipeline.

We are looking for elements that help children to learn and grow, from improving literacy and numeracy to helping them acquire life skills, as well as providing an entertaining and happy experience. And while new IP is always exciting, we are also looking at developing literary adaptations, which often come with an in-built fanbase. Tencent Video Kids also has large-scale marketing plans in place to accelerate international growth across the end of this year and beyond.