After acquiring film studios or buying up sports rights, players in the VOD and TV market are rushing to animation studios, writes Erika Luzsicza.
What's moving the TV market at the moment? So far we've had movie studio acquisitions, sports rights buyouts, or increased interest in live streaming. Some of these trends have been revived by covid-19, as audiences have been scarce both at sports venues and at live events and events related to showbiz, news, culture and the like. There are therefore last few areas left for streaming companies or media houses to take on. One of them being animation studios and cartoon content as such. And the time has come for them now.
As Netflix's competition is growing at a rapid pace, especially Disney+, which has probably the largest selection of animated films and series or other shows rich in visual effects. It is not surprising, then, that Netflix, still the streaming leader, wants to get its own animation studio. It plans to buy Animal Logic, which has films like The Lego Movie and Happy Feet in its portfolio. The two companies are already working together to produce The Magician's Elephant, which is expected to be released next year. At the same time, Netflix is set to develop a series based on the card game Exploding Kittens.
It is shows based on various games that are a phenomenon in themselves, or rather a relatively easy bet for studios, as popular games already have an audience. This is exactly the route that video game giant Nintendo wants to take. The current one will be absorbed by Dynamo Pictures, which will eventually be renamed Nintendo Pictures. The goal is nothing more than to produce shows based on Nintento games. The latter is already planning a feature film about Super Mario, a character who will celebrate his 30th anniversary next year.
To cap off all the good news, we come to Sony, whose streaming platform Crunchyroll has discounted its subscription fees. For here, too, there's a fight for viewers, and not just any viewers. This is because the platform specialises in anime. It's not very well known in our country, but the company boasted that it has made subscriptions cheaper in a hundred countries, including the Czech Republic. Everyone sees anime content as a hot commodity and is trying to lure fans before it's too late.
Source: mediaguru.cz
