Toonz Media Networks SBU will supervise the launch of the group’s new linear television channels in the fast-growing kids’ television markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and MENA.
Global kids and family entertainment company Toonz Media Group is ambitiously moving further into the platform entertainment business following the launch of its own MyToonz OTT service. Toonz has now created a Strategic Business Unit (SBU) called Toonz Media Networks with the aim of widening the scope of the company’s platform business.
Toonz has roped in former Zee Entertainment chief operating officer Mukund Cairae to give strategic leadership to the new SBU, that seeks to expand to more territories in the next two years. Apart from its well-established YouTube ecosystem as well as television channels in Russia and LATAM, Toonz Media Networks SBU will supervise the launch of the Group’s new linear television channels in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and MENA (the Middle East & North Africa). Toonz has roped in Zee Entertainment’s former chief operating officer Mukund Cairae to helm the new business unit and to aid in expanding to more territories in the next two years.
Speaking about the new division and the appointment, P Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Media Group, said: “I think this is the right time for Toonz to focus more on platform entertainment. The content industry is booming around the world and demand for kids’ content, especially, is unprecedented. We have consolidated our position as a leading kids and family entertainment company in the last 20+ years, with a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from animation production to emerging technologies. So, venturing into the platform business space is a natural progression for Toonz.”
All of Toonz’s platforms are geared to cater to the kids and family audience segment. With 1000+ hours of content in multiple genres ranging from pre-school to tween as well as the family audience, Toonz claims to be in possession of a rich library of content.
Mukund Cairae, President of Toonz Media Networks, added: “The idea is to monetise Toonz’s content in various geographies across the globe, especially in the emerging markets, via our in-house content delivery platforms. Toonz will partner with telcos as well as digital platforms to launch channels in these geographies. This includes both linear and on-demand channels. For on-demand platform, we will start off with the Middle East market.”
Mukund added that each of the new geographies have been identified based on the scope for revenue capturing and effective content repurposing, in order to make it relevant and adaptable to the local markets. As part of this, Toonz’s home-grown content will be dubbed into a slew of global languages including Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Maleyu, Arabic, Urdu, Thai, French and Swahili.
Additionally, Toonz will also be actively pursuing content partnerships in these regions to co-create premium content, including e-sports.
