Martin Krieger
Established in 1996, Studio 100 Media is a TV production company with a clear goal: producing engaging content that is entertaining and educational for today’s children and their parents. Speaking to Señal News, Martin Krieger, CEO of Studio 100 Media, described the company’s main focus in terms of production, discussed the potential of its most popular brands, and analyzed the current demands of its clients.
▸ What is Studio 100 Media’s strategy for shaping its catalog?
“Most of our shows and movies are produced or co-produced by one of our studios worldwide. They all bring different perspectives and strengths to the table. That strategy provides a constant inspiration and output of content. Everything we are green-lighting for production, co-investment, or where we come on board as a distributor must tick all the editorial boxes of outstanding kids and family entertainment. Additionally, it should ideally have franchise potential at the same time. Leveraging our brands through licensing, merchandising, stage shows, and theme parks is part of the DNA of the Studio 100 Group.”
▸ What is your main focus in terms of production?
“Our focus is both movies and series, always with an eye on what additional content we can create for digital exploitation to promote the brand and then keep up the momentum. We are constantly monitoring the funding landscape, mainly in Europe and Australia/NZ, to ensure that we offer talent and co-production partners the right setup. Also, North America is obviously of very high interest to us. We gained a foothold there a couple of years ago by acquiring Little Airplane Productions in New York and our Studio 100 USA/Flying Bark office in Los Angeles.”
▸ What is the potential of properties such as “Maya the Bee,” “Mia and Me,” “100% Wolf,” “FriendZSpace,” “SeaBelievers,” and “Vegesaurs”?
“‘Maya the Bee’ and ‘Mia and me’ are essential and established IPs for us for which we are constantly creating new content. We will be launching new theatrical features of both brands this year (the new ‘Maya’ movie already launched in a couple of territories), and a fourth season of ‘Mia and me’ will be completed in 2022. ‘100% Wolf’ is currently very successful in more than 80 countries, and we have started production on its second season, which will be delivered in 2023. We always aim to build up long-lasting brands and create experiences beyond audiovisual content. Our brand-new project ‘Vegesaurs’ is a great example of this strategy.”
▸ What are buyers demanding right now?
“They are looking for exciting new stories, but new content based on existing brands is also in high demand. Every new show or movie must meet a couple of preconditions, such as diversity and inclusion. No matter what we bring to our audiences, we aim to build long-lasting brands. All of them must have a clear USP not only for the buyers and for us as a studio but most importantly for our target audience, which is what we are hoping to achieve with ‘Vegesaurs,’ ‘FriendZSpace’ and ‘SeaBelievers.’ All three shows represent great entertainment, convey important and positive messages, and have franchise potential at the same time. More than ever, the demand for good entertainment and making people laugh is needed.”
By Federico Marzullo