Rovio Execs Explain What Angry Birds Toons Channel Opens Up To Its 1.7 Billion Gamers
Rovio Entertainment used SXSW 2013 to announce its latest expansion into traditional entertainment. Beginning March 16, a new episode of Angry Birds Toons will be released each week on broadcast platforms around the world, including Comcast in the US and Samsung Smart TVs. Beginning March 17, Rovio will add a “Toons” button to all of its Angry Birds apps, which will be right next to “Play.” This will open up a direct video line to the 1.7 billion gamers who have downloaded on off the Angry Birds games. And for Comcast, it gives its Xfinity service (Xfinity on Demand, Xfinity.com/tv and the Xfinity TV Player app) and exclusive mass market entertainment brand.
Rovio has finished 52 episodes of the first season of this original series and is already mapping out a second season. Nick Dorra, head of animation at Rovio Entertainment, said the decision to explore linear entertainment was made early on. Back in February 2010, just a few months after game came out, the cinematic trailer for the first mobile game launched. To date, that video has been viewed over 80 million times on YouTube.
“That video brought in a lot of views and was really something that resonated with the fans,” said Dorra. “We produced a couple more videos and listened to how the fans reacted – something we so with of our different products. “In May 2011 Rovio bought the boutique animation studio Kombo that had produced those shorts. It was then that we decided to expand the whole story of the characters into a new medium, while controlling the brand as well. It was important to keep the animation in-house so we could develop the personalities and control how they’re portrayed.”
Rovio has over 1 billion views on its YouTube channel today, including shorts tied to Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Space and videos of Star Wars Angry Birds. For this first season of animation, Rovio is focusing on the original “classic” Angry Birds characters.
“Up until now our YouTube releases have concentrated on game releases or the Angry Birds Space trailer showed the backstory of how the birds got into space or we had the Halloween special episode for seasons,” said Dorra. “These new episodes are standalone and go more into the characters themselves. After watching the first season, if you have bomb bird and minion pig and put an object on the table you know what will happen next. Character development has been a big focus.”
The Helsinki, Finland-based Kombo has grown from 18 employees to over 70, which makes it one of the larger animation houses in Europe. Rovio has been hiring people from the US, UK, Estonia and Denmark from companies like Disney and Aardman Animation.
“We’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from classic cartoons the Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry,” said Dorra. “We’re going for a classic look with this series with some modernized takes here and there. The graphics style is based on what we’ve put out before. When we get into the second season, it might evolve. We see this series as something that we can push for better quality.”
Fans will find the Angry Birds Seasons videos rolled into the new series. Dorra said they’re leaving Angry Birds Space and other expansions out for now because they expect broadcast TV and other new formats to attract people who aren’t familiar with the universe.
“There’s been amazing interest all around world for this series,” said Andrew Stalbow, executive vice president, strategic partnerships at Rovio Entertainment. “Our key launch partner is Comcast in the US and their Xfinity will have an Angry Birds Toons channel on set-top boxes, mobile and online. We’ll also be available on Roku boxes as a channel and Samsung Smart TVs as a channel.”
Stalbow said it’s the video player within its games that will help transition the company from game developer to entertainment company. Rovio already has been a leader in the merchandising game, something even big game companies like Electronic Arts and Activision haven’t explored fully. Now the game company wants to become the next Disney.
“With this major update, the game isn’t just a game, but a game and a video channel,” said Stalbow. “It’s a bold move for us and allows us to reach our fans through all connected devices. Our strategy has always been to treat our game launches as services, always adding new value. This is the biggest update we’ve done yet.”
Stalbow said Comcastwill be the company’s major partner in the US and will cross-promote the new series to its large cross-platform audience through Xfinity. In addition, Activision, Paramount Pictures, BlackBerry, and Sony Pictures are partnering with Rovio at the launch of the Angry Birds Toons channel.
This article is available online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2013/03/11/rovio-execs-explain-what-angry-birds-toons-channel-opens-up-to-its-1-7-billion-gamers/ 