15-second shorts are giving Turner a whole new original production angle. Asia content boss, Mark Eyers, speaks about the dawning digital-first mindset developing alongside an ongoing commitment to long-form.

Come November, Turner adds a whole new digital dimension to its regional Asia business. Alongside ambitions for kids in the region to interact with the Cartoon Network brand in a whole new way, the broadcaster is also layering a digital-first content creation commitment on top of its original long-form production slate.

The launch of online platform, Cartoon Network (CN) Anything, across the region signals more than an additional branded platform, says Mark Eyers, Turner International Asia Pacific’s chief content officer, kids networks. “What’s really changing for us is a digital first direction,” Eyers told delegates at this year’s ContentAsia Summit in September.

CN Anything, which launched on mobile in Australia earlier this year, offers kids access anywhere anytime with no paywall. The tablet version rolls out in Australia in November, along with the Asia platform. “The whole principle is that it’s a different experience,” Eyers says.

Among other things, CN Anything expands Turner’s content creation from hundreds of half-hour original shows over the years into a universe of original 15-second micro-programmes that will sit on the site alongside clips from existing shows. Eyers describes these shorts as “nugget-sized pieces of entertainment, clearly on brand, that give us a very interesting way to develop content”.

The shorts run alongside ongoing investment in traditional content development and could influence decisions on what gets made. “Everyone knows that we’re a very creator-driven studio. We look for artists with a design, with a show that’s in them, and we’re very storyboard-driven. That’s all still true. What we’ve been able to do [with the micro shows] is to takemore original content bets,” Eyers says.

The micro styles vary widely, and allow Turner to gauge audience response with the smallest possible investment. There is, for instance, Mighty Magiswords, which allows viewers to choose their sword, and a UGC-style short using images created by kids.

“This is a great way that we can test these ideas, add some games, and see where it goes,” Eyers says. “The great thing with that is it can go to two minutes, then five, then, who knows, it could be a series,” he adds.

The micro-shorts “allow us to explore far more creators, and far more opportunities. And perhaps the most interesting thing is if we do this digital first, building a franchise first, we’re building an awareness of that property. If we go to a linear version, there’s already an audience that will latch onto it. If you’re launching a linear half-hour show from scratch, that takes a lot of marketing. When you have a ready audience in the digital-social space, it’s a lot easier,” Eyers says.

The ideal micro-short has one or all of three key elements. “It wants you to watch it again. It may want you to interact with that character further. And it may want you to watch longer,” Eyers says.

Micro-shorts will be produced in batches of about 20, which will be released strategically on CN Anything and may be scheduled on the linear channel and perhaps even on the authenticated Watch and Play app. Eyers says Turner is looking at producing “hundreds” of these shorts, which will be windowed across multiple platforms.

CN Anything also takes Turner, potentially, into the ad-funded content space. “We can serve ads in this and we will,” Eyers says, adding that opportunities for sponsor-tie ups are already being explored.

Micro-shorts budgets are comparable to rates for half-hour productions, Eyers says without disclosing exact amounts. As in the long-form content world, Cartoon Network will fund and own all rights to the shorts.

So far, Turner hasn’t acquired any shorts. “We’ve been going through the original development process, like we do on everything, so we have all rights,” Eyers says. The shorts, regardless of where they are made, may be shared globally.

CN Anything will be customised and geo-filtered for Asia, and will, unlike the authenticated Watch and Play app, be free for everyone. “CN Anything sits in front of the pay wall. It’s a tool to introduce the brand and content to everyone,” Eyers says. Ideally, fans will follow their favourite characters into the subscription world.

Turner’s traditional kids legacy is not a disadvantage, Eyers says. Far from it. “We own all our characters and original content”, which opens up a trove of opportunity in the online space.

Turner’s digital-first approach also opens up a lot more opportunity for producers. “That’s exactly what we’re excited about,” Eyers says. “We still have the same commitment to development but instead of just only doing maybe half a dozen or a dozen pilots in any given year, now we can take many of these little bets,” he adds.

Turner’s commitment to long-form production in Asia involves close to 100 half-hours across the region this year. About 15-20% of that will be for regional distribution. Titles include movies such as Monster Beach and new 13-part series Exchange Student Zero, produced in Australia. Exchange Student Zero – the first “big commission” in Asia for global distribution – premiered on 26 September. Eyers says four traditional series have premiered in Asia in the past 12 months. These are Clarence, Steven Universe, Uncle Grandpa and newest title We Bare Bears.

Turner has also just greenlit a major animation project in Korea. The new co-production, Beat Monsters, is with Synergy Media and Studio Goindol. Beat Monsters (52x2 mins) is a comedy starring alien monsters from outer space on the lookout for the ultimate beat. The series is expected to air in late 2016 on Turner’s kids’ channels in Asia Pacific, including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Toonami, as well as on Cartoon Network in EMEA.

“We’ve never had this amount of original animated content before,” he says, talking about a “renaissance in animation”. And, perhaps more importantly, “we’ve never had this amount of platforms to put different versions of it on,” he adds.

“About five or seven years ago, there was a bit of a live-action trend in the kids space, which was thankfully short-lived. The power of animation is that it crosses borders. It speaks to a lot more people,” Eyers says, adding that live action can be effective as part of a local strategy.

“The fantastic thing with animation is that if you crack a great character-led show, with obviously great storytelling, it will appeal to a far wider audience and it’s far easier to localise, whether it’s dubbing or trans-creation,” Eyers says.

Turner’s direct-to-consumer efforts with CN Anything work alongside the authenticated Watch and Play app launched in late 2013 in Asia, and currently available with pay-TV partners in Australia and Thailand.

Eyers says while the challenges of integrating technical platforms are the same as anywhere else in the industry “once that’s sorted out it’s actually a fantastic experience, because you’re enhancing the experience for your affiliate, and you’re doing it through your own brand. Plus it’s a great tool to actually launch shows”.

Building awareness underpins much of Turner’s efforts to spread the love across platforms. Eyers, for instance, talks about putting content on the Watch and Play app ahead of the linear premiere. “It’s a way to build awareness... And of course we all know that when kids are watching television they’re also playing with mobile devices, so if you’ve got a branded experience that they can do that at the same time, and play games and watch videos, it’s all the better,” he says.

Availability across devices ties into “the whole plural generation”, which wants to interact with the content. “They want to see different aspects of the stories in different ways,” Eyers says, adding: “So we can tell a story in 15 seconds completely differently to two minutes that would be completely different to say an 11-minute or half-hour format. That’s what’s exciting at the moment.”

This article first appeared in ContentAsia Issue 4, 2015, published in September 2015