KRYPTO TO THE DOGHOUSE?
Inside Source Alleges Licensing Dictating Why DC Titles Being Dropped At Cartoon Network
by Steve Fritz
Fans wondering why Cartoon Network dropped Teen Titans and Justice League Unlimited may finally start getting their answers. As it stands, a very well-placed source inside Warner Bros. Animation informed me that the last currently-running DC-related property, Krypto The Super Dog, is also on the verge of being cancelled.
When it comes down to brass tacks, the source alleges the key reason is licensing.
"CN wants to focus on their own properties," says the source. "While I can understand this, I think that Krypto needs saving. I know it's not necessarily the most popular show on CN, but, it is a WB Animation/DC property, and so saving it could have very positive repercussions on the long-term DC/CN relationship. We weren't able to save JLU or Teen Titans because we didn't know that they were ending until too late. But if we act now to start a 'Save Krypto' letter writing campaign to the powers that be at CN, it might make a huge difference in the future of the show. Plus it shows CN there is a large fan base for the DC properties on their network, possibly paving the way for a return to CN of several other DC properties"
For a point of clarification, the upcoming Legion of Super-Heroes animated series is being produced by Warner Bros. Animation (under supervising producer James Tucker of JLU fame) and will be shown on whatever KidsWB will be called as a result of the WB/UPN merger.
It should be noted that Cartoon Network has been approached about this allegation, and a promised response has not been received as of press time.
On the other hand, I think I'm going to do something a lot of people aren't going to like. I'm going to look at things from CN's point of view.
First and foremost, here's a dirty truth about animation: Licensing revenues is a critical, in fact essential, element of a cartoon producer's revenue. It's as old as Felix The Cat and Mickey Mouse. Animation producers, except for feature film, never make big money from theatrical or broadcasting revenues. Licensing is the lube that greases the wheels. Felix producer and co-creator Pat Sullivan was able to write off his tremendous alcohol bills based on Felix merchandising. It was only when he got too cheap on the production of the cartoons (actually refusing to pay for sound in order to meet his bar tabs) that Felix stopped being the first true 'toon superstar. On the other hand, Uncle Walt's only bad habit was cigarettes. Licensing that giant pile of Mouse merchandise provided the seed money needed to build the Magic Kingdom.
Now one very interesting press release from Cartoon Network, one that I was going to report on this week anyway, noted the network just signed a major licensing deal with Mattel Corp., the largest toy manufacturer in the world. The master toy license agreement covers original CN properties for the 6-11 age group and also carries a first-look option on all newly created original series and programming.
For the record, when an anime, DC or Looney Tunes-related property hits on Cartoon Network, if CN sees any licensing revenue from those shows, it would be nowhere near what they would make from shows like Ben 10 (huge toy line coming), Foster's, Camp Lazlo or Juniper Lee. In fact, one informed source at CN did tell me his company as already making more money from Ben 10 than its #1 show, Naruto. It's all due to licensing. The lion's share of the licensing revenue of Naruto goes to Viz Media (or its Japanese parent company), not Cartoon Network. Likewise, even though DC Comics and Cartoon Network are both Time-Warner companies, CN has to pay a licensing fee to DC to produce a series based on their properties, and DC gets a piece of the revenue generated by any merchandise or other licensing deals that are based on the show's version of the characters. In the case of, say, Juniper Lee or Foster's, CN gets the whole big bag of licensing money, and doesn't have to a pay a licensing fee to anyone to use the characters.
I can rant on for a much longer time, but I won't. I could go on about Nickelodeon being an outright cash machine because it not only dominates the under-12 crowd with its programs but also runs all the licensing rights. Maybe some other time.
Let's look at things this way. From what I've been told by my source at Warner Bros. Animation, the ratings on Krypto are such that it's currently on the bubble. The person felt a good letter-writing campaign might be just enough to give the show a green light for another season.
If fans want to do this, or just plain vent at CN about the removal of all DC-related shows from the schedule, the best way to do that is to write an actual letter and send it to the following address:
Save Krypto c/o Programming Cartoon Network 1050 Techwood Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30318.
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