It was part luck, but mainly ambition that got Caroline Tyre a foot in the door in the kids television industry in 1997, when she started as a receptionist at Toronto’s Decode Entertainment. Then an unseasoned college graduate, Teletoon’s director of programming pushed her way into the biz by calling companies listed in the CFTPA guide, and eventually landed at Decode – where she dabbled in all areas of development, production and distribution. Twelve years of change later, Tyre has moved on to commissioning and programming shows at Teletoon.

Playback caught up with the busy programming exec just after Teletoon launched its fall sked.

What is your programming strategy for fall?

We’ve really got a hold on the action side… and done really great with the genre [and shows] like Stars Wars: The Clone Wars, while we have a great output deal with Marvel animation for new stuff like Super Hero Squad. So we’re not focusing as much energy on this genre.

It would be great to see more shows true to kids aged six to 11 – comedy series like Johnny Test, for example. Those are pitches that we don’t get as often as we like, and that’s what we’re focusing our efforts on. Also, the broad-skewing 14+ family fare that are pushing more towards adults, who watch post-9 p.m. We’re hoping to see those types of pitches at MIPCOM and the Ottawa Animation Festival.

How has the Canadian animation industry evolved since you started in the business?

When I started there were sort of five key players: Cinar, Nelvana, Decode, CBC kids, and Alliance Atlantis kids at the time. Now there’s so many great Canadian independents that we deal with – Blueprint Entertainment, Fresh Animation, Marblemedia. It’s really nice to see young and upcoming talent, and it invigorates some of the studios that have been around for a long time. It’s a bigger industry, and competition is good.

What is the biggest challenge facing Teletoon today?

The economy. Our ad revenue is down over the last few years. We have to [inject] 47% of our gross back into the Canadian industry… so obviously the less that we’re bringing in, the less we can contribute. We want to keep the industry alive and keep our shows alive, so instead of ordering 26 episodes, we will this year order 13 of the same show.

Do you think your stint at Decode has made you more sympathetic to the plight of producers?

For sure. That’s why we are really focused on trying to keep the business healthy, because these producers are our partners and I respect them. I pride myself on being really honest with [them] and educating them on the ratings and why it matters.

We can have that partnership, as opposed to keeping that information secret. The more educated they are on our needs, the better the service. If you really explain your focus, such has having more parents watch with their kids, the next thing you know the pitches that are coming in are bang-on what we need.

Can you talk a little about the impact of digital on your brand?

It’s critical for us. We’re focusing on working with Canadian producers on securing all those rights, and creating bonus content that we can either use promotionally or on any of the different platforms. On the acquisition side, we’re also working to acquire [digital] rights.

What we don’t need to see is specific programs created for those platforms… we really want it to be a 360-degree experience. It’s important that [digital] drives kids back to the linear broadcast.

Et Cetera

• Holds a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University and a Broadcast Journalism Diploma from Loyalist College

• First job was selling shoes in her parents’ shoe store

• An avid runner, she recently completed her first full marathon

• Enjoys having culinary competitions with friends

• Lists Mad Men and South Park among her favorite shows

• Confesses to having a magazine addiction, with subscriptions to Fitness, Shape and People, among others