The globalization of kids entertainment, spurred on by the Internet and the ever-increasing reach of multinational kidcasters, has allowed for breakout properties to dominate the world stage like never before. That said, how licensors manage their licensing and merchandising programs differs radically from territory to territory.

Some of those differences, for example linguistic and cultural nuances, you’d probably expect to encounter; others, though, like not knowing when your French broadcaster will air your show, are often a rude awakening.

It pays to know what the territorial distinctions are before you launch your licensing program. In other words, it’s time to dust off that old adage about doing business abroad: think global, act local.

Territory: Europe

Challenges: Shifting broadcast schedules. For competitive reasons, historically European broadcasters haven’t made it a habit to inform licensors when, or during what time slot, their show will air. This plays havoc with any designs you have on launching a nicely coordinated merchandise program.

‘Often you’ll have a property, and then all of a sudden you find out that it’s on the air. So you quickly gear up with your merchandise program, and before you know it the broadcaster has already pulled it,’ says Nelvana’s Kaufman.

Until recently, licensors haven’t been able to do much to convince broadcasters to let them know when their shows will air.

The solution for many is to make the broadcaster a stakeholder in the property. That could mean allowing a caster to share in a percentage of the licensing revenues, or granting it all the merchandising rights for the territory. The rationale? If your broadcaster is also your agent, it’s in their interest to commit to an air date, says Marie-Laure Marchand, director of European marketing and licensing for Nelvana, which within the last year, named broadcaster TF1 its agent for Franklin (in France) and rtv its agent for Little Bear (in Germany).

Licensors are also granting merchandising rights because Euro-based broadcasters are demanding to participate in licensing revenues. There are potential downfalls to naming a broadcaster as your agent: some broadcasters are new to the l&m game, and may not have the infrastructure in place to co-ordinate a successful program.

Also, there’s a good chance your show will compete against one of your broadcaster’s kids properties, and who is to say they won’t favor their own? As with any other contract, it’s advisable you build in performance thresholds your broadcaster needs to meet.

Territorial rights: This is a huge issue in Europe right now. With the birth of the European Union, the continent became one giant free trade zone, which means the notion of granting exclusive merchandise rights to a licensee is no longer possible. For instance, under the eu, it’s illegal to restrict a German-based licensee from selling a licensed toy to a retailer in the u.k., even though you already have a licensee in London creating the same product.

Nevertheless, most licensors aren’t allowing their agents to sign licensees outside of their territory, because they may infringe upon another agent’s rights. As a deterrent, some licensors cut their rep’s commission in half, if they sign a deal outside their territory.

Ultimately, many licensors believe the solution will be to use fewer agents who can go out and sign pan-European deals with larger licensees that have continent-wide distribution.

Market intelligence: Pokemania continues to rage across Europe, though homegrown properties, like Les Petites Bonne Nuit in France, Bob the Builder in the u.k., and Maya the Bee in Germany, are holding their own.

Territory: Latin America

Challenges: Piracy – a major problem for licensors. The best way to prevent companies from illegally producing merchandise featuring your property is to make sure the territory’s customs officials have the trademarks of your property, and can easily discern legit product from knock-offs.

Whenever authorities make a bust, publicize it so other criminals are aware that you won’t sit back and allow them to illegally profit from your property.

Market intelligence: Classic characters from Disney and Warner Bros. have a solid following throughout the territory, as do relative newcomers such as Pokemon, Digimon and The Power Rangers.

Territory: United States

Challenges: Competition. All the big studios are headquartered here and are well-entrenched in the marketplace using their multiple platforms of tv, film, online and retail to promote their properties.

It’s very difficult for an independent agent to mount a successful merchandise program for a foreign property without the involvement of one of the conglomerates – Disney, Warner Bros., Viacom and Fox.

The upside: it’s the largest homogeneous market, so you don’t need to retrofit your programs to the same extent you’d need to in other territories.

Retail: Much more consolidated than Europe or Latin America. Fewer players means it’s tougher to secure shelf space for your licensees’ product. Unlike Europe or Latin America, the u.s. has three distinct distribution channels – mass, department and specialty – and each can support exclusive licensed product for the same category, which translates into more licensing opportunities for licensors.

Market intelligence: No clear winner right now. Pokemon is in a perhaps temporary retreat (new game products and series launching for fall), while its successor Digimon is still riding the wave of anime popularity and wb superheroes The Powerpuff Girls are holding their own. *

A version of this article appeared in the October 2000 issue of KidScreen (www.kidscreen.com).