With the third season of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" starting on Friday, it has drawn a lot of excitement, not only from fans, but from the network as well.
One executive said "It could become our Harry Potter." Of course talk is cheap, and saying something like that is easy, it's a lot more difficult to accomplish.
Nonetheless, Nickelodeon has a powerful brand that has potential to be a long-term success if they continue doing things right.
Avatar: Book 3: Fire [Offical Trailer] {High Resolution}
If we do this right, it could become our Harry Potter," says Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami. "We have the opportunity to create a different kind of loyal audience that will follow Avatar here, there and everywhere."One of the moves they're making to give it a chance, is enlisting M. Night Shyamalan to write, produce and direct a planned trilogy of films based on the popular TV series, which has a built-in fan base.
"Once we start the movie marketing, that's when we kick into high gear," Zarghami says. "We've already done some 'making-of' and interviews with Night that we're putting on the home video releases (for the TV show). We're laying the foundation for what's coming."
The franchise already has some solid numbers, as merchandise like DVDs, toys, video games and trading cards sold around $121 million this year, and is projected to increase to $254 million by 2009. That doesn't even include ad revenue, as the network can't measure by individual shows, because sponsors buy in blocks of ads across several shows in a specific demographic.
Another step the network is taking is to develop Avatar-related rides at Universal and Paramount theme parks, along with a roller coaster ride at the huge Mall of America in Minneapolis.
Ratings aren't out yet for last nights' premiere, but last year the anime show drew 2.9 million viewers, and increase of 21 percent over the first season. The final show drew a hefty 4.4 million in veiwers, to finish the hour as No. 1 on basic cable.
This is a strong franchise. What will potentially bring it to the next level and bring it to a broader audience is the movie. Shyamalan isn't a bad choice, as he has worked a lot with fantasy before, but he also has had a up and down career as far as appealing to mass audiences.
If he hits this one right, the franchise could explode, if he hits it wrong, it will keep the brand from expanding into the general population, but it should still hold as a strong franchise based on its current status and fan base.
The success of the movie will determine if it'll grow to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings proportions, or remain a more niche brand. Either way it'll be a good performer for the Nickelodeon.
I'm not sure Shyamalan is the right choice for a movie Nick hopes will be mainstream. I will say this though, Avatar is a very dramatic and intelligent anime series that my kids and I have watched together. It has great potential, I'm interested to see how much bigger it becomes.
Posted by: Kimberlee Morrison | September 24, 2007 5:07 PM | Permalink to Comment