Shrek creator DreamWorks Animation expects revenue from its expanding television business to reach US$100 million this year and to rise to a “steady state” of US$200 million annually starting in 2015, chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said.
The television business, which soon will ramp up with original programming, will generate gross profit margins around 30 per cent, Katzenberg told Wall Street analysts. That margin is close to what DreamWorks sees in its film business, he said, a day after the company announced a multi-year TV production deal with Netflix.
DreamWorks, creator of hit franchise films including Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, on Tuesday also said it reached a five-year agreement to bring shows based on its characters to German television through a contract with children’s TV network Super RTL.
Over the next five years, DreamWorks will produce nearly 1,200 hours of television featuring characters from its own movies as well as from its purchase of Classic Media, the owner of Lassie, Casper the Friendly Ghost and other characters.
The revenue estimates do not include the benefits from sales of consumer products related to the characters, Katzenberg said.