PARIS: In its first full-year financial report since its acquisition of Shaw Media, Canada’s Corus Entertainment has reported a year-over-year revenue increase of 44%.
With all of Shaw Media’s assets now under the Corus umbrella (as of April 1, 2016), consolidated revenue for the fiscal year ending August 31 stood at US$1.3 billion compared to US$622 million in 2015.
For Q4, Corus’ overall revenue rose 99% to US$293 million, compared to US$147.7 million in Q4 of 2015. This increase was primarily due to a sales boost in the company’s television division, which is where Shaw Media’s assets were integrated. Television revenues were US$265 million for the quarter, compared to US$117 million the previous year. Overall profits for the segment were US$80.4 million, compared to US$42.4 million in last year’s Q4, while profits for the year stood at US$314 million.
Elsewhere in the company’s TV unit, advertising revenues increased 324% in Q4 2016 and 116% for the full year, while merchandising, distribution and other revenues increased 17% in Q4.
Looking more closely at Nelvana, the media conglomerate’s production and distribution arm has unveiled a brand-new logo—and a renewed focus on content—that’s timed with this week’s MIPCOM market in Cannes, France.
“Corus went through a major rebranding after the acquisition of Shaw Media,” says Nelvana president Scott Dyer. “And so we designed a new logo that was very reflective of the Corus one. It’s more modern, but has that same blue that we’ve always used. The new logo really symbolizes a little bit of a new approach at Nelvana.”
That approach involves a sharpened focus on storytelling and characters. Dyer says Nelvana will step away from the trend of merchandise-based properties and instead work to become a haven for creators. By developing content-driven brands, Dyer says Nelvana will be able to better engage audiences and boost ratings.
“It doesn’t mean these properties won’t drive merchandise at some point,” he says. “But we really think story and character should come first, and merchandise second. We haven’t seen a big push in legislation globally, but we can expect that the discomfort with what are essentially 30-minute commercials to continue. Our focus is on making great shows.”
