Getting even sweeter

Indie distributor CAKE goes on a growth spurt

Building on a year of stellar sales for series like Angelo Rules, Total Drama Island and Poppy Cat, boutique London-based distributor CAKE Entertainment also saw success in SVOD land, becoming one of the top indie suppliers of kids content to Netflix.
“Linear broadcasters are still the meat-and-potatoes of our business, but the SVOD market, the digital market, has become increasingly more important. We’re focusing on working with the Netflixes and the Amazons of the world,” says Edward Galton, CCO and MD. “I’d say we’ve had a big shift in 2014 as a result of that in terms of the revenue that we’ve generated from the digital sector.”
CAKE recently announced a third season for Angelo Rules, a co-production with TeamTO. France Télévisions remains on-board as commissioning broadcaster, and Cartoon Network International and Super RTL have both snapped up the series. New deals were also inked for season six of the Total Drama franchise, as well as for new acquisitions Clay Kids and Space Racers.
2014 saw principals Galton and Tom Van Waveren, CEO and creative director, buy back the 51% of CAKE that was previously held by now-bankrupt Zinkia.
“We feel very good about the path that we set ourselves on,” says Van Waveren. “We’re being more hands-on involved in our series, getting them off the ground, nurturing them through production and introducing them into the market.”
To that end, CAKE has a whack of co-productions in the hopper for 2015, including animated comedies Cheese Toastie Brain Monster, Herb & Ray’s Yum and Chicken Invaders in Space.