Quick Takes: Andrew Fitzpatrick, Monster Entertainment
Share
Quick Takes is a Q&A series designed to connect content companies with prospects while in-person events are postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lights, camera, action!
Andrew Fitzpatrick
Chairman, Monster Entertainment Ltd.
Location: Ireland
How has the pandemic affected your content slate or schedule?
We have had extensive delays with the filming of live action shows. Financing for feature films has been impacted by the fact that cinemas are closed. However, much of our slate is animation and this has been largely unaffected as artists can work from home.
What releases are you most looking forward to?
Our first feature film, Jungle Beat: The Movie, a spin-off from the hit non-verbal TV series, which has been hugely popular with airlines.
What is your outlook on the state of the industry moving forward?
It’s going to be difficult for some time. Although it varies from region to region, many airlines are hardly flying at all and many have seen their finances greatly impaired. Recovery is going to be slow and uneven, and will be impacted by the two V’s – vaccines and variants.
Do you find peoples’ viewing habits have shifted in terms of what they watch and how they watch it?
People now expect to be able to binge-view, which means that the on-demand proposition needs to be a much bigger part of the business compared to mainly linear players in previous years. Our content is generally optimized for this kind of viewing.
Theatrical windows have been all but eliminated, do you think this is temporary?
I think it is temporary. Nobody wants to see this income stream disappear, but there will definitely be many more direct-to-consumer releases in the future.
Read more about the impact of coronavirus on the air travel industry, including APEX’s position on the matter, and subscribe to the APEX Daily Experience newsletter to stay up to date.