Broadband 'Toonami' Boosts Cable Modems

Cartoon Network is just one-third of its way through a "Toonami Reactor" broadband-content promotion, but has already signed up 51 cable systems serving 7.2 million subscribers — and it's generating nearly 200,000 user sessions per week.

Network executives designed the 12-week promotion, which began March 26, to help Cartoon affiliates drive cable-modem sales.

"We asked ourselves, 'How do we do something for our affiliates?' " said Turner Network Sales senior vice president of marketing Coleman Breland. "Toonami is such a hot topic and is a great product to drive high-speed modems."

The network crafted a special section on its Web site to house 40 episodes of Dragonball Z, 26 episodes of Star Blazers, four games and other background content. While visiting the section, users see two screens.

One window carries the actual DragonBall Z and Star Blazers episodes, on-demand, along with advertisements and customized messages from participating cable operators, which affiliates can use to promote their particular broadband Internet service.

The second screen provides text information about the specific episode of the cartoon, links to sponsor Web sites and gaming content.

Although broadband users will get the most out of Toonami Reactor, users of 56 kbps modems also have access to the games, features and most of the content, Cartoon said. Those users also will receive advertisements for high-speed service and a 15-percent discount on Dragonball Z merchandise.

Breland said operators are constantly asking programmers for ideas to help them upsell subscribers to digital tiers, reach different demographics or drive cable-modem penetration. Operator requests for modem marketing help are "much more prevalent now," he said.

Cox Communications Inc. in Omaha launched cable-modem service in 1997. It's used the Toonami promotion to attract "the second and third wave of subscribers," said system high-speed data marketing manager Merrill Johnson.

"They need a different approach than the early adopters," Johnson said.

The system has tagged a Cartoon Network-supplied TV spot to promote its high-speed service. There's also a Toonami link on Cox's Internet home page and the system is staging a promotional contest with a local radio station.

In January, Cox conducted a similar radio campaign tied with Turner Classic Movies' Elvis Presley broadband-content promotion, which generated more phone calls for modem sales.

"January was a very strong month for modems," Johnson said.

Cartoon is a natural fit for an online connection, Breland said, because many of its young users are computer savvy and enjoy gaming. Cartoon's bite-sized content — typically short-form cartoons — is also perfect for online entertainment.

The network's chief goal is still to drive viewers to Cartoon Network television programming, said Breland.

"We look at the Web as a complement to our business," he said. "We want to let viewers experience content in a different way."