MUMBAI: Talk about targeted programming. Riot Media, a recently launched company based in New York, will develop, produce and market multi-platform entertainment programming and media products for tween boys..

The company has also announced the formation of Riot Consulting, which will provide strategy and expertise to other organisations seeking to reach the tween market. The announcements were made by the company’s CEO Jay Gissen..

He was quoted in a company release saying, “With 15 million boys aged eight-13 spending $18 billion annually on their own and influencing an additional $145 billion in spending, many companies have devoted considerable time and resources marketing individual products to them.

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“Yet no one has been able to successfully create an integrated brand that delivers content for multiple platforms simultaneously. We will fill this market niche in a way that our target audience will embrace and make their own.”.

Riot’s content will include live action and animated television , a comic book, a monthly magazine and books; home video programming, collectible game and trading cards; toys, electronic games, action figures and other licensed products; and an interactive website with an e-commerce element. The first products are expected to be available next year.

Meanwhile Riot Consulting will provide strategic analysis, contribute content, develop branding and serve in an advisory capacity to companies that are targetting the tween market.

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Reflecting the importance of this market Riot Consulting claims that it has already been retained by TV Guide. Riot Consulting is working with TV Guide to help the publication reach younger, wider audiences through advertising, advertorials, cable and satellite providers and special interest publications.

Gissen added, “Having studied this market exhaustively, we know precisely what this demographic likes and wants and we know how to reach them. We are exceptionally well positioned to take our expertise and leverage it in both our proprietary products and consulting businesses.”

All Riot’s content stems from a central, core story that draws on the universal theme of the battle between good and evil with villains and underdog heroes. The Riot story is set in a fictional, small American city that is threatened when an evil circus arrives. Determined to drive the locals insane and steal their mental powers, the members of the circus — nasty clowns, disgusting freaks, scary daredevils and wild animal acts set up shop and begin implementing their diabolical plan.

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Faced with this threat, the town’s boys rally and fight back – aided by a very special chimp who escapes from the circus and helps the boys in their desperate fight. As the true hero of the story, Riot the Chimp is the mascot of the entire Riot brand and will be featured prominently in all materials and products.

Gissen said, “The Riot storyline is everything tween boys love — action-packed, irreverent, humorous, gross, scary and zany — but we never cross the line. We will be edgy but safe. Parents won’t have to worry that our content will be inappropriate in any way.”

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