Funding a Multiplatform Project

The projects that I am currently developing are not reliant on funding from TV networks or government funding schemes, so how do I cover the production costs?

There are two routes I am taking (these are not the only two available, but they are the two that I have chosen to take with my projects).

Advertising
The first method is to develop a project that can provide large companies with unique advertising opportunities.  A number of shows are now being broadcast online with no attachment to any TV network commission.  Here are two examples:

Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy is a series of short animated films that were originally sponsored by Burger King.  They had a short Burger King advert at the start of each film, along with Burger King advertisements on the Youtube channel's home page.  Seth's films have had millions of views, which meant that the Burger King adverts at the start of each film had also received millions of views.  The films have recently been re-uploaded with Nike advertisements at the start, and continue to secure hundreds of thousands of hits.

Also, Fosters have sponsored 12 episodes of Alan Partridge Mid-Morning Matters, with each video receiving over 250 000 views.

This new approach to production funding is not only giving film makers new routes to investment, but it is also beneficial to the sponsoring organisation by providing them with new ways of promoting their products to consumers.
 

I am currently producing 'The Cookroaches' which is a cookery show hosted  by stop-motion cockroaches who climb over the food and present basic recipes to 16-34 year olds through entertainment and comedy.  This project opens itself up to sponsorship from food manufacturers and retailers who can advertise through product placement or by placing advertisements on the website or at the start of each film.  A sponsoring food retailer could also tie their own promotional offers into the project and advertise in-store deals that relate to each recipe. 

Subscription Fees
I have developed two projects that generate income from users paying an annual subscription fee.  This does mean that initial production funding needs to be sought from elsewhere, but once launched, the subscription fees paid by users will generate a regular income that will recover the initial investment.

 The Seedlings is an animated show that is designed to be watched by 4-7 year olds during school time.  Via the Seedlings website, teachers show an episode of the show to their class and then download an arts and crafts lesson plan related to the viewed episode.  Inspired by the show, the students make their project and then the teachers photograph the finished work and upload it to their profile page on the website, creating an online gallery of student work and an information sharing system for teachers.

To use this service, each class will pay £1 per school term or £4 per academic year.  There are 66 000 classrooms across the UK that this service could target, so an annual, four term subcription from just 10% of the UK's 4-7 year old classrooms would generate £26 400.

Combining Both Models

Another of my projects is a sports-based animated show called Team Alpha which will be broadcast within a website that promotes local sports events and facilities to the young users who are watching the show.  Like the Seedlings project, the sports facilities pay a small subscription fee to promote their services, but this project is also open to online advertising from sports manufacturers and retailers.