Try the firm that can dub Mickey in any language
FOR decades, watchi ng s c hedul e d programmes on TV was a national pastime. Now, streaming is all the rage. People prefer to choose what they want to watch and when – and, with thousands of films and series on offer from the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, it is increasingly easy to do so.
These services have been major beneficiaries of coronavirus. Netflix alone has more than 200 million paid up subscribers, almost 40 million of those joining in the last year.
With Netflix and its peers broadcasting across the globe, many of these are from outside the Englishspeaking world, particularly Continental Europe and South America. Almost half of Netflix’s library is in foreign languages, too.
All of these titles must be either subtitled or dubbed, so the worldwide audience can enjoy, f or example, Disney+’s The Wonderful World Of Mickey Mouse, Netflix’s French success story Lupin and Prime’s Icelandic whodunnit Trapped.
Sheffield-based Zoo Digital specialises in providing these entertainment giants with subtitles and dubbing services.
Its shares are 79p and should move higher this year and beyond. Zoo has developed clever technology, designed to deliver material faster and cheaper than rivals.
Chief executive Stuart Green is both ambitious and confident about the future. Making films accessible to global audiences is big business, valued at around £ 1.75 billion a year and growing fast. Dubbing accounts for around 70 per cent of that figure. UK audiences prefer subtitles when watching foreign-language shows, but many other nationalities opt for dubbed programmes. Zoo has been delivering subtitled services for almost a decade, but moved into dubbing around three years ago. The group is now well established with some of the biggest streamers and programme-makers in the business and its prospects are bright.
Green has a PhD in computer science and has tried to differentiate Zoo from competitors by using sophisticated software developed in-house.
Traditionally, dubbing firms work from special studios. Films are translated in written format, then actors go to the studio to record their lines. The process tends to be time-consuming and costly. Often, the same actors are used simply because they live near the dubbing suites.
Zoo works very differently. Its technology allows actors to record their lines from wherever they are, as long as they have a computer, headphones and a microphone.
The actors’ script appears on their screen and a director, who can also be located anywhere, talks them through the process. Not only can a session be wrapped up in a few days, it invariably offers better value than traditional alternatives and many more actors can be used – an advantage for foreign viewers.
People in t he entertainment industry can be relatively conservative, preferring to work with dubbing firms they have used before. Over the past year, however, many of these businesses have been unable to work because studios have been closed. This has presented Green’s Zoo team with a huge opportunity.
Interim results to last September saw revenues rise by 15 per cent, driven by a near fivefold increase in dubbing revenue. Subtitling sales have shot up, too, and the group has made money from digital packaging, turning old films and TV series into streamable programmes.
Brokers expect a 17 per cent increase in sales to $ 35 million (£25million) for the year to March 31, with profits soaring from $200,000 to $1.5 million. The group reports in dollars because most customers trade in the US currency. Green is aiming for revenues of $100 million over the next few years, with profits growing at a similar pace.
Traded on: AIM Ticker: ZOO Contact: zoodigital.com or 0114 241 3700