Turner Classic Movies wants to be about old movies, not old audiences.
While films such as “Casablanca” and “The Quiet Man” may be timeless, the people who watch them are not. Much of TCM’s audience is aging, so the commercial-free network is teaming up with Starbucks, Williams-Sonoma’s Pottery Barn and Graphique de France, a manufacturer of high-end cards, posters and calendars, to try to tap the youth market with products that have classic-movie themes.
“What we feel we have to do to grow the audience is to put these films out there and to hit places where younger audiences spend their time,” said Tom Karsch, TCM’s executive vice president. With a median age of 55.3, TCM knows it can’t count on younger viewers finding the network on their own.
In January, TCM will partner with Pottery Barn to launch “Hollywood Collection,” a line of a co-branded merchandise that includes cocktail plates, serving trays, wine buckets, coasters and napkins with images from “King Kong,” “An American in Paris” and “Singin’ in the Rain.”
TCM is also looking to launch a line of apparel that it would sell online.
“If you look at the world of fashion, it is influenced by the icons of Hollywood glamor,” said Katherine Evans, TCM’s senior vice president, enterprises and new media. TCM, she said, is talking to various retailers and designers about swimwear, lingerie, shoes, hats and watches. Other efforts include “The Big Picture,” a CD of classic-movie music that is being sold in Starbucks, as well as stationery from Graphique de France and Chronicle Books. The Chronicle product line will include flashcards with classic-movie themes.
