Interview with Mark Buchanan at Anime Central

Written by Kevin Leathers on 22 Aug 2007

With the recent news that  Anime Central is set to hit UK airwaves on September 10th with a 9pm to 6am timeslot, we managed to get an interview with Mark Buchanan. He tells us about the upcoming channel and what we can expect from Anime Central.

What is Anime Central and when can we expect it to appear on our screens?

Anime Central is the first UK channel devoted to screening Japanese animation for grown-ups.  It launches on September 13th.

Who is/are the driving force behind the channel?

The CSC Media Group is behind Anime Central.  They already own a bunch of channels in the UK and I guess you could say we’re their new kid on the block.  I’m responsible for selecting the content and supervising the day to day running of the channel.  I collaborate with a small but passionate team of editors, animators and schedulers with an aim to bringing you a channel that will be fresh and exciting in its own unique way.   
 
Where did the idea for Anime Central come from?

Originally, we were toying with several different concepts and I brought in to essentially assess the viability of them as channels.  During the research phase, Anime kept popping up and being a fan of the material I knew I wanted to include certain series in a programming block regardless of what channel ‘x’ would eventually specialise in.  We soon realised that the material was so dynamic and so beautifully written that Anime warranted more than just a casual slot.  We soon made the decision to launch a full channel devoted to the phenomenon.  
 
From a business perspective, why anime? And what convinced you that the market is now big enough to support it on UK TV?

I think you only have to look at high street DVD shelves to know that interest in Anime has grown exponentially over the last decade.  By offering Anime through a television channel, folk who’ve never experienced it now have greater access to the material than ever before.  It’s a fantastic way of pleasing the existing fans and welcoming new ones.  
 
You have an impressive line-up of different series for your debut. What criteria did you have when picking shows for the channel? Are there any shows or genres that you specifically didn’t want to show?

I watch everything that’s sent my way and no genre is out of bounds.  I have to be careful though as programming can get a little personal at times.  I often had to take a step back and put myself in the shoes of the ordinary viewer and ask myself if this will play well to large audiences.  Having said that, I‘m immensely proud of a line-up that I believe balances my selfishness with the requirements of the casual viewer.

Currently Anime Central is being broadcast on SKY, is there any intention to bring Anime Central to Cable and Freeview?

If we get enough viewers anything’s possible.  I will say that there are so many methods of programme delivery now that we will always try to be original in our thinking, preempt the future and develop methods of delivering content that won’t necessarily rely on an untidy box that sits at the corner of everyone’s living room (I’m just bitter I don’t have a Plasma!).
 
The one question many anime fans will be asking, will Anime Central be showing any subtitled anime as part of its programming?

When Anime Central was green lit it was always my intention to include a subtitled block with the evening’s programming.