Hard-hitting TV content

These projects include the Mortal Kombat action films and Blackbelt TV, the 24-hour martial arts television channel that recently celebrated a year on air in South Africa, on DStv channel 129.

All of this output requires an enormous amount of funding, and raising all of that cash Kasanoff has raised a collective billion dollars over the course of his career must require a specific combination of business acumen and creativity. “You can’t make a business decision without making a creative decision, or vice versa.

That’s like a fighter being able to punch but not block. Take, for example, deciding to shoot another day if you’re making a film. There’s a cost implication, so you need to decide: will we get something creatively useful out of this?

“I think about these things in two parts. Step one: I leave business out of it, and decide if I love an idea creatively, because I know I’m going to be pitching it for a long time. Then step two, where there is no creativity, and decide if it’s a good business idea or not. Ultimately, people need to enjoy the outcome.”

Blackbelt TV is a round-the-clock channel with a narrow focus every programme is somehow concerned with martial arts. What’s the formula for keeping it interesting?

CAGE RAGE. Mixed martial arts fighting, one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, is one of the many attractions on Blackbelt TV. Picture: Neil McCartney.

“The most successful TV show in history is The Simpsons,” says Kasanoff, “and it’s one of the few that didn’t need the network’s approval to get made.

“We need to work out when we can take a chance versus going with a known brand. This season, we have 12 new original shows. But to include them, we need to schedule well; do things like putting a new show between two movies we know everyone loves. The idea is that it will work, and if it doesn’t, we’ll workshop it and figure out why.

“Our choices are based on the martial arts content of a project first. We have a ton of Chinese films based on that, and are looking to expand the number of Hollywood films we feature. And it’s not as narrow a field as you might think – martial arts is a lifestyle, including fitness, entertainment, sports, fashion and more.”

Still, expanding the market must be more about introducing the content to people who haven’t seen it yet, as there must be a finite number of fans in the countries where Blackbelt TV is already broadcast.

“Most of our movies have been and still are action and fantasy stuff, in keeping with our basic ‘kicks, flicks and chicks’ motto,” agrees Kasanoff. “These are our people, and there are hundreds of millions of them. We want all of those people, but we don’t necessarily want to expand beyond that group. So we go to a new country, then we wait for a year and learn the ropes before we try to expand.

“We thought growing into Asia would be like taking a sandwich to a buffet. But we have some strong interest there, and it gives us another chance to try out our so-far successful formula: promise something with a strong premise and then over-deliver.”

Perceptions about the content of Blackbelt TV have sometimes put Kasanoff in the firing line in terms of opinions about Hollywood being responsible for inciting violence in viewers who might be checking out his products.

KNOCKOUT. Watching others take a pounding on TV is less painful and more entertaining than getting involved yourself. Picture: Mariola Biela.

Kasanoff points out the goal of learning many martial arts is to develop the discipline needed to refrain from fighting back.

“Where I live, I was grabbed by a crazy old man, but I was able to think of my own training and keep myself calm, and I was then able to calm him down,” he says. “Martial arts works as entertainment for two reasons. First, it’s a blast. And it’s also empowerment.”