Mipjunior 2018 preview magazine

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2018

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PREVIEW

WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

September 2018

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CONTENTS

PREVIEW

8 NEWS

31 FEATURES

Media Mastermind Keynotes; The MIP Junior Superpanel; Live pitches; The Smurfs turn 60; Matchmaking With Buyers & Commissioners; and more...

What can be done to keep kids safe online and guide them to suitable entertainment?

31 Playing safe

September 2018 www.mipjunior.com

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Paul Zilk MARKETING DIRECTOR Mathieu Regnault EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Sub Editor Joanna Stephens Contributors Andy Fry, Juliana Koranteng Editorial Management Boutique Editions Head of Graphic Studio Herve Traisnel Graphic Studio Manager Frederic Beauseigneur Graphic Designer Carole Peres PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Manager Amrane Lamiri Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France).

MANAGEMENT & SALES TEAM Director of the Entertainment Division Jerome Delhaye Director of the Television Division Laurine Garaude MIPCOM Conference Director Lucy Smith Director of Market Development Ted Baracos Programme Director Tania Dugaro Director of the Buyers’ Department Benedicte Touchard Marketing Director Bastien Gave Executive Producers, Conferences Amandine Cassi, Julie Lechenault TV Division Sales Director Geraud de Lacombe Head of Entertainment UK Paul Nickeas Director UK Sales – TV Division Matt Colgan Director UK Sales Music & TV Division Javier Lopez SVP Sales & Business Development Robert Marking VP Sales Louis Hillelson Sales Director Manual da Sousa Director of Visitors Sales North and Latin America Matthew Rosenstein Sales Manager Noah Buchwald Sales Manager Hugo della Motta Sales Director Sylvain Faureau Sales Director Aude Dionnet Sales Regional Director Nathalie Gastone Senior Sales Projects Director Fabienne Germond Sales Managers Paul Barbaro, Nancy Denole, Samira Haddi, Cyril Szczerbakow, Hicran Lefort Head of Sales, Buyers Yi-Ping Gerard Sales Manager, Buyers Eve Gualbert-Galvis Sales Executive, Buyers Laetitia Rouis-Carrero Australia and New Zealand Representative Natalie Apostolou China Representatives Anke Redl, Tammy Zhao CIS Representatives Alexandra Modestova English Speaking Africa Representative Arnaud de Nanteuil Germany Representative Marc Wessel India Representative Anil Wanvari Israel Representative Guy Martinovsky Japan Representative Lily Ono Middle-East Representative Bassil Hajjar Spain Representative Maria Jose Vadillo South Asia Representative Adam Ham South Korea Representative Sunny Kim Taiwan Representative Irene Liu Reed MIDEM, a joint stock company (SAS), with a capital of €310.000, 662 003 557 R.C.S. NANTERRE, having offices located at 27-33 Quai Alphonse Le Gallo - 92100 BOULOGNEBILLANCOURT (FRANCE), VAT number FR91 662 003 557.

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14

18 W ORLD PREMIERE

39 Big challenges ahead

TV SCREENING

Cyber Group Studios’ Gigantosaurus; and Foundling Bird and Sutikki’s Moon And Me

20 PRODUCT NEWS

45 The battle for little eyeballs

Multiplatform content from around the world on sale in Cannes

24

30

How pubcasters are working to serve their young audiences in the changing media landscape

Children’s content is at the frontline of the streaming wars, bringing opportunities to independant producers and distributors

CONFERENCES & EVENTS PROGRAMME

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 6

• September 2018

49

YOUR MIPJUNIOR EXPERIENCE

news

The fast and furious rise of DreamWorks Animation TV Margie Cohn is president of DreamWorks Animation Television, where she oversees all television development and production for the studio’s growing slate of original television series. She spoke to Julian Newby ahead of her MIPJunior Keynote presentation IN THE five years since its inception, under Margie Cohn, Comcast/NBCUniversal-owned DreamWorks Animation Television (DWA TV) has seen extraordinary growth that has included a multi-year deal with Netflix as well partnerships with Hulu, Amazon, Universal Kids and other broadcasters around the world.

As part of the studio’s global initiatives, Cohn and her team are also tasked with creating original animated programming inspired

by DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures’ franchises and feature films, as well projects based on original and acquired IP. The recently expanded Netflix deal will see animated series Fast & Furious — based on the Universal movie franchise — debut on the subscription video-on-demand service.

“Netflix has been an incredible partner,” Cohn said. “They buy shows they believe in and then let producers make the shows they bought. They invested heavily in us when they were just getting into kids originals and we’ve collectively learned so much since then.” Streaming platforms enable the creative process, she said, as “there are no set formats or narrow demos to squeeze into. That really gives an assist to innovation.”

Margie Cohn

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 8

• September 2018

With five years at DWA TV and before that a long stay at Nickelodeon, Cohn has considerable experience of the kids’ market and an understanding of how to survive it. “We hire great people who have a specific point of view, and then we do everything we can to help them make their best work,” she said, adding: “We are committed to excellence and to finding unique, fresh voices.

We know that kids are sophisticated media consumers and that we have to reflect even imagined worlds with authenticity. If you’re making great, sticky, compelling shows you will find an audience.”

“We have to reflect even imagined worlds with authenticity” During her time in the kids content business Cohn said she has acquired a sense of duty towards the impressionable audiences she serves. “Throughout my career I have been sensitive to the fact that we are on the front line of a kid’s first exposure to media,” she said. “I feel a great responsibility to offer programmes that depict a wide range of characters that reflect the beautiful variety of people in the world. We offer stories that will amuse and delight but also give kids a chance to feel the panoply of emotions that good, resonant stories provide.”

At her keynote presentation the MIPJunior audience will hear how DWA TV has grown over a brief five years to become “the largest untethered studio making quality animated content for kids and families”. She added: “And while I don’t have a crystal ball for what the future holds for our industry, I look forward to sharing how DreamWorks endeavours to stay ahead in these ever-changing times.”

• The MIPJunior Keynote is on Sunday, October 14 at 17.00 in the Grand Theatre, JW Marriott hotel.

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NEW KIDS CONTENT MADE IN RUSSIA RUSSIA’s CTC Media is sponsoring the MIPJunior Networking Lunch, which takes place at the Majestic hotel on October 13 at 12.45. The Russian broadcaster launched new children’s channel, CTC Kids, in July of this year.

The following day a Snack & Screen session will bring together executives from leading Russian animation studios who will present their newest animation projects to an international audience MIPJunior.

During the Made In Russia: Future Hits session, delegates will discover “future hits as well as hidden treasures” from Russia’s established animation players and fastgrowing young companies.

The session is presented by the Russian Export Center on Sunday, October 14 at 12.00 in the Grand Theatre of the JW Marriott hotel.

Creators take to the stage for MIPJunior Superpanel THE CREATORS’ Superpanel, taking place at MIPJunior in partnership with World Screen, turns the spotlight on some of the leading creative minds in kid’s TV today.

Panelist Jonathan M Shiff heads up Australia’s Jonathan M Shiff productions, creator of Mako Mermaids, the spin-off from the hit series H2O – Just Add Water, which has sold to over 160 territories.

Shiff said that, while new technology that is available to young people today gives them “the power to push you away with one swipe”, some technology can be empowering. “Like most story-tellers I can only be motivated by a deep connection to story drivers within myself and hope that the story and the characters resonate equal-

ly with my audience,” he said. “I am certainly enjoying new-found freedoms in the way we can tell stories, particularly for SVOD. For instance, denser stories, different lengths, surprise twists and cliffhangers work well, whereas in a linear environment these would have been discouraged.”

Panelist Ben Bocquelet, creator of The Amazing World Of Gumball for Cartoon Network was only slightly kidding when he said: “To me the main problem is the undeniable quality of TV nowadays. People expect this level of quality all the time now and it is a massive pain to deliver.” He added: “Personally I believe the best way to connect with an audience is to give them heart, honesty and truth so they can throw all that

love back at my face. Joking aside I truly believe these are the magic ingredients that usually give way to the most successful projects.”

Alongside “sweat, pain and rewrites”, “putting a real chip of your heart in what you do” is indispensable to the creative process.

“It spurs you on and it pushes you to reach more personal ideas.”

Shiff agreed with Bocquelet that high standards put pressure on creatives. “It’s not always easy to bring high production value stories to the screen, often dealing with scarily large production challenges in ambitious live action,” he said. “However, I remain a firm believer in inspiring and imaginative stories especially for empowering young people in a world where they are often undervalued or disempowered.”

• The Creator’s Superpanel is on October 13 at 10.10 in the Grand Theatre of the JW Marriott hotel

KOREA UNDER THE JUNIOR SPOTLIGHT A COOKIES & Screen session titled Digital Short Form – New Challenge For Korean IP, is presented by KOCCA at MIPJunior. The session will examine how successful digital-first IP and new shortform animation can be developed into enduring brands. and will give delegates the opportunity to discover new South Korean animation projects from new and established companies.

This session is presented on October 14 at 16.15 in the Renoir room of the JW Marriott hotel, by Korea Creative Content Agency, KOCCA, organiser of the Korean Pavilion at MIPCOM.

Ben Bocquelet

Jonathan M Shiff

A chance to visit Summer Camp Island CARTOON Network presents an exclusive European preview of series Summer Camp Island at MIPJunior, including an opportunity to hear from British creator Julia Pott.

The Cartoon Network Original follows two best friends Oscar and Hedgehog, who must summon all their courage to navigate the mysteries and wonders of the magical camp where the counselors are witches, horses become unicorns, and monsters live under the bed.

The original Summer Camp Island

short, developed as part of the Cartoon Network Studios’ Artists Program, was screened at Sundance Film Festival, SXSW and the Tribeca Film and won awards at the Ottawa International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and the American Film Institute.

Pott joined Cartoon Network in 2015 as a writer for the pop culture phenomenon, Adventure Time.

• Saturday 13 October, 11.00, Grand Theatre

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 10 • September 2018

Julia Pott

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Pitch looks to books and games for new stories and characters BACK AT MIPJunior for the second year, the MIPJunior IP Pitch is a competition for producers and creators of children’s content aimed at sourcing original IP ideas from the book and gaming industries.

Previously known as Pitch Your IP For Animated Series, the five finalists were chosen from the MIPJunior Screenings Library by an industry jury that included Jacks Thomas of the London Book Fair, Francesca Ash of Total Licensing, Christina Angelucci of Licensing Magazine and Virginie Lopez of Kazachok.

The five finalists will pitch to the MIPJunior audience and will be judged by a live jury that will include Chris Rose,

director of development and production at Beano Studios; Finn Arnesen, senior vice-president, global distribution and development, Hasbro Studios; and creative executive Phil Molloy.

Rose said he will be looking for “a well-rounded proposition that has the potential for longevity”. He added: “In the ever evolving industry landscape, there are many opportunities to engage with kids across different screens. Producers need to understand the audience and platforms.”

One of last year’s finalists was Shabnam Rezaie, president and co-founder of Big Bad Boo Studios, who presented Bravest Knight to the audience and

jury. “I was so excited for the opportunity to showcase Bravest Knight in the development phase in front of hundreds of people in a competitive and international setting,” Rezaie said. “The outpouring of support and interest was encouraging and led us to continue work and secure a deal with Hulu.”

Shabnam Rezaie pitching at MIPJunior 2017

Good content should ‘empower’ kids THE MIPJunior Project Pitch, formerly known as the MIPJunior International Pitch, is dedicated to creators and producers looking for financing for projects in development.

The five finalists will have five minutes to present their projects, followed by a three-minute question and answer session with a jury specially selected for the live pitch.

“Strong, endearing characters proactively leading the stories is a key focus for me,” said juror Caterina Gonnelli-Linden director, acquisitions and co-productions, at Disney Channels EMEA.

Cheryl Taylor

“Successful content in the current market is rooted in kids’ everyday and relatable experiences,” she added. But content shouldn’t only trigger a strong connection and empathy with viewers. “It should also empower kids and encourage them to aspire to be a bit more like their preferred heroes.”

Juror Vicky Schroderus, acquisitions executive at Finland’s YLE, said pitches need to have “stories that speak to the specific target audience and a unique look and feel that stands out from the crowd”. She added that now is

Vicky Schroderus

a good time for people who are pitching kids content to broadcasters. “Alongside the global and local networks, there are many new SVOD players, and more to come in the future. I think we are living an exceptional era in financing kids content.”

Juror Michael Stumpf, head online editor at ZDF, “will be looking for good storytelling no matter what kind of genre. What is the basic idea behind the pitch and can I make out a coherent narrative? Where is the fun and the emotional touch? And is there

Caterina Gonnelli-Linden

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 12 • September 2018

In a new feature of the session, while the jury leaves the room to make its final decision, UBM Global Licensing Group will present True And The Rainbow Kingdom from the company Guru Studio, as a case study in how a strong brand successfully adapted its IP into a TV format.

• The MIPJunior IP Pitch is on Saturday, October 13 at 14.45 in the Renoir room at the JW Marriott hotel

Chris Rose

some kind of unique approach probably for various platforms?”

Speaking specifically about content aimed at very young children, juror Cheryl Taylor, head of content, BBC Children’s, said “early childhood needs are remarkably constant, even if the means by which they feed those needs change with advances in technology”. She added: “But story and routine are permanent features of all children’s experiences, as they have been since childhood was invented!”

• The MIPJunior Project Pitch is on Sunday, October 14 at 14.45 in the Grand Theatre of the JW Marriott hotel

Michael Stumpf

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Join Millimages to celebrate the third season of Molang FRENCH animation/production company Millimages is highlighting the third season of its animated series Molang at the MIPJunior Opening Party.

The company’s founder and CEO

Roch Lener described Molang as “the Happiness Series. Molang is a charismatic character with a unique graphic style,” he said.

“Molang speaks a universal language and in less than three years

has achieved major international success.”

Already sold in more than 190 countries, the series won a TVFI Prix Export award this year.

“It’s a trans-generational IP,

• Millimages is sponsor of the MIPJunior Opening Party, on October 13 at 19.00 at the Grand Hotel Beach

Millimages’ Molang

What the buyers want for Junior KEY professionals in the field of kids’ content are taking part in the Matchmaking With Buyers & Commissioners session at MIPJunior, where content providers will have the opportunity to pitch their projects and find out what kids channels are looking for.

“The BBC is always on the lookout for shows that fulfil our public service duty, but which stand out visually and conceptually,” Sarah Legg-Barratt, producer, BBC Children’s animation & acquisitions, said. “Speaking from a pre-school point of view, for CBeebies we are looking for ‘big ideas for little people’ — shows with a clear USP which are unique in both design and theme, and exclusively animation.”

And she had some tips for participants at the session. “We’d advise content providers really to do

strong on both TV and social media, promoting values including friendship, happiness, empathy and love,” Lener said. “All of the universal values dear to people around the world.

“MIPJunior is a major market and the best place to discuss our upcoming projects with our historical partners, and newcoming distributors, broadcasters and platforms,” Lener added.

Further series the company is highlighting at MIPCOM include: Louie & Yoko Build (78 x 7 mins), a reboot of Louie Draw Me, due at the end of 2019; Truck Games (26 x 5 mins), which follows the adventures of four young mini trucks, spending their summer in Trucksville; Adventures Of Nasredin (104 x 1 min), about a classic figure in most oriental cultures, commissioned by Gulli; and second seasons of Paper Port (26 x 26 mins) and Rainbow Chicks (78 x 7.30 mins).

their homework in terms of what the BBC Children’s channels currently offer. We want to see ideas that are fresh and original, and which have a clear understanding of the target audience.”

Sarah Muller, vice-president, children’s & youth programming at Sony Pictures Television Networks, is looking for “stand-out, well developed characters and great story-telling — as always”.

Sarah Muller

Sarah Legg-Barratt

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 14 • September 2018

And she advised participants to look ahead. “Make sure your content works on multiple platforms and think about rights and how to develop your brand,” she said.

Legg-Barratt believes that quality always succeeds. “We’re firmly of the opinion that the cream will always rise to the top — the best ideas will always get made.”

For Muller, it’s always a great time to be in the kids business.

“They’re early-adopters, it’s a constantly refreshing market, brands have a real opportunity to transition into other potentially lucrative sectors and the potential for partnerships and co-production embedded in the DNA.” Joining BBC and Sony, the session also includes Italy’s RAI, the US’ Disney and Cartoon Network, China’s WeKids, the UK’s Turner Broadcasting System, Norway’s NRK, Brazil’s Globosat and Germany’s Bastei Media and Super RTL.

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NEWS: MIPJUNIOR WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

‘Capturing the essence of childhood’ Moon And Me is the Sunday World Premiere TV Screenings taking place at MIPJunior. Julian Newby spoke to some of the people involved in the production ahead of the screening MOON And Me is the brand new series from creator of the Teletubbies, Andrew Davenport. BBC pre-school channel CBeebies will premiere the new pre-school series later this year in the UK, along with Universal Kids in the US. The series of 50, 22-minute episodes is produced by Davenport’s Foundling Bird and Sutikki, the kids and family division of Bento Box Entertainment. Sutikki is overseeing global distribution and licensing, including a partnership with UYoung, which will bring the property to China in 2019.

Moon And Me combines the latest production methods with traditional storytelling, comedy and music to create a world for preschoolers, where toys come to life when nobody is looking.

“It’s a magical journey through the hinterlands of a child’s imagination on the cusp of sleep,” Cheryl Taylor, head of content at BBC Children’s said. “It taps into the child’s natural instinct of making narratives from inert characters and settings, which help them to make

sense of the world around them.”

Moon And Me features a mixture of traditional rodded puppetry, stop-frame animation and some CGI painted backdrops, “all of which combines to give it a unique look and feel quite unlike anything else on the channel”, Taylor said. “The puppets are manipulated by multiple operators on traditional rods, which are then painted out in post-production, giving the characters’ movements the feel of toys as they would be moved around by children if they were doing it themselves. This makes them very relatable and recognisable to children and inspires them to play with their own toys in similar but unique ways.”

As for the potential of the series on the international market, Univer’sal Kids’ senior vice-president, content, Karen Miller, said that with a “unique creator” like Davenport “it’s not always possible to anticipate how a global audience will respond to a show that’s completely different to everything in the market. However, the Moon And Me vision is produced with the highest level of craftsmanship and audiences do value this.” She added: “There is also greater opportunity in today’s land-

scape to develop release strategies that can target the youngest of viewers. One thing is sure, Andrew truly knows and understands this very special audience.”

“Andrew Davenport is a dedicated and passionate creator who invents unique worlds for us all to play in,” Deirdre Brennan, Universal Kids general manager, said. “He immerses himself in the creative process and is totally committed to delivering exceptional content for the youngest of audiences. He always strives to capture the essence of childhood in all the stories he tells.”

Taylor praised Davenport’s “rich imagination and attention to detail” and the “rigorous underpinning of his work with careful and thorough research”, always in collaboration with specialists in the fields of child development and psychology.

For Moon And Me, he partnered with the University of Sheffield, in Yorkshire, England.

“Andrew Davenport never does anything without a solid educational, child psychology underpinning and this is no exception — it explores the power of story and narrative structures and their place in a child’s routines, particularly around bedtime.”

Davenport said the series “will honour the heritage” of his previous work with CBeebies. “Since we initially announced Moon And Me during MIPJunior [2017] we have spent countless hours creating a programme that I am quite proud of. I am very much looking forward to unveiling this new world in front of an audience for the first time.”

• The MIPJunior World Premiere TV Screening of Moon And Me is on Sunday, October 14 at 18.00 in the Grand Theatre, JW Marriott hotel

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 16 • September 2018

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NEWS: MIPJUNIOR WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

The biggest,fiercest Gigantosaurus is the Saturday MIPJunior World Premiere TV Screening. The series follows Mazu, Tiny, Bill and Rocky as they seek to discover the secrets of the biggest, fiercest dinosaur of all. Julian Newby spoke with Cyber Group Studios chairman and CEO, Pierre Sissmann, ahead of the Premiere

G

IGANTOSAURUS is a 52 x 11-mins series, based on the bestselling book written and illustrated by Jonny Duddle and published by Templar. Produced

by Cyber Group Studios with France Televisions, Walt Disney and Netflix, the CG-animated action/comedy pre-school series follows the adventures of four young dinosaur friends as they explore their prehistoric world. Together, inquisitive

Mazu, playful Tiny, timid Bill and courageous Rocky set out to learn more about the elusive Gigantosaurus.

The project came about while Cyber Group Studios’ CEO Pierre Sissmann was working with Duddle on a series based on another of his books, The Pirates Next Door. “He showed me some early sketches of Gigantosaurus in black and white, and in colour,” Sissmann said.

“I was immediately fascinated by the look, the story and

the possibility of bringing four young dinosaur kids to life in an environment where they would discover their own world and meet the fiercest — but not the baddest — dinosaur of all, the Gigantosaurus.

Sissmann and his team worked with Duddle on creating a much larger environment than that which features in the book, both in terms of species and backgrounds. “We also worked with him on creating a backbone story with some French

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 18 • September 2018

authors who wrote the bible and then with Jacky Moody in the US, who led the pool of authors as head writer. All these collaborations helped us to create an original animated series.” Sissmann added: “We spent about a year on the development, making sure that we would create a full Jurassic environment with lots of documentation.”

Cyber Group and Duddle already had a history of working together so Sissmann had no concerns about how Gigantosaurus would develop. “He was very instrumental in helping us design The Pirates Next Door and did create many new characters, spending quite a lot of time with our artists in Paris,” Sissmann said. “Jonny has always been very involved and his experience both in video games

© Cyber Group Studios

NEWS: MIPJUNIOR WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

dinosaur of all and feature films has been extremely useful to us in helping create the series. He worked a lot with Olivier Lelardoux, our studio senior vice-president and series director.”

So what is it about dinosaurs that holds the attention of generation after generation of children? “All children are fascinated by dinosaurs,” Sissmann said.

“I would say from four to 12, as there is something to experience and learn about those animals, their history and what happened to them — how they lived and how the earth was when they ruled. So, the challenge was not to disappoint them and live up to their expectations. This is why we did spend a lot of time on research and development, and tried to recreate about 40 species of dinosaur in what was

their environment at the time.”

Sissmann and his colleagues at Cyber Group Studios are acutely aware of the fierce competition in the global kids market, and had this in mind at every stage of the series’ development. “The public will judge if it is above everything else or not, but we worked a lot with authors, artists and with The Walt Disney Company and France Televisions to create a one-of-a-kind visual experience with great storytelling,” he said.

“Our heroes are really cool for pre-schoolers and Gigantosaurus stands out as a great character. Visually the series is stunning, mixing CG and 2D with a great sound experience and accompanying music and songs.”

And an online presence will also be crucial to keeping the brand

to the fore in a crowded marketplace. “We are currently preparing for Disney a whole set of webisodes that will be available online,” Sissmann said. “These webisodes will not only tell fun stories about each character but will also give some hard facts on what dinosaurs were really like.

I look forward to this as it will be not only a great entertaining experience but also a way to bridge fiction with reality.”

And business continues in Cannes for Cyber Group Studios after the Premiere. “On Monday, October 15, we have the premiere of Taffy, the series that Cyber Group Studios co-produced with Turner for Boomerang international,” Sissmann said. “For us this is a very important event as Taffy is our first pure cartoon series

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 19 • September 2018

Cyber Group Studios’ Pierre Sissmann

in full 2D. We have very high hopes for this creation, which is a Boomerang original also prebought by France Televisions.”

He added: “We are also introducing the first new episodes of Mini Ninjas 2, produced by TF1 Productions and Ernest and Rebecca from Natalie Altmann’s Media Valley, both series soon to be available on TF1. Cyber Group Studios distributes both series and we are very happy to bring those creations to the world.”

• The MIPJunior World Premiere TV Screening of Gigantosaurus is in the Grand Theatre at the JW Marriott hotel on Saturday, October 13 at 18.00

product news

Here we highlight some of the multiplatform content available to the international marketplace at MIPJunior and MIPCOM ANIMANTZ

CAKE

ANIMANTZ, a 2D animation studio from India, is in Cannes with Beo N’ Peno, a 52 x 7 mins animated slapstick comedy series about a friendship between Beo, a polar bear in the north pole, and Peno, a penguin from the south pole. This year 39 episodes are ready to air and the rest will be completed by January 2019. So far the series has been acquired in India, Italy, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Russia and the US.

TOTAL Dramarama is a prequel to the Total Drama franchise, which features loveable Owen and uptight Courtney as toddlers instead of teens. Produced by Fresh TV, in association with Teletoon and Cartoon Network and distributed internationally by Cake, Total Dramarama is aimed at 6- to 11-yearolds and will debut in the US and Canada later this year. Total Dramarama (Cake) The company also highlights 2D animated sci-fi comedy, Space Chickens In Space, which tells the story of a trio of chicken siblings who are mistakenly taken from their homes and enrolled in an elite intergalactic academy.

GENIUS BRANDS INTERNATIONAL Beo N’ Peno (Animantz)

CYBER GROUP STUDIOS HEADING France’s Cyber Group Studios’ roster in Cannes is new preschool series Gigantosaurus (52 x 11 mins). The series was produced for Disney Junior worldwide, except China, India and Taiwan, and acquired

by France Televisions in France, Super RTL in Germany and Netflix. Other titles include two new series: Taffy (78 x 7 mins), in co-production with Turner, a classic-look slapstick series; and Sadie Sparks (52 x 11 mins), in co-production with BrownBagFilms for Disney EMAE, a coming-of-age story that combines 2D and CGI. Sadie Sparks (Cyber Group Studios)

MADHU ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA INDIA’s Madhu Entertainment & Media is highlighting its upcoming animation movie Up Up & Up in Cannes. Written and directed by Govind Nihalani, the story is about dreaming the impossible and features a very young camel called Kamlu whose ambition in life is to fly to the top of the rainbow.

Up Up & Up (Madhu Entertainment & Media)

GENIUS Brands brings the second season of pre-school series Mama Llama to Cannes, recently greenlit by Netflix, with Jennifer Garner returning in the lead role. Currently in production, the series is based on a book series by author and illustrator Anna Dewdney about early childhood experiences and the special connections between the llama, his Mama Llama (Genius Brands International) mother and his grandparents.

MILLIMAGES MILLIMAGES brings new episodes of the recently completed third season of Molang (52 x 3.30 mins) to Cannes, including specials (9 x 7 mins/3 x 30 mins). Molang now has a total of 156 episodes plus TV specials on different themes — Halloween, Christmas and summer break. Also in production and due in the fourth quarter of 2019 is Louie & Yoko Build (78 x 7 mins), a spin-off of Louie Draw Me. The French producer is also moving ahead on the production of The Adventures Of Nasreddin, a series that tells the story of a famous figure of traditional oriental folklore, whose innocent logic never fails to mock the absurdity of today’s world, with wit and humour.

Molang (Millimages)

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 20 • September 2018

product news

9 STORY MEDIA GROUP

GAUMONT

NEW AT MIPJUNIOR from Canada’s 9 Story is Let’s Go Luna! (76 x 11 mins), a pre-school series that follows the adventures of three friends — Leo, a wombat from Australia; Carmen, a butterfly from Mexico; and Andy, a frog from the US — as they travel the world with their parents’ travelling performance troupe, the Circo Fabuloso.

BIONIC Max (52 x 11 mins) is a 2D buddy comedy for kids aged six to 11, featuring Max, the prototype for a bionic guinea pig born in a laboratory, and JeanClaude, a goldfish and social outcast at the lab. After they escape into Central Park, they have to learn how to live with the animal inhabitants, and try to fit in by working as delivery boys. The series is produced and distributed by Gaumont.

Bionic Max (Gaumont)

41 ENTERTAINMENT CONNECTICUT, US-based 41 Entertainment comes to Cannes with a catalogue including: Superhero Summer Camp (26 x 11 mins), where the children of superheroes learn how to use their superpowers; Kong – King Of The Apes (26 x 22 mins), set in a prehistoric world teeming with dinosaurs; Tarzan And Jane (13 x 22 mins), about Superhero Summer Camp (41 Entertainment) their shock at finding wild animals during the carnival in Rio de Janerio; Super Monsters (64 x 11 mins), set in a school for monsters; Skylanders Academy (1 x 44 mins/37 x 22 mins), about a team of young warriors protecting the universe; and The Mini Musketeers (26 x 11 mins).

Let’s Go Luna! (9 Story Media Group)

EONE FAMILY EONE FAMILY is in Cannes with Ricky Zoom (52 x 11 mins), due for delivery mid2019. From the producers of PJ Masks, motorbike-riding Ricky Zoom features in a CGI comedy-adventure series about friendship and community. Other priority titles include: Cupcake & Dinosaur: General Services (52 x 11 mins), featuring unlikely brothers in the general services business; and pre-school series Peppa Pig (117 x 5 mins), with a new series in production for next year and PJ Masks (52 x 11 mins), which has a fourth season in development.

SUPERIGHTS

Ricky Zoom (eOne Family)

FEDERATION KIDS & FAMILY THE SECOND season of Find Me In Paris (52 x 30 mins) is brought to Cannes by Federation Kids & Family, which continues the saga of a time-travelling ballerina and princess from 1905 trapped in modern-day Paris. Lena must decide: 1905 or 2019? Henri or Max? An Etoile or a hip-hop dancer? Drama, comedy, and suspense affect the students’ preparation for the Choreographers Grand Prix, while tensions Find Me In Paris (Federation rise within the Blok dance group. Kids & Family)

PARIS-based Superights has signed a new distribution deal with French Producer Le Regard Sonore, for the Story Time! collection of tales (26 x 13 mins), including the special, The Genie Of The Seas (1 x 26 mins), about two siblings travelling the Burmese coast on a magical boat sailed by a genie. Other titles on the slate include: Moko The Young Explorer (52 x 5 mins); Moko & The Worlds Of Color (1 x 52 mins); Pat The Dog (78 x 7 mins), with a second season in production (63 x 7 mins/4 x 26 mins specials/10 shorts); pre-school clay-model series Clay Time (30 x 3 mins/30 x 1.30 mins); Will (52 x 2 mins), about a 10-year-old boy in a wheelchair; TV special The Horn Quartet (1 x 26 mins); Emmy & Gooroo (52 x 11 mins); Helen’s Little School (52 x 11 mins); and Bo Bear (26 x 5 mins).

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 22 • September 2018

The Genie Of The Seas (Superights)

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product news

COSMOS-MAYA INDIAN animation specialist Cosmos-Maya brings Inspector Chingum, its latest 3D offering, to Cannes. The show debuted on Amazon Prime Video and will have its second pay-TV run on Disney Hungama. The supercop Chingum is a character from hit show Motu Patlu, and this spin-off series, a 22-minute format, mixes action, comedy and classic Bollywood-style storytelling.

Inspector Chingum (Cosmos-Maya)

TECHNICOLOR ANIMATION PRODUCTIONS

Team DroniX (Technicolor Animation Productions)

FEATURING the hightech world of drones, Team DroniX is a new action-adventure series aimed at boys 6- to 11-years-old, brought to Cannes by Technicolor Animation Productions. DroniX, a sentient combat drone created by a secretive alien being, crash-lands on earth and is rescued by students at a high-tech academy. DroniX must elude capture as his rescuers work to uncover the hidden powers to stop attempts to gain control of the universe. Technicolor Animation Productions, France Televisions (France) and Gloob (Brazil) are co-producing the 26 x 22 mins animated series. Silverlit is the worldwide master toy partner and PGS is spearheading global distribution, licensing and merchandising activities.

WINSING ANIMATION GG BOND-Dodgeball Legend (104 x 15 mins), tells a story of GG Bond, who dreams of becoming a professional dodgeball player. He joins Mihoo’s team with the goal of becoming champions by winning the league. The series is brought to Cannes by the Guangzhou, China-based WinSing Animation. Another priority for WinSing is Lion Learns To Lion GG Bond-Dodgeball Legend Dance, a new 3D feature film (WinSing Animation) about a lion living in a zoo, who is suffering because he likes to dance. In his journey to become the lion dance champion, he learns about friendship, humiliation and hard work. The CGI feature animation is seeking co-production partners for global distribution.

TEAMTO/CAKE MIGHTY Mike is a slapstick comedy featuring Mike, a refined pug with sophisticated tastes who longs for a quiet life but is instead forced to defend his house from a bunch of furry intruders — raccoons, turtles and Fluffy the cat. With photorealistic visuals, the 78 x 7 mins dialogue-free series is aimed at 6- to 10-year-olds, but has a broader family appeal. An original TeamTO show produced with Canada’s Digital Dimension, Mighty Mike will air in 2019 on Boomerang channels internationally, France Televisions and Super RTL Germany. Cake handles distribution, excluding France and Germany (TeamTO), and China Uyoung).

Mighty Mike (TeamTO/Cake)

STUDIO 100 MEDIA/M4E AG A NEW series of Wissper (52 x 7 mins), currently in production, is brought to Cannes by Studio 100 Media/m4e. Wissper and Peggy the Penguin will again help animals find solutions to their problems, this time offering more real natural-history facts. The CGI-animated show is produced by m4e and Cuckoo. Also a new series of Heidi is due for delivery mid-2019.

Wissper (Studio 100/m4e)

DAZZLING STAR ANIMATION MIXING Kung Fu and Beijing Opera elements, the comedy adventure animation series Jing-Ju Cats is brought to Cannes by China’s Dazzling Star Animation. Successful in China, there are plans to dub the series into 11 different languages. The third season of Jing-Ju Cats is now ready.

Jing-Ju Cats (Dazzling Star Animation)

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 24 • September 2018

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product news

BOAT ROCKER RIGHTS THE STRANGE Chores (26 x 11 mins) follows teenagers, Charlie and Pierce, who have a supernatural neighbour whose house is a secret portal to a world of monsters and ghouls. With the help of girl ghost, Que, they complete their neighbour Helsing’s bizarre and sometimes terrifying chores as monster hunters. Co-produced by Ludo Studio and Media World Pictures and brought to MIPJunior by Boat Rocker Rights, The Strange Chores premieres on ABC Me in Australia next year.

The Strange Chores (Boat Rocker Rights)

JETPACK DISTRIBUTION

BASED on the books by Jennifer and Matthew Holm, Squish (52 x 11 mins) is an animated comedy about everyday school kids, their friendships, parents, and efforts to fit in. Small Pond, Squish’s hometown, looks like an ordinary suburb, but is inhabited by single-celled organisms — algae are the cool kids, parasites can’t be trusted and bacteria always make a mess of everything.

The series is produced by Cottonwood Media and Planeta Junior, Squish (Cottonwood Media) in partnership with Gulli.

MAGIC LIGHT PICTURES

JETPACK brings three seasons of teen drama Cul De Sac (6 x 23 mins) to Cannes.

Produced by New Zealand’s Greenstone TV, it features a group of young people who wake one day to find the world has completely changed — with no adults, no technology and no explanation.

Other content includes: My Cul De Sac (Jetpack Distribution) Petsaurus (10 x 2 mins), about Chloe and her pet triceratops; Time For School (40 x 11 mins), a series for 3- to 7-year-olds following real children embarking in the first term of school; and Our Family (80 x 11 mins/25 x 3 mins), an observational documentary series for 3- to 7-year-olds, following the daily lives of eight diverse young children and their families.

MONSTER ENTERTAINMENT MONSTER Entertainment brings 20 titles to Cannes. This slate includes new series: the third season of The Day Henry Met..., newly commissioned

by RTE; Farmer Mo, which has already pre-sold to SVT in Sweden; Earth To Luna!, which has already aired in 96 countries; Peek Zoo and Booba.

Both Booba and Earth To Luna! have been picked up by Netflix worldwide.

Farmer Mo (Monster Entertainment)

COTTONWOOD MEDIA

TWO TITLES top the slate for Magic Light Pictures. Zog (1 x 30 mins) is the CGI special about an accident-prone dragon who gets into mischief while learning how to fly, roar and breathe fire in his first three years at Dragon School.

When things go wrong there’s always a mysterious young girl around to help him. Currently in Zog (Magic Light Pictures) development, Pip And Posy (52 x 7 mins) is a 3D story of friendship and understanding that captures the highs and lows of pre-school life with forgetful rabbit Pip and impulsive mouse Posy.

NPO SALES NPO SALES highlights two series in Cannes. The second season of kids drama series Puppy Patrol follows the adventures of children whose parents run an animal shelter. They stand up for the welfare of dogs and other animals and take on to those who have less friendly intentions. The puppet show The Sandwich Show (52 x 15 mins) is an educational daily talk show for children from six upwards. Host Fred Talking Head welcomes the guests, musicians and sidekicks like Rico the Rhino and Al Knows it All. The show also offers an interactive tool online where viewers are challenged to help the floor manager Berny prepare next day’s show.

Puppy Patrol (NPO Sales)

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 26 • September 2018

You are cordially invited to the World Premiere of

at MIP JUNIOR Sunday, October 14 at 6pm JW Marriott Hotel - Grand Theatre Seating is Limited Please RSVP: jon.hoeveler@sutikki.com

A BRAND NEW PRESCHOOL SERIES 50 X 22

MOON AND ME, licensed characters, and licensed article TM and © 2018 Tiddle Toddle LLC & Moon and Me Productions Limited. All Rights Reserved.

product news

APC KIDS RIKI Group, a Russian animation company is to produce new series Ricky The Dinosaur (52 x 5.30 mins), with investment from APC Kids, the children’s distribution company of co-producer and distributor About Premium Content (APC). APC Kids has distribution rights in all territories excluding Russia and China. Ricky The Dinosaur is a pre-school series that portrays funny moments from the everyday life of a family of dinosaurs.

DHX MEDIA CGI PRE-SCHOOL series Rev & Roll (52 x 11 mins) is co-invested by DHX Media and Alpha Group with distribution handled

by Alpha Group in Asia, Russia and MENA, and DHX Rev & Roll (DHX Media) for rest of world.

Rev & Roll follows the adventures of eight-year-old Rev and his best friend Rumble — a rambunctious truck with the personality of a loyal and enthusiastic dog — on their family’s ranch, Accelerator Acres, in a community where vehicles live side-by-side with their human friends.

HASBRO

Ricky The Dinosaur (APC Kids)

MEDIATOON PARIS-based Mediatoon is launching The Fox Badger Family (52 x 12 mins). Adapted from the successful graphic novel, the pre-school series uses 3D watercolour imagery to portray the adventures of the Fox-Badger family. When Mrs. Fox and her daughter Rosie move in with the Badger family, they all have to learn to overcome their differences and get along with one another. Other priorities include: the CGI reboot of Martin Morning (52 x 13 mins), adding to the three previous seasons (104 x 13 mins); two seasons of Bobby & Bill (52 x13 mins), about Bobby, his faithful dog Bill and his tortoise Caroline; and the upcoming third season of Minimighty Kids (234 x 8 mins/1 x 24 mins), which launched on TF1.

THE HASBRO line-up for Cannes includes: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, set in Ponyville, with Twilight Sparkle and her pony friends; Littlest Pet Shop: A World Of Our Own, about a pet-only world made by pets, for pets; My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, featuring Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity as they learn what it means to be superheroes in high school; and Transformers Cyberverse.

XILAM ANIMATION FRENCH animation studio Xilam Animation is launching its new kids’ football-themed animated comedy series, Coach Me If You Can, in Cannes. Created by Olivier Pouchelon and produced by Xilam, the new 52 x 13 mins series targets 6- to 10-years-old and follows Daniel, who has a secret — his favourite soccer ball is none other than Erico Platana, the world’s greatest soccer player. A mad sorcerer has turned Erico into a ball and to get back to his human form, he needs to deflate his ego and help clumsy Daniel become a soccer champ. The new series is set to debut on France 3 Ludo.

Coach Me If You Can (Xilam Animation)

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Hashbro)

IMIRA ENTERTAINMENT IMIRA is presenting several new series at MIPJunior, including Mondo Yan (52 x 12 mins), aimed at 5- to 8-year-olds, about the comical adventures of three unlikely heroes — Xia, a brave Samurai Mondo Yan (Imira Entertainment) leader, April, a sensitive animal lover, and Pai, an erratic rodent. Imira co-produces and handles worldwide sales on the series. Other titles include: comical non-dialogue shorts Spy Penguins (56 x 2 mins), about Rooky, Texture and Roborobo coming together to confront an evil Big Boss in Paris; and Sindbad And The 7 Galaxies (26 x 11 mins), a space comedy series in which a group of teenagers are on a quest to protect the universe.

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 28 • September 2018

Comi ng201 9

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2018 CONFERENCE & EVENTS PROGRAMME

SMALL WORLD, BIG MONEY MIPJUNIOR WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENINGS

Saturday 13 October, 10.10-10.50

Sunday 14 October 18.00-18.45

Sunday 14 October 17.00-17.30 © Trish Mennell Photography Inc.

Saturday 13 October 18.00-18.45

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Tom McGillis © William Taufic

Ben Bocquelet

‘GIGANTOSAURUS’ Presented by Cyber Group Studios

Angela Santomero

‘MOON AND ME’

Presented by Sutikki and Foundling Bird

KEYNOTE: MARGIE COHN Jonathan Shiff

THE CREATORS’ SUPERPANEL

Presenting the WORLD SCREEN TRENDSETTER AWARDS

SATURDAY 13 OCTOBER

PRESIDENT DREAMWORKS ANIMATION TELEVISION

SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER

8.45-9.15, RENOIR

8.45-9.45, RENOIR

9.00-10.00, MATCHMAKING LOUNGE

HOW TO MIP IT: NEW VISITORS WORKSHOP

BREAKFAST FEATURING ‘HOLLY HOBBIE’

BUYERS & COMMISSIONERS MATCHMAKING

Hosted by Cloudco Entertainment

9.30-10.00, GRAND THEATRE

9.50-10.20, GRAND THEATRE

BINGE WATCHING SESSION – KIDS AUDIENCE SUCCESSES ACROSS THE GLOBE

ANIMATING FOR GEN Z: “RISE OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES” CASE STUDY

In partnership with Eurodata TV Worldwide 10.10-10.50, GRAND THEATRE

10.30-11.30, MATCHMAKING LOUNGE

THE CREATORS’ SUPERPANEL

BUYERS & COMMISSIONERS MATCHMAKING

Presenting the WORLD SCREEN TRENDSETTER AWARDS

By registration

10.30-11.00, GRAND THEATRE

10.50-11.30, RENOIR

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR FANS?

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION IN KIDS CONTENT: THE STAGE IS SHIFTING

By Turner

11.00-11.45, GRAND THEATRE

PACK YOUR BAGS FOR SUMMER CAMP ISLAND! INTRODUCING THE MAGICAL NEW CARTOON NETWORK ORIGINAL

11.15-11.45, GRAND THEATRE

12.00-12.30, GRAND THEATRE

12.00-13.30, GRAND THEATRE

CHILD’S PLAY: TECH FOR KIDS ROUNDUP

MADE IN RUSSIA: FUTURE HITS

By Telefilm Canada and Canada Media Fund

By Russian Export Center Snack lunch served from 12.30 in Renoir Terrace

12.45-14.30, MAJESTIC HOTEL

14.00-14.30, RENOIR

MIPJUNIOR NETWORKING LUNCH: ‘LITTLE TIARAS - BE MAGIC NOW’

COUNTRY OF HONOUR - CHINA OUTSTANDING ANIMATION SHOWCASE

In partnership with CTC Media, CTB Film Company

Organised by The State Council Information Office, P.R.C. - National Radio and Television Administration, P.R.C.

14.45-15.25, GRAND THEATRE

14.45-16.00, RENOIR

THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC FUNDING IN KIDS CONTENT

MIPJUNIOR IP PITCH A unique competition to discover original IP ideas from the book & gaming industries

15.40-16.20, GRAND THEATRE

16.40-17.20, GRAND THEATRE

NAVIGATING THE OTT LANDSCAPE

14.45-16.00, GRAND THEATRE

14.45-15.15, RENOIR

MIPJUNIOR PROJECT PITCH One of MIPJunior’s must attend sessions to discover new kids TV projects

30 MIN WITH…

30 MIN WITH…

Followed by informal networking 17.30-18.00, RENOIR

Followed by informal networking

16.15-17.00, RENOIR

By KOCCA 17.00-17.30, GRAND THEATRE

17.30-18.00, RENOIR

MIPJUNIOR KEYNOTE: MARGIE COHN, PRESIDENT DREAMWORKS ANIMATION TELEVISION

30 MIN WITH… TIPHAINE DE RAGUENEL FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS

18.00-18.45, GRAND THEATRE

18.00-18.45, GRAND THEATRE

MIPJUNIOR WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING: ‘GIGANTOSAURUS’

MIPJUNIOR WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING: ‘MOON AND ME’

FROM 19.00, GRAND HOTEL BEACH (C21 TENT)

FROM 18.30, INTERCONTINENTAL CARLTON HOTEL

MIPJUNIOR OPENING PARTY

MIPJUNIOR CLOSING PARTY

In partnership with Molang (Millimages)

Followed by informal networking

COOKIES & SCREEN: DIGITAL SHORT FORM – NEW CHALLENGE FOR KOREAN IP

16.30-17.00, RENOIR

30 MIN WITH…

Presented by Cyber Group Studios

NEW FORMA T

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS STORIES

By Cartoon Network

VIEW FROM THE TOP: GAZING INTO THE FUTURE OF KIDS MEDIA

By registration

(formerly known as American Greetings Entertainment)

Followed by informal networking

Presented by Sutikki and Foundling Bird

In partnership with NBCUniversal DreamWorks By invitation

MIPJUNIOR THANKS ITS SPONSORS & PARTNERS:

at_a_glance_mipju_preview.indd 1

04/09/2018 17:32

Playing safe

The internet is a wonderful playground for kids, offering numerous opportunities for learning, creation and entertainment.

But it’s also a lawless jungle, rife with inappropriate content — and worse. So what can be done to protect kids online and guide them to safe places and suitable entertainment? Juliana Koranteng reports

A

N OVERWHELMING number of shows for children and families made by established broadcasters, streaming platforms, digital-first creators, dis-

tributors and global toy-makers are accessed and consumed online. But just as the internet has enabled consumers to watch more quality video shows than ever before, so the industry is also faced with the quandry of

protecting its young audiences from the dark side of the web.

“There’s a huge dilemma about making sure kids don’t stray into the dark corners of the internet,” says Nicola Andrews, senior sales and commercial direc-

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 31 • September 2018

tor, kids, at Israel-headquartered Keshet International (KI).

Kids television remains a major global force. Even the UK government has set up a £60m fund to support a sector devoted to screen entertainment for

© Illustration: StudioA www.atstudioa.com

FEATURE: DIGITAL KIDS

FEATURE: DIGITAL KIDS toddler, school-age and tween viewers. The move acknowledges the pull of the internet, where parents and children can find a host of premium content. The problem is, that content could be right next to inappropriate and harmful material in the internet’s less regulated world.

One solution, KI’s Andrews argues, is to extend the brands of shows popular on the highly regulated broadcast-TV networks to digital platforms. “There is no total safeguard against harmful content,” she adds. “Kids will even learn to bypass parental-control tech. But one way to protect them is with dedicated VOD platforms and apps.” This ensures that, when parents and their children use the internet to search for content, there is a higher probability of discovering suitable shows.

Nicola Andrews:

“There is no total safeguard against harmful content.

Kids will even learn to bypass parental-control tech”

Junk Rescue, a live-action kids’ craft show about converting rubbish into useful items, is made by UK-based production company Hello Halo, airs on UK public broadcast channel CBeebies and is distributed by KI. Extra Junk Rescue content is made available on YouTube, offering its TV fans an online option too.

Andrews also refers to a similar strategy for KI-distributed Craft Party, Nick Jr’s pre-school do-it-yourself series made by Israel-based Ananey Communications subsidiary Nutz Productions. Its two very young presenters, Shai-Ya and Mor, have seen their careers grow thanks to their other kids’ entertainment shows on YouTube.

In our platform-agnostic age, when consumers look for titles as opposed to TV channels, content marketing and distribution strategies need to include a guide to trustworthy domains on the internet. “Some content-owners create a playlist of safe shows on YouTube, which is done ostensibly for marketing — but at least you know it’s safe content,” Andrews adds.

UK public broadcaster BBC makes extensive use of the in-

BBC’s Go Jetters, a pre-school show targeting four- to six-year-olds

Beano Toons’ Rise Of The Dumbphone

ternet to create additional content based on its TV hits, such as seven-minute pre-school animation series Hey Duggee and Go Jetters, a pre-animation show targeting four- to six-year-olds.

Henrietta Hurford-Jones, BBC Studios’ director of children’s content, says: “With Hey Duggee and Go Jetters, we are developing short-form content that remains true to the spirit of the long-form series.”

BBC Studios has an international audience in mind, so the goal is to make the programmes accessible digitally while retaining their safe brand values.

Hurford-Jones continues: “Our most successful brands are based on creator-driven concepts with distinctive design, strong characters and compelling storytelling. We look to new digital platforms and formats to grow these worlds.”

That ploy is being applied to The Beano, a humorous UK children’s comic founded in 1938 and starring mischievous and rebellious characters, including Dennis the Menace, his pet Gnasher and Tim Traveller. It survives today after more than 3,900 print editions. Over that time, The Beano brand has been extended into film and TV. A dedicated content studio, Beano Studios, was launched in

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 32 • September 2018

2016 to evolve the brand into the digital age.

“Our bigger challenge is actually changing the perception of some parts of our industries that think Beano is a dusty old comic, rather than a top-rating, multi-award-winning cross-platform entertainment company,” says Iain Sawbridge, Beano Studios’ chief marketing and digital content officer. In the digital space, Sawbridge adds, the first challenge is “to bottle the magic, to recreate the emotional spell that The Beano has always cast on kids”.

Beano Studios hooked up with The Connected Set, a multiplatform content creator that produces original animation for Mashed, its YouTube channel.

It is also producing high-end original content for Beano.com and has created new 21st-century kids-targeted characters and franchises for the new Beano Toons animated cartoons.

These include parodies such as Rise Of The Dumbphone, The Science Of Harry Potter and The Pokemon Whisperer.

Crucial to getting these evolutions right is to understand what parents expect online for their children. “There is an increased and accelerating level of fragmentation across the industry that makes sourcing trustworthy, high-quality, reli-

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FEATURE: DIGITAL KIDS

Beano Studios’ Iain Sawbridge

able and safe content a huge challenge,” says Jake Cassels, The Connected Set’s managing director. His company is among the new generation of digital-first content producers focusing on developing benign but entertaining online environments for young viewers.

Anttu Harlin, CEO and co-founder of Gigglebug Entertainment, an acclaimed Finnish children’s intellectual property studio, is a fierce champion of that approach. Gigglebug, a pre-school animation show about pulling silly faces and laughter, was conceived as a 360º brand available as apps, TV series, audio books, games, recorded music and live entertainment. Gigglebug also owns Gifted, a GIF app with kids-targeted loops, which have been

Firefly UK’s Steve Hales

Kids Industries’ Maurice Wheeler

The Connected Set’s Jake Cassels

Anttu Harlin:

“We try to forget everything we know about linear TV, then honestly ask ourselves why and what kids love about online platforms and go from there” viewed 300 million times.

“We try to forget everything we know about linear TV for a moment, then honestly ask ourselves why and what kids love about online platforms and go from there,” Harlin says.

In addition to its plans to bring the Gigglebug cartoons to YouTube, the company is developing a live-action offshoot, a how-to series centred on outdoor play and crafts, for the giant video-sharing platform.

To have a say in the safe plac-

Gigglebug, a pre-school animation show about pulling silly faces and laughter

es where children can watch its shows, US-based Genius Brands International opted to adopt streaming tech to create its own TV networks via its Genius Brands Network subsidiary.

Its two networks are pre-school service Baby Genius and Kid Genius Cartoons, which offers STEM (science, tech, engineering, mathematics)-themed stories for older children. The networks are available on YouTube, as well as subscription-funded or advertising-funded VOD platforms.

“Our mantra is ‘content with a purpose’. So our animation shows have to have some social or educational message, usually more aimed at parents than the kids,” says Debra Pierson, Genius Brands International’s senior vice-president of global content distribution and marketing, and president of Kid Genius.

Among its most popular titles are the pre-school CGI animation series Rainbow Rangers, which is debuting on advertising-funded Nick Jr this year, and Llama Llama, which is available

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 34 • September 2018

on subscription-funded Netflix.

Pierson also bears in mind that, while young audiences with internet access will watch content with their parents, they won’t necessarily watch under supervision all the time. “We do due diligence with the platform operators to make sure there aren’t going to be problems, such as inappropriate advertising,” she says. “And you need to be aware of the different regulations from country to country.

The safety issues are difficult to control, so we have to be very careful and look very closely at the different platforms we use.”

Gigglebug Entertainment’s director of digital, Thatcher Mines, believes there is simply too much new content being produced and uploaded for the current technology and safeguards to handle.

But there are parental-control technologies being developed that are worth considering, he says. These include the Disney app Circle and the safe mode in Apple’s next mobile operating system iOS 12.

Mines adds: “There’s one group that seems to be missing from the conversation, however — and it’s us, the independent producers. We’re usually so busy developing, financing and producing that it can sometimes be challenging to prioritise issues around online safety.”

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FEATURE: DIGITAL KIDS

Genius Brands International’s Debra Pierson

BBC Studios’ Henrietta Hurford-Jones

The Connected Set’s Cassels also recommends Pocket.watch, a start-up dedicated to creating original kids’ content in safe digital environments. It recently received a $15m investment led

by Nickelodeon owner Viacom.

Cassels also mentions the CBBC Buzz app that is being tested by the BBC’s CBBC network: “It is a Snapchat-like safe service for audiences that are too young to officially access the platform.”

However, he wonders if the brand awareness for these potential solutions is high enough for parents to discover them easily.

Ultimately, Cassels suggests, parents should think more about what kind of example they might be setting for their

children with their own internet habits. “There does seem to be some consensus that setting some structure around internet usage in the early years of childhood will pay dividends later,” he adds.

Jake Cassels:

“There does seem to be some consensus that setting structure around internet usage in the early years of childhood will pay dividends later”

Genius Brands’ Llama Llama, available on Netflix

Gigglebug Entertainment’s Anttu Harlin

But to retain the attention of school-age consumers and toddlers’ parents in the digital world, video-content owners and distributors must prepare for a level of rivalry they might not be expecting.

In the digital domain, the content children find attractive can come from anywhere, and one of the least regulated sectors in kids’ entertainment is esports, as competitive video-gaming is called. This is because it is a very young phenomenon, having emerged only in the last 20 years compared to TV’s almost 100 years of existence. But esports makes compelling screen viewing and, as a result, is growing faster than regulators can develop rules and safeguards.

Esports involves fans watching other gamers, prize-winning professionals or amateurs with millions of online followers compete against each other.

Because these contests are being watched on streaming websites, such as Amazon-owned Twitch, fans can interact with the players, comment and make monetary donations to their favourite contestants in real time.

Fans can also challenge players, bet on them and pay cash to download virtual goods, known as skins, for gameplay. These are developments the TV industry is expected to observe as more content shifts to the interactive streaming platforms.

And the TV industry cannot ignore the 2.3 billion gamers who will be spending about $138bn on games this year, according to Dutch consultancy group Newzoo. Moreover, the number of esports viewers is forecast to reach 380 million by year end.

Most of the video games played as esports, including League Of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, are aimed at young adults and the violent nature of the narratives are not designed to appeal to youngsters. But some like Minecraft, a subsidiary of Xbox-owner Microsoft, definitely do. Minecraft

Genius Brands’ Rainbow Rangers, debuting on Nick Jr this year

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 36 • September 2018

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MIPJUNIOR 2018

CANADA MEANS

BIG BUSINESS. Sunday, October 14 11:15 to 11:45 JW Marriott Cannes Grand Theatre

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS STORIES Come and listen to renowned Canadian companies talk about productions that have achieved international success – and how.

Join us in discovering their next big hits.

SEE BIG. RDVCANADA.CA

FEATURE: DIGITAL KIDS what they may or may not find and prepare them for it. YouTube is putting the welfare of children in the hands of algorithms run by a company that is interested in profit. I think the education route is the best solution.”

Maurice Wheeler:

Epic Games’ Fortnite, which has gained 125 million players globally and clocked up revenues of more than $1bn

is not violent and, with more than 74 million monthly active

DIGITAL TAKE-AWAYS KANTAR Media research into digital kids’ content reveals that: • Children consume content at an alarming rate and are always looking for the next thing; • Producers and rightsowners need regular updates of exciting new content to maintain kids’ interest over the long term; • Progressive parenting styles in the UK and Germany mean British and German parents are more likely to encourage autonomy and want their children to grow up knowing how to navigate the internet independently; • TV remains central because it requires more controls and passwords, which means parents feel their children are safe.

users worldwide, it has gained a reputation for being educational, thanks to the gameplay format that enables children to explore at their own pace. It is even being licensed by major entertainment brand-owners including Disney’s Marvel. As a result, Minecraft players are able to download Marvel-themed skins that enable them to adopt the qualities of Marvel superheroes such as Iron Man, Captain America, Maria Hill and Black Panther.

Fortnite Battle Royale, developed by US-based Epic Games, is a free-to-play survival game that contains a significant amount of violence. But it has been accused of appealing to children as young as six, despite the game being officially rated for players older than 12.

In the less than a year since its September 2017 release, Fortnite has gained 125 million players globally and clocked up revenues of more than $1bn. In July, Epic unveiled plans to take the brand into the merchandise and toys business.

Gaming organisations believe the current efforts from the industry, retailers and parents should be sufficient to protect children from inappropriate

games and related content. “All avenues of the games industry, including esports, take the safety of all players very seriously and the parental controls that exist on all the main games-playing devices can be used in conjunction with age ratings to prevent children from playing games that are not suitable for them,” says Jo Twist, CEO of video-games trade organisation Ukie (the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment).

UK-based Maurice Wheeler is chief strategy officer at Kids Industries, a family brands’ research consultancy that help rights-owners to create digital platforms for TV content, such as eOne’s pre-school animation series PJ Masks. “Kids can now watch anything, anywhere, on any device — and that ability to feed their obsession enables them to binge content in a much more industrial way,” Wheeler says. “If they enjoy Minecraft and Fortnite, they not only play it with others online, but they also sit down and enjoy watching other people play.”

He adds: “The internet is a bit like the real world. Some bits are safe and other bits are not. We need to make sure we educate our children about the internet, and make them resilient about

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 38 • September 2018

“The internet is like the real world. Some bits are safe and other bits are not.

We need to educate children about the internet and make them resilient about what they may or may not find” Steve Hales, head of Firefly UK at qualitative-research agency Kantar Millward Brown, believes empowering parents to feel confident about how they navigate the internet will influence how children respond to it.

“Recent research findings indicate that people felt more frightened about being hurt by cybercrime than physical violence,” he says. “People recognise cybercrime as a real problem, but they don’t recognise their ability to do anything about it.” This has made parents feel slightly ambivalent about internet entertainment, he adds: “There is a dichotomy between people’s desire for openness and freedom, and the desire to control it without other unforeseen consequences.”

CONFERENCES & EVENTS AT MIPCOM

Child’s Play: Tech For Kids Roundup, Saturday 13 October, 12.00 in the Grand Theatre of the JW Marriott hotel

FEATURE: PUBLIC BROADCASTERS

Big challenges ahead

Mustangs FC, produced by Matchbox and featured on ABC Australia, CBBC in the UK and Universal Kids in the US

For the world’s public broadcasters, connecting with children is central to their cultural remit. But the rapid transformation of the media landscape has made staying relevant to this inquisitive audience an ongoing challenge, writes Andy Fry

T

HE FIRST big test for the public broadcasters came with the international rollout of the US pay-TV services, led by Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. Many responded by launching their own dedicated kids’ channels, examples including the BBC’s CBBC and CBeebies in the UK, and KiKA, a joint venture between Ger-

many’s two public broadcasters ZDF and ARD. More recently, the pubcasters have had to contend with the emergence of YouTube, Netflix and Amazon, all of which have proved popular with children, and the attractions of social media and shortform mobile content.

The public broadcaster’s response to this latest evolution has involved numerous initiatives on both the content and

services sides. In 2017, for example, the BBC unveiled what it called “the biggest investment in children’s services in a generation — an additional £34m across the three years to 2019/20, over and above existing budgets”.

The BBC’s new strategy includes a commitment to spend a quarter of its kids’ budget on digital — £31.4m out of £124.4m by 2019/20. Commenting on this

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 39 • September 2018

move, Alice Webb, director of BBC children’s, says: “Our audience is rapidly changing and we need to keep up. As our audience moves online, it’s our job to stay relevant, inspiring and engage them on whichever platform they choose.”

One immediate outcome of this commitment has been the launch of CBBC Buzz, a new mobile community for the under-13s that can be accessed

FEATURE: PUBLIC BROADCASTERS via Amazon Fire, Android and iOS for free. Each day, there are two big content drops that offer activities based on BBC brands, including Danger Mouse, The Next Step and The Blue Planet.

Webb says Buzz is an example of how the BBC is “reinventing children’s content for a new generation”. She adds: “We’re equipping our audiences with the modern versions of a loo roll and a paint brush and encouraging them to get creative.”

Alice Webb:

“We’re equipping our audiences with the modern versions of a loo roll and a paint brush and encouraging them to get creative” For Webb, a key part of Buzz’s appeal is that it helps address parental fears about letting their kids loose online. Buzz, she says, is a safe space in which children and parents can have total confidence.

Another key strand of the BBC’s new kids’ strategy is about finding ways for its content to stand out in an increasingly cluttered and competitive environment.

While the corporation is committed to providing UK-produced children’s programming across all genres, it is focusing on a smaller number of standout titles, for which it will commission TV series and brand extensions across all platforms.

According to Webb, this strategy will require a year-round supply of multimedia content.

Examples of how the BBC works across genres include new pre-school drama Molly And Mack, a children’s sitcom called The School Bus, quiz show GiggleQuiz and factual se-

Catie Munnings, presenter of Catie’s Amazing Machines

ries Catie’s Amazing Machines, which sees rally driver Catie Munnings introduce machines and technology to a pre-school audience. There is also Match Of The Day: Can You Kick It?, a formatted talent search that takes its inspiration from the long-running football magazine show Match Of The Day. In terms of digital-first content, the BBC launched magic show Boggled on BBC iPlayer and has a spin-off of drama called The Dumping Ground for Instagram. Games themed around TV titles include Danger Mouse Full Speed Extreme Turbo! and The Worst Witch: Magical Mystery.

While the appeal of the new digital platforms presents a challenge for pubcasters in terms of their children’s strategies, there are also some benefits. In the same way that SVOD platform Netflix has enabled locally produced, local-language, adult scripted content to be enjoyed around the world, the platform has also given local kids’ content a way to connect with audiences beyond borders.

Libbie Doherty, ABC Australia’s commissioning editor, children’s, says: “We see it as culturally important to hear Australian voices and see Australian kids on screen. It’s not always possible to achieve that when you

enter into a co-production with other public broadcasters, many of whom are trying to achieve a similar editorial goal. But working with a global partner like Netflix is a way for us to retain the Australian heart of a series and also see it distributed around the world. Australian culture is a strong selling point internationally at the moment, so Netflix is usually happy for us to do the editorial heavy lifting on shows.”

Having said this, Doherty stresses that partnering with other pubcasters and international commercial players is still important, since it is a way to boost budgets. “One of

our biggest kids’ dramas right now is Mustangs FC, which is about a girls soccer team,” she adds. “It’s produced by NBCUniversal-owned producer Matchbox. It’s a fully Australian show, but has worked well for CBBC in the UK and NBCU’s Universal Kids in North America.” ABC is also a partner on The Deep, an all-action animation series that also involves Netflix and DHX Media’s Canadian channel CHRGD. Like the BBC, ABC has dedicated kids’ channels — ABC Kids and ABC ME — and also regards it as important to create content across all genres.

Doherty is especially excited

by ABC’s first pre-school show Bluey, to be launched at MIPCOM, which tells the story of a cattle dog working on an Australian farm. ABC has also enjoyed success with factual format Teenage Boss, which sees teens put in charge of the household budget for a month.

“It’s a funny, clever, PBS-style reality show that does a great job of tackling the issue of fi-

Danger Mouse and sidekick Penfold, now to be found on Amazon

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 40 • September 2018

FEATURE: PUBLIC BROADCASTERS nancial literacy among kids,” Doherty says.

Other shows on which public broadcasters have joined forces include scripted series Find Me In Paris, a Federation Entertainment production that has France Televisions and ZDF/ ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) involved as partners. ZDFE is also a partner on The Worst Witch with the BBC. There are even some scenarios where it has been possible to mix and match pubcasters with regional SVOD players.

US streamer Hulu, for example, is working alongside Canadian pubcaster CBC on a half-hour sci-fi series from Toronto’s Sinking Ship Entertainment.

Entitled Endlings, the tween series has also been pre-sold to Norddeutscher Rundfunk (part of Germany’s ARD network), CBBC in the UK, Universal Kids in the US, ABC Australia, SVT Sweden and NRK Norway.

Chie Wakabayashi, senior producer, global content develop-

ment, at Japanese public broadcaster NHK, echoes many of the above observations. For NHK’s educational channel, he says: “We create and air a wealth of nursery programmes, school curriculum-based programmes, tween dramas and a vast selection of animation for children of all ages.”

NHK’s pre-school programmes include Pythagora Switch (26 x 5 mins), Peek-A-Boo! (200 x 15 mins) and Mimicries (20 x 10 mins), all of which are available at MIPCOM. New animation series include Pingu In The City (72 x 7 mins), Lulu & Rolo: Tiny Twin Bears (62 x 5 mins) and Ninjaboy Rantaro (189 x 10 mins). Another new release, Radiant (21 x 25 mins), is aimed at tweens and teens.”

Wakabayashi says NHK still benefits from being a trusted destination for families, but agrees that shifting media consumption patterns are a concern: “The biggest challenge is that the young audience has so

many media and different kinds of content to choose from.

Pre-schoolers and young children are still glued to the TV set, but it’s very difficult to get teens and tweens to watch TV programmes. I can’t say we’ve found a complete solution, but we have found success with programmes targeting family viewing, like Pythagora Switch.”

Chie Wakabayashi:

“It’s very difficult to get teens and tweens to watch TV programmes. I can’t say we’ve found a complete solution, but we have found success with programmes targeting family viewing”

Federation Entertainment’s Find Me In Paris

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 41 • September 2018

Even among young audiences, it is difficult to hold their attention, Wakabayashi says. As a result, NHK favours shorter shows: “Pythagora Switch is a 15-minute broadcast and is a collage of various short segments using puppet shows, animation, songs, gymnastics, etc. On weekday mornings, as children are busy getting ready to go to school, we air the programme as a five-minute show, and this has been successful.”

Like Doherty, Wakabayashi says co-productions can be a challenge because of local preferences. However, NHK has had success in the past with programmes such as Discover Science, he adds: “We know that there’s a hunger for big, high-quality productions.”

Echoing the BBC approach with The Blue Planet and Match Of The Day, NHK is experimenting with creating children’s shows connected to flagship mainstream adult productions.

“This year, will be releasing Bodypedia, a children’s series that we created alongside our big science co-production series The Body,” Wakabayashi adds.

Of course, pressure from pay TV and SVOD is not the only concern for the world’s public broadcasters. With most of them reliant on some form of public funding, they also have to keep proving their value to government. In France, for example, the French culture minister Francoise Nyssen recently announced that France Televisions’ family-oriented France 4 would be shifted from DTT to online. While this move is expected to save around €300m over the next five years, it has been met with dismay by the French production community, which believes that the move is bad for both children and content creators.

PBS in the US is also under

C A

T C 1

FEATURE: PUBLIC BROADCASTERS pressure following Republican President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would like to cut federal spending on public broadcasting — a move that would be devastating for all forms of PBS programming, including kids’ content. Defending the organisation’s role in society, PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger said: “The cost of public broadcasting is small — only $1.35 per citizen per year — and the benefits are tangible: increasing school readiness for kids aged two to eight, support for teachers and home-schoolers, lifelong learning, public-safety communications and civil discourse.”

Trump’s attack on public broadcasting has not stopped PBS from transforming its kids’ offering to meet the wider competitive threat. In 2017, it launched nationally available channel PBS Kids — free to the end user — featuring hits including Clifford The Big Red Dog, Wild Kratts and Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood. “With the launch of the multiplatform, 24/7 PBS Kids channel, all of America’s children can

NHK’s Bodypedia

access our trusted educational content anywhere, anytime and through any device,” said Kerger at launch. “The channel will be a game changer for all families, especially our nation’s most underserved, many of whom do not attend pre-school and rely solely on over-the-air television for media content.”

Alongside developments elsewhere, the live stream of PBS Kids includes an integrated games feature, enabling children to connect between a PBS Kids show and an activity that extends learning — all in one seamless digital experience.

Like ABC, PBS has also recognised it is possible to achieve its remit by working with the new SVOD platforms. For its recent reboot of Scholastic’s iconic book-based animation series Clifford The Big Red Dog, it partnered with Amazon Prime Video. The original Clifford The Big Red Dog premiered on PBS Kids in 2000 and went on to air in 110 countries, also inspiring a spin-off entitled Clifford’s Puppy Days.

Looking at the major public

broadcasters, there is no shortage of innovation, from digital short-form series and interactive gaming activities to dedicated kids’ channels (KBS in Korea recently launched KBS Kids). But perhaps the thing that makes the pubcasters stand out is their willingness to address content areas that the commercial companies tend to avoid. For example, PBS Kids and CBC recently unveiled Molly Of Denali, an animation series produced

by Atomic Cartoons that stars a native Alaskan girl. Separately, CBC is exploring autism among children in its animated series Pablo, while PBS Kids is addressing the arts through Pinkalicious & Peterrific. The latter, according to Linda Simensky, vice-president of children’s programming at PBS, “offers us the opportunity to put the spotlight on arts and creativity in a way we’ve never done before, and highlight the importance of the arts as part of a whole-child learning approach”.

This willingness to take creative risks with characters and stories can give public broadcasters an edge over their commercial rivals. NRK Norway has found this with Skam, a pioneering teen drama that broke ratings records at home and has subsequently been shipped to half a dozen territories as a format.

ABC’s Doherty says her organisation recently won Prix Jeunesse awards for What It’s Like To Experience A Disability and First Day, which tells the story of Hannah, a transgender girl starting high school.

She adds: “When you’re competing with Marvel

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 42 • September 2018

PBS Kids’ hit series Clifford The Big Red Dog

movies and the like, I think the only way public broadcasters can to survive is to keep finding complex, innovative, culturally diverse stories — stories that connect with audiences that haven’t seen themselves on TV before and that people haven’t seen before.”

Libbie Doherty:

“The only way public broadcasters can to survive is to keep finding complex, innovative, culturally diverse stories — stories that connect with audiences that haven’t seen themselves on TV before”

CONFERENCES & EVENTS AT MIPCOM

The Future Of Public Funding In Kids Content, Saturday, October 13, 14.45 in the Grand Theatre of the JW Marriott hotel

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13 Animation Production Days th

May 1– 3/2019, Stuttgart

Co-Production and Financing Market for Animation Projects Taking place alongside the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film and FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Immersive Media, Animation Production Days offers a forum for finding the right partners for newly developed innovative animation projects.

In exclusive one-on-one meetings producers present their ideas for animated feature films, TV series, games or transmedia projects to broadcasters, investors, distributors and potential co-production partners. www.animationproductiondays.de

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junior

FEATURE: SVOD KIDS’ CONTENT

The battle for little

eyeballs

New from Sesame Workshop, Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck

Children’s content is on the frontline of the streaming wars, as the deeppocketed digital giants continue to prioritise kids’ brands. And it’s sparking a renewed sense of hope for independent content producers and distributors, writes Andy Fry

A

FEW years ago, the kids’ content business looked destined to be the preserve of Hollywood’s vertically integrated studios, global toy companies and a handful of well-resourced public broadcasters. But in the space of just five years, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and others have transformed the business, significantly increasing the number of shows getting commissioned and offering new distribution outlets. And as the digital market has matured,

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 45 • September 2018

muscular local players have added yet more opportunities in SVOD and AVOD. This is particular evident in China, where companies including Tencent, iQiyi and Alibaba’s Youku have become voracious buyers of children’s content.

Indie kids’ studio Cake Entertainment is one company that has seen its distribution revenues soar in the last two years.

Co-founder and managing director Ed Galton says: “There’s no question that the new digital players are essential. Netflix is our biggest client.”

FEATURE: SVOD KIDS’ CONTENT Ed Galton:

“There’s no question that the new digital players are essential. Netflix is our biggest client” With a catalogue of around 650 hours, Cake has been able to license some library rights to Netflix. But Galton says the platform is also an important co-producer. Netflix, for example, is a partner on one of Cake’s biggest shows, Bottersnikes And Gumbles, alongside Cheeky Little Media, Mighty Nice, CBBC and Seven Network Australia.

The emergence of the digital players has brought challenges with regard to windowing, Galton adds, as traditional and digital buyers increasingly seek the same content rights.

“But there’s no doubt there is a renewed energy in the kids’ business as a result of the digital platforms. There’s more competition, which has made it possible for content creators like us to engage more actively with the market.”

Delphine Dumont, senior vice-president of sales, acquisitions and co-productions at Banijay’s Zodiak Kids, takes a similar line: “We’ve done a lot of distribution deals with Netflix, mainly on animation titles like Mr Maker, Totally Spies and Little Princess. Sometimes they’re exclusive, sometimes non-exclusive.”

It’s a similar story with Amazon, which has snapped up a number of Zodiak Kids’ titles, including The Ranch and Waybuloo. In 2017, Zodiak Kids also managed to secure a 100-hour deal with Amazon India, which included all four seasons of Novel Entertainment’s Horrid Henry.

“Overall, this is a positive be-

cause it means new clients for us,” Dumont says.

Zodiak Kids has been discussing kids’ co-productions with both Netflix and Amazon, but says this is more complicated than a straight tape sale: “When the SVOD platforms acquire shows, they are flexible regarding rights. But with co-productions and originals, they tend to be all or nothing on rights. So you have to make a decision about whether that’s the best way to finance a production.”

This calculation needs to factor in whether the show in question is a good licensing and merchandising prospect, Dumont adds, because toycos and retailers still prefer to see properties gaining exposure on traditional TV platforms. “The way people consume TV programming is changing fast, but the licensing model is lagging a bit,” she says.

Interestingly, one of Zodiak Kids’ biggest pieces of news

coming into MIPCOM is that it is actually distributing a large slate of kids’ shows on behalf of Amazon. “We have distributed three titles for Amazon before now but, at MIPCOM, we’ll be presenting 13 of their leading titles, including The Stinky & Dirty Show,” Dumont adds.

Hans Ulrich Stoef is CEO of Studio 100/m4e, a formidable kids’ content business that counts US producer Little Airplane, Australian producer Flying Bark and a catalogue of classic European kids’ brands among its assets (Maya The Bee; Heidi; Vik The Viking).

“The SVOD players have been important for us, making up for a lot of the money that has been lost from the video/DVD business. We tend to work with Amazon territory by territory and Netflix on a more global basis. One of our key properties, Mia And Me, is available in its

Zodiak Kids’ Totally Spies

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 46 • September 2018

entirety on Netflix, as are more recent productions like Wissper and Tip The Mouse.”

Stoef says one of the biggest pressure points between traditional and VOD players is catch-up rights, with one group wanting to extend them and the other wanting to limit them. “So there’s an area of conflict around windows that will need to be resolved going forward,” he adds.

There are companies such as Comcast-owned DreamWorks Animation that have forged wide-ranging production alliances with Netflix, but for an indie studio like Studio 100/ m4e, Stoef says the best strategy is to try to work with all of the key players. “We’ve worked hard to learn what the SVOD players want, but we’ve developed a slate that is also of interest to the established linear players.”

Hans Ulrich Stoef:

“We’ve worked hard to learn what the SVOD players want, but we’ve developed a slate that is also of interest to the established linear players” While Netflix and Amazon are the most aggressive of the new kids’ players in terms of commissioning and acquisition, Stoef is hoping that the acquisition of Fox by Disney will bring a new content buyer into the children’s SVOD space. He also stresses the ongoing importance of YouTube. While the Google-owned platform has yet to really take off in terms of kids’ commissioning, it provides a platform where content-owners can build their own ad revenue-generating channels. “We

FEATURE: SVOD KIDS’ CONTENT have around 200 channels on YouTube showing clips, deep back library and episodes of shows that haven’t got broadcast deals at the moment. And that is a profitable business for our studio,” he adds.

Like Dumont, Stoef says that companies with L&M ambitions for their properties need to keep in mind that traditional broadcast may still be the best route: “Toy company Spin Master has shown it’s willing to work with Netflix as the primary platform but, in general, I think there is an expectation among retailers that some linear TV in necessary.” That said, there are always exceptions — one being Genius Brands International’s bookbased pre-school property Llama Llama, which airs on Netflix but is subject to a broad-based licensing and merchandising programme.

Another company that is particularly enthusiastic about YouTube is French animation studio Xilam, which expects to garner close to four billion views of its content in 2018, up from 2.6 billion in 2017. For November 2017 to April 2018, it says revenues from YouTube increased 126%, largely as a result of a tripling of the volume of content posted and improved expertise in SEO (search engine optimisation). In addition, some of Xilam’s top shows — for example Oggy And The Cockroaches — are included in Google Preferred, a programme that aggregates content into easy-to-buy packages for advertisers.

Marc du Pontavice, chairman and CEO of Xilam, says YouTube “enhances the accessibility” of his company’s programmes, giving children “high-quality entertainment at their fingertips”.

Morgann Favennec, Xilam’s executive vice-president of global sales development, adds that the

company has also built strong links with Netflix and Amazon: “In the last year, we have licensed around five series to Netflix and also a lot of content to Amazon India. Typically, our approach is to licence content to the SVOD platforms as a second window, rather than work with them on an original commission basis. If we did the latter, they would take all rights and I would have no job. I can see it’s attractive that the platforms take all the risks, but it’s not really in our DNA as a company to work as a line producer for others, whether Netflix or anyone else.”

Favennec says the new kids’ landscape provides good opportunities for an established company like Xilam, which has regular revenues flowing through from its 2,000-episode catalogue. “But it’s getting tougher in terms of the kind of rights the various platforms want,” she adds. “Everyone is getting much more specific about what they want and often it overlaps with other windows, so it’s harder to satisfy everyone.

It means we have to be tougher in our negotiations.”

Apple is not yet on Xilam’s radar, “because they are focusing at the moment on pre-school”, Favennec says. “But when they move into older kids’ shows, that becomes an opportunity for us.” As for local AVOD/ SVOD platforms, the revenue doesn’t compete with Netflix or Amazon. “But they’re a nice addition to the puzzle, particularly the Chinese platforms,” she adds.

Jyotirmoy Saha, founder and CEO of Singapore-based August Media Holdings, is also upbeat about Netflix and Amazon, saying they have “breathed a new life” into a catalogue that had been moving slowly. He

adds: “We have already moved on to discussions on original productions. For all the new productions that we plan, OTT has become a major consideration and the content is being tuned to fit the platforms.”

Saha is also positive about the impact that YouTube has had on the kids’market: “It’s the most popular video platform on earth. In emerging markets, which are highly price sensitive, YouTube can be a big winner.

MCNs from countries like Vietnam and Thailand have developed into some of the biggest kids’ online channels in the world.”

Saha is also heartened by the number of Asian AVOD and SVOD players emerging as kids’ buyers. “The OTT space is not going to remain the monopolistic domain of Netflix and Amazon,” he predicts. “In the past few quarters, there has been increased acquisition interest from regional and niche OTT players. This is an encouraging sign. I think both kinds of sales will co-exist with each other.

Overall, I see Asia being a defining market for the kids’ business. Much of Asia’s population is below the age of 14.”

Xilam’s Oggy And The Cockroaches

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 47 • September 2018

Jyotirmoy Saha:

“I see Asia being a defining market for the kids’ business.

Much of Asia’s population is below the age of 14” Sesame Workshop is another leading kids’ content company that has benefited from the changes in the children’s market. It is active on YouTube, has worked with Netflix on Furchester Hotel and has an exclusive Sesame Street block on Chinese SVOD giant iQiyi. Earlier this year, the company also did a deal with kids’ subscription platform Hopster around short-form Sesame Street segments such as Global Grover.

Stephen M Youngwood, Sesame Workshop’s president of media and education, and chief operating officer, says: “It’s wonderful to see a number of new opportunities arrive. They’ve been particularly valuable for independent content creators like Sesame Workshop that have a track record of producing quality content.”

FEATURE: SVOD KIDS’ CONTENT Stephen M Youngwood:

“It’s wonderful to see new opportunities arrive, particularly for independents like Sesame Workshop that have a track record of producing quality content”

Indeed, Sesame Workshop has also hit the jackpot by securing a content deal with Apple, the latest new entrant into the burgeoning kids’ market. “A key part of our strategy in the last few years has been to develop a new portfolio of properties and clients over and above Sesame Street, so the Apple partnership is exciting for us,” Youngwood says.

There are not too many details on the deal as yet, Youngwood adds: “What we’ve said publicly is that we are producing three series that fit the Sesame Work-

shop DNA. One is animation, one is a puppet show — but not with the Sesame Street characters — and one is live action.

But what’s really compelling about a partner like Apple is they have so many touchpoints that a deal like this can go beyond traditional video.”

DHX Media, one of the world’s largest indie kids’ studios, is another that has reorganised itself to take advantage of the new opportunities presented by the digital platforms.

Highlights include the work being done by DHX subsidiary WildBrain, which manages and grows numerous kids’ brand on YouTube. This can involve anything from devising a support strategy for established TV brands (Beyblade, for example) through to financing new content for the platform (Alopra’s Hydro And Fluid).

DHX Media president Josh Scherba says: “YouTube is the most-watched platform for kids so it’s crucial to be there. Wildbrain is a great asset for the company and generates around three billion views a month.”

DHX’s We Are Savvy, available on YouTube Kids

DHX has provided a show called We Are Savvy to YouTube’s subscription service, formerly YouTube Red, now YouTube Kids. However, Scherba says he can understand why the platform has been relatively slow to get into original commissioning like Netflix and Amazon “when it has the whole world providing it with kids’ content anyway”.

Away from YouTube, Scherba says deals with Netflix and Amazon have evolved: “It used to be more about non-exclusive library agreements for shows like Johnny Test and Yo Gabba Gabba!. There are still library

deals but, these days, the conversation is more around originals, and that means they look to secure more rights.”

Co-proproduction is also an option, he adds, pointing to underwater adventure series The Deep, which involves Netflix, ABC ME in Australia and DHX channel CHRGD. Overall, Scherba says that, while it is more difficult to build a hit kids’ brand these days, the market offers more ways of getting content financed: “We try to work with as many partners as possible, though it helps to have a platform in mind when developing a show. If there’s a difference between Netflix and the pay-TV players, I’d say it’s that Netflix is much broader and has to cast its net wider.”

As for the regional VOD players, Scherba says DHX has some key partners, such as Hulu in the US. Hulu has just done a deal that will see it develop original series with DreamWorks Animation Television based on DHX’s franchises and feature films. “I hope the regional players grow, because they understand their markets well and provide additional outlets for our content,” Scherba adds.

CONFERENCES & EVENTS AT MIPCOM The Deep, which involves Netflix, ABC ME in Australia and DHX channel CHRGD

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 48 • September 2018

Navigating The OTT Landscape, Saturday, October 13 at 16:40 in the Grand Theatre of the JW Marriott hotel

your MIPJunior experience

13-14 OCTOBER 2018 JW MARRIOTT HOTEL, 50 boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes Opening hours 13 October: 08:30-19:00 14 October: 08:30-19:00

Registration hours JW Marriott Hotel 12 October: 16:00 - 19:30 13 October : 08:00 - 19:00 14 October: 08:30 - 19:00

We look forward to welcoming you in Cannes, but first here are some tips to prepare your journey to MIPJunior

Prepare for the show in 3 steps Visit the MIPJunior website to organise your travel • Book your transportation at reduced rates with our partners Air France and KLM Global Meetings.

Be sure to use the discount code: 32904AF. • Book your accommodation with our partner hotels and agencies to get the best deals.

• Book your taxi in advance with a fixed rate of €80 from the airport to Cannes (incl. motorway tax).

Prepare your agenda and meetings ahead of time

Your badge: your key to getting into MIPJunior

• Check out the programme of conferences, screenings and networking events.

• Did you receive your badge by post?

Don’t forget to bring it with you!

• Log in to the Online Database to: - Fill out your profile and personalise your agenda - Browse participants and attending companies - Get meeting recommendations based on the business preferences you provided - Send one-to-one messages to other delegates and organise business meetings.

• Why not save time with an e-ticket?

Sent to you by email, simply print it out to collect your badge using your QR code, or alternatively download the mobile app and connect to your account to find your e-ticket.

• As a buyer, create your playlist ahead of the show for the Screenings Library.

• Do you only have your confirmation email?

Collect your badge at the registration area, located at the lower level of the JW Marriott Hotel.

Registration hours can be found above.

Please carry your badge at all times, and be ready to show it at entry points around the show.

Your badge is strictly personal and non-transferable.

How to access the Screenings Library Access the world’s biggest international Screenings Library of kids content!

The at-show Screenings Library will be available online after MIPJunior for catch up screenings.

Buyers & Sellers Log in to the Screenings Library with the login & password indicated on your badge.

As a buyer, you can review a list of the content you have screened during the event and as a seller you can receive the list of buyers who screened your content during the event. These lists are available at dedicated stations in the Registration Area.

MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 49 • September 2018

They will be sent to your mail box (if you have provided it in your contract) at the end of each day.

Important: At MIPCOM, these lists will be available by request at the Palais des Festivals (Help Desk – Palais 0). Buyers can carry on screening post MIPJunior and the online reports post show will be available on www.screenings.my-mip.com/.

your MIPJunior experience

Screen, Network, Pitch - see full programme MIPJunior Networking Lunch: ‘Little Tiaras - Be magic now’

MIPJunior IP Pitch

In partnership with CTC Media, CTB Film Company Saturday 13 October, 12:45-14:30 Majestic Hotel

Saturday 13 October, 14:45-16:00 JW Marriott Hotel, Renoir

MIPJunior World Premiere TV Screening: ‘GIGANTOSAURUS’

MIPJunior Closing Party

Presented by Cyber Group Studios Saturday 13 October, 18:00-18:45 JW Marriott Hotel, Grand Theatre

In partnership with NBCUniversal Dreamworks Sunday 14 October, 18:30-19:30 InterContinental Carlton Hotel By invitation only

2 DAYS OF SCREENINGS, CONFERENCES & NETWORKING EVENTS

MIPJunior World Premiere TV Screening: Moon and Me Presented by Sutikki and Foundling Bird

MIPJunior Opening Party In partnership with Molang (Millimages) Saturday 13 October, 19:00-22:00 Grand Hotel Beach (C21 Tent)

Breakfast featuring ‘Holly Hobbie’

Sunday 14 October, 18:00-18:45 JW Marriott Hotel, Grand Theatre

Hosted by Cloudco Entertainment (formely known as American Greetings Entertainment)

Cookies & Screen: Digital Short Form New Challenge for Korean IP

Sunday 14 October, 08:45-09:45 JW Marriott Hotel, Renoir

By KOCCA Sunday 14 October, 16:15-17:00 JW Marriott Hotel, Renoir

Snack & Screen: Made in Russia: Future hits

By Russian Export Center

MIPJunior Project Pitch Sunday 14 October, 14:45-16:00 JW Marriott Hotel, Grand Theatre

Sunday 14 October, 12:00-13:30 JW Marriott Hotel, Grand Theatre Snack lunch served from 12:30 in Renoir Terrace

Country of Honour – China Outstanding Animation Showcase

Organised by The State Council Information Office, P.R.C. National Radio and Television Administration, P.R.C. Sunday 14 October, 14:00-14:30 JW Marriott Hotel, Renoir

MIPJunior Venues: Find your way around Networking & Lounges

Registration Area

Conference Rooms

Screening Rooms

• Open to all participants • Meeting area, free coffee

• Badge collection

• Conference room 1, Grand Theatre

• Screening List stations

• Conference room 2, Renoir

• Reserved access for buyers

• Matchmaking & Networking Lounge (Level 1) • Lobby (Ground floor)

See you in Cannes!

See the programme p.30 and plan your agenda

For further information: www.mipjunior.com • Help desk: +33 (0)1 79 71 99 99 MIPJUNIOR PREVIEW • 50 • September 2018

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