TV Kids at NATPE 2010 by World Screen

NATPE EDITION

Top Buyers ZDF’s Nicole Keeb Al Jazeera Children’s Mahmoud Bouneb www.tvkids.ws

THE MAGAZINE OF CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING

JANUARY 2010

TV KIDS

Hasbro Studios www.hasbro.com

Highlights

“Our time at NATPE…will help cement our

• My Little Pony • Mr. Potato Head

existing relationships and forge news partnerships both domestically and internationally.

”

The Discovery Kids network in the U.S. is being replaced with a new channel this year, operated as a joint venture with Hasbro. Much of what’s to air on the yet-to-be-named channel will be original programming from Hasbro Studios, a Los Angeles–based production outfit set up to develop programming based on the toy giant’s stable of brands.“While it’s still too early to talk about specific properties, Hasbro Studios’ global strategy is to see its shows distributed internationally through direct program sales and coproductions,” says Stephen Davis, the president of Hasbro Studios. “Hasbro has multiple areas of leverage in the international marketplace, from the global awareness and popularity of its brands to the strong relationship the team has with many key media players around the world.” Some of the brands in the existing Hasbro catalogue, such as My Little Pony, Transformers and Mr. Potato Head, are being explored for adaptation.

—Stephen Davis Mr. Potato Head

IN THIS ISSUE Channel Surfing The acquisitions strategies of several kids’ broadcasters

Interviews ZDF’s Nicole Keeb 10 Al Jazeera Children’s Mahmoud Bouneb 13

Profile PBS’s kids’ slate

Ricardo Seguin Guise

Publisher Anna Carugati

Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani

Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

Managing Editor Lauren M. Uda

Production and Design Director Simon Weaver

Online Director Phyllis Q. Busell

Art Director Tatiana Rozza

Toonzone Studios

Sales and Marketing Director

www.toonzonestudios.com

Sales and Marketing Manager

Kelly Quiroz

Action Dad

Highlights

Rae Matthew

Business Affairs Manager

• Action Dad • Captain Rock Raygun • Tiny Warriors • The Guardians of the Power Masks

Cesar Suero

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Since Toonzone Studios launched Action Dad at MIP Junior 2009, the property has received positive feedback from around the world. “Action Dad doesn’t contain the typical family dynamics found in most animated series,” says Konnie Kwak, the president of Toonzone Studios. “The idea of a family working together has always been the cornerstone of good family shows, but working together as a divorced family brings new challenges with a lot of unpredictable hilarity.” Episode one is already complete, and a total of 13 are scheduled to be ready by mid-2011. “Action Dad has extraordinary potential in merchandising,” Kwak points out. “Each show is filled with unique equipment and specialized gadgets, which are a perfect fit for the handheld-toy market.” She also says that a live-action spin-off would be appropriate. “Teenage angst, a divorced couple working together for the kids, and a heavy topping of high-octane action has all the makings of a great family movie.” 1/10

Ricardo Seguin Guise

President Anna Carugati

Executive VP and Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani

VP of Strategic Development

“ Toonzone is creating fun and exceptional entertainment for the global audience.

”

—Konnie Kwak

www.tvkids.ws World Screen

TV KIDS

Breakthrough Entertainment's Jimmy Two Shoes.

Channel Surfing Buyers of children’s content are looking for standout shows that will keep media-savvy kids coming back to the TV set. By Kristin Brzoznowski Despite the onslaught of cool new viewing devices and touch screens,TV is still the top pick with children aged 2 to 11. According to Nielsen, TV use among youngsters in America is at an eight-year high when including DVR playback or time-shifted viewing.The 2-to-5 set logs close to 25 hours of TV time each week, while those 6 to 11 clock in more than 28. In other countries, too,TV is the medium of choice among kids. To keep these youngsters glued to their sets, it’s important to have fresh programming on the schedule, touching on topics that are relevant to their lives. Buyers are busy sifting through the scads of series out there in the kids’ market to find the right shows to keep the audience entertained, and in some cases broaden the channel’s demographic. One of the newest players buying content from the international market is Disney XD, which launched in the U.S. in February 2009, and later rolled out in Denmark, France, Greece, Japan, Latin America, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden,Turkey and the U.K. The boy-targeted, girl-inclusive channel has a mix of Disney original series and acquired fare. Its overall audience is kids 6 to 14, with a “sweet spot” of boys 8 to 12.“With our programming, we intend to take kids on a journey where they can challenge themselves, discover their strengths and have fun,” says Tracy McAndrew, the director of acquisitions and co-productions for Disney Channels Worldwide. “We have a collection of animated and live-action content on the schedule with a nice mix of wholly-owned Disney series and 22

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acquired and co-produced series. Disney XD also has a regularly scheduled movie slot, which appears across the week, and there is some short-form programming.” Disney XD has its own in-house productions, like the liveaction show Zeke and Luther and the animated series Kick Buttowski, and it also shares the Disney original series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the animated hit Phineas and Ferb with Disney Channel.To complement these, Disney XD has a range of acquired series,including Kid vs.Kat and Jimmy Two Shoes,two solid performers that have been greenlit for second seasons. One of the channel’s most recent pickups is Naruto Shippuden. “Naruto Shippuden was a brand-new series grown out of the classic Naruto series and was a premiere on Disney XD,” McAndrew explains.“We were intrigued by the property’s loyal fan base as well as the property’s existing brand awareness.” Disney XD also recently went for new short-form series, such as BRB Internacional’s The Secret Life of Suckers and Marvo the Wonder Chicken from Ludorum. The channel licensed The Spectacular Spider-Man from Sony Pictures Television and X-Men Evolution from Marvel Entertainment, because it saw the titles as solid additions in the superhero genre. LAUGH IT UP

As for other genres that would fit the channel’s brand, “the priority for Disney XD is to introduce more comedy into the schedule to complement our current series Zeke and Luther, I’m in the Band and Phineas and Ferb, as well as our upcoming original series,” says McAndrew. “We’re looking 1/10

TV KIDS

for character-driven comedies with a boy skew to assist in balancing out some of the more action-adventure fare we currently have.” She also notes that the channel is open to looking at movies that are kid-driven and family-inclusive. Cartoon Network, a major player in the U.S. kids’ market, attracts a demographic similar to that of Disney XD. “We have a very loyal boy audience,” says Adina Pitt, the channel’s VP of content acquisitions and co-productions. “We want to maintain their loyalty by providing the best shows possible. Some of our dayparts and shows attract girls, too. It’s nice to have a broad reach, but we know we can’t be everything to everyone.” EYE ON THE TARGET

With its target clearly defined, Cartoon Network is able to hone in on what’s working for its audience and what type of shows it should be looking for.“We spend a lot of time researching our demos and trying to super serve them with a great diverse lineup,” says Pitt. “We’ve been executing our new content strategy for a while and really expanding what we offer our viewers by introducing more live-action genres, more animated comedies, more action-adventure shows—more of what they love.” The channel has a balanced schedule of acquired versus original content, according to Pitt.“Some years there’s more of one and in other years there’s more of the other.” Among its newest pickups that have already hit the air are fresh episodes of Johnny Test, The Garfield Show and Casper’s Scare School.“These brands are known entities on our air as well as with our audience. These titles also fit the particular programming needs of the network.” Cartoon Network has also had success with acquired movies and holiday and non-holiday specials. Pitt says that comedies like Fresh TV’s Total Drama franchise, distributed by CAKE, have been solid additions to the lineup as well. In fact, she cites comedy, both animated and live action, as a genre she’d like to see more of in the youth marketplace. Another children’s service that puts a high premium on comedy is TELETOON of Canada, which looks to offer the best in animation and animated-related programming. Its Englishand French-language main channels focus on kids 6 to 11 during the day, “with lots of laughs and the best in action properties,” according to Caroline Tyre, the director of programming. “In the evening we have smart, irreverent, culturally relevant comedy and movies for adults 18 to 34. We have also launched TELETOON Retro in both English and French, which airs all your classic favorites for the whole family, like The Flintstones, The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show and Astro Boy.” Like Disney XD and Cartoon Network, TELETOON has a boy skew, but Tyre says co-viewing is important for the channel for its prime-time grid.“The perfect show for us is written to make a 10-year-old boy laugh and is girl and parent inclusive.” Sixty percent of TELETOON’s total schedule, which runs from 6 a.m. to midnight, is made up of 1/10

original Canadian programming, and around the same percentage applies to prime time, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.The rest of the schedule consists of foreign acquisitions. On Retro, 35 percent of the offering is made up of Canadian content, but all shows are acquired, since the block only features series that are at least ten years old. Of TELETOON’s acquired series,Tyre notes that anything Scooby-Doo rates well, and points to the older Scooby-Doo movies, What’s New, Scooby-Doo? and Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Tyre adds that The Super Hero Squad Show and Wolverine and the X-Men also perform well in many demos. The Big Ticket Movie slot continues to be a top destination for the whole family, with blockbuster movies like Ghostbusters, Ben 10: Alien Swarm, The Addams Family and Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins. “We need kid 6-to-11 animated comedies like our hit show Johnny Test,” says Tyre of her buying remit. “We also have a big appetite for movies for both our kid and adult movie slots in English and French. On the Retro front we are looking to expand from the ’50s and ’60s product we have now into some classic ’70s and ’80s hits.” Tyre says she’s “very open” to good product regardless of the source. “We are always keen to meet new international independents who might have the next hit. In addition, we work with all the studios and have great partnerships with Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. and Marvel.” FRENCH CONNECTION

France’s TF1 has around 800 hours of programming for its children’s blocks per year. “Every day, early in the morning, before school, we schedule preschool educational programs,” says Dominique Poussier, the head of youth programs at TF1.“Later, after Furry friends: E1 Entertainment’s preschool series Humf airs on Nick Jr. in the U.K. World Screen

Fang-tastic: KidsCo recently picked up a package of classic kids’ shows from FremantleMedia Enterprises that included Count Duckula.

TV KIDS

Below the surface: KI.KA signed on as a co-producer for the second season of Moonscoop’s Dive Olly Dive!

8:30 a.m., twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday, we aim at children 6 to 10.” TF1 attracts both boys and girls with its mix of programming, 40 percent of which is acquisitions.The French service recently picked up Chuggington from Ludorum and Chorion’s Olivia and The Octonauts because of the high production quality of the series and the strength of the characters, Poussier explains. TF1 also went for the Nickelodeon/DreamWorks Animation comedy The Penguins of Madagascar. This type of comedic series suits the channel’s programming target perfectly, Poussier notes:“Humor is our main line.” Looking mainly to the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Korea and, more recently, India for acquisitions, Poussier says animated series for the 6-to-10 set are in demand, along with comedies. PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Germany’s KI.KA, the joint children’s channel of ARD and ZDF, has a broader remit when it comes to stocking its slate. As a public broadcaster, KI.KA must provide a diverse array of programming. Sebastian Debertin, the head of fiction, acquisitions and co-production for the channel, explains, “We pride ourselves on offering a wide variety for our audience, from daily news especially produced for kids—thanks to our parent company ZDF—to the best documentaries or live-action series that come from ARD, ZDF and KI.KA.We offer a complete schedule for kids, and we are extremely successful in doing so.” What tends to work best for the KI.KA audience is characterdriven series, Debertin says. “The lead characters are the key [consideration] for KI.KA. Do they work? Are they right in terms of concept and target group? Are they believable? Can the audience identify with them? Do they fit into our public-TV philosophy?” These are just some of the questions Debertin asks himself when looking to add a series to the KI.KA lineup. For the younger set, Moonscoop’s Dive Olly Dive! fits the bill, and following a successful first run, KI.KA signed on as a 24

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co-producer for the show’s second season. HIT Entertainment’s Fireman Sam, Moonscoop’s SamSam and ToddWorld and Nouky & Friends from Belgium’s Noukie’s Pictures are further examples of acquired series led by strong characters that play well in KI.KA’s schedule. Debertin says he is on the lookout for more animation that can attract both boys and girls, and that live-action series like H2O:Just Add Water and The Elephant Princess will be a focus for 2010. He also notes that KI.KA will be carefully choosing programs to add to its preschool roster, a block called Kikaninchen. In terms of other blocks Debertin is looking to fill, he says, “The after-school slots are of essence. Here, great animated series or live action for 9 to 12 would be a good fit to have a strong lead-in for our long-running Schloss Einstein (Castle Einstein) live-action drama series.Also, great animation aimed at slightly younger kids for our prime time from 5 p.m. until 7:30 p.m., where we beat out all competition on a daily basis, is welcome.” About half of KI.KA’s programming comes from ZDF, which also has its own block of children’s programming. “Our philosophy is diversity,” says Nicole Keeb, the head of international co-productions and acquisitions for children’s and youth at the German pubcaster.“We offer fiction, factual, entertainment and news. Our programs have to work on both platforms: ZDF and KI.KA.The programs have to be nonviolent and should appeal to boys and girls.” Aside from the target 3-to-13 demographic, Keeb says she’s keen to attract more family audiences, increasing the amount of co-viewing. ZDF is co-producing or buying around 25 titles—series, specials and movies—from the international market each year. Recent co-productions include The Jungle Book (DQ Entertainment), Little Nick (M6, Method Films), Marsupilami (Samka Productions), Dance Academy ( Joanna Werner Productions) and Sherlock Yack (Mondo TV). ZDF also teamed up with Jonathan M. Shiff Productions on a third season of H2O: Just Add Water and a second for The Elephant Princess. “We have been working successfully together with Jonathan M. Shiff for a decade, which allows us to develop hand-tailored properties in close cooperation,” says Keeb. “H2O is working extremely well in every slot,” she adds.“Bibi Blocksberg is still serving well, and so are, in general, titles with more classic appeal. Preschool is struggling a little bit at the moment, because the competition is very strong in this area.” COMPETITIVE EDGE

For Nickelodeon UK, preschool is a strong part of the buying remit, along with live action, comedy and creator-driven animation. There are more than 30 dedicated kids’ channels in the U.K., and Nickelodeon looks to stand out from the pack by providing a variety of genres for a balanced audience profile.The channel uses focus groups, online panels, face-toface interviews and other research methods to understand its audience, which helps determine a scheduling strategy. “We’re committed to listening to kids and what our research is telling us is that kids and parents are spending more time together and want to spend more time together,” says Debbie Macdonald, the VP, programming director for Nickelodeon UK. “Online gaming has brought families closer together so we’re committed to stretching as our audience changes and cater to this need as we continue to innovate.” 1/10

Changing the face of television.

TV KIDS

Man’s best friend: What's New, ScoobyDoo? from Warner Bros. Animation has been a strong performer for TELETOON.

Macdonald says the amount of acquired programming airing on the channel varies on a month-tomonth basis, but notes that around 35 percent of the schedule is commissioned. “For Nick Jr., we commissioned Humf from creator Andrew Brenner and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom from ABD, the creators of Peppa Pig. Both have been incredibly successful on Nick Jr. and each received a BAFTA nomination this year. Ben & Holly won this prestigious award, which helped the channel win the BAFTA for the best [kids] channel of the year.” As for what’s to come on the Nick UK schedule, Macdonald explains, “We’re in production on a U.K.-produced live-action comedy for 2010 with RDF, and we’re bringing some Nick U.S. originals to our air alongside our homegrown programming.” This includes The Troop, a live-action comedic adventure series; Big Time Rush, which follows the lives of a boy band in search of fame; and Victorious, a series from Dan Schneider, the creator of iCarly, that is set in a modern-day Hollywood school for the performing arts. “Nick Jr. acquisitions need to reflect a local preschooler’s life, and both Ben & Holly and Humf fit perfectly with this need,” says Macdonald.“Our live-action series should tap into popular culture and our 2010 premieres promise to deliver on this.” As for her mantra when looking for new acquisitions, Macdonald says, “We leave no stone unturned!”

Nelvana, as well as independent programming suppliers like BBC Worldwide, Sesame Workshop, Fireworks International, MarVista Entertainment and DECODE Enterprises. KidsCo recently acquired the rights to a number of classic children’s programs from the FremantleMedia Enterprises catalogue. Eileen McCarthy, the channel’s program director, says the slate, which includes Danger Mouse, Count Duckula, The Wind in the Willows and The BFG,“fits the criteria of being very familyfriendly viewing and perennial favorites for kids. Kids love the strong characters, strong story lines and well-produced content. I’m looking forward to bringing those titles across Western Europe.They’re classic characters, they’re perennial favorites and they certainly are a perfect fit for our brand.” Movies also play an important part in the KidsCo schedule around the world because of the co-viewing opportunities they provide. “We’re always keen to look at movies and programming for those important kids’ zones of before and after school,” says McCarthy.“I’m always looking for content to fill those slots. I’m looking for short-form interstitial content. I’m open to the best content that’s available to improve our offers to the affiliates and the audience.” While the programming budgets for many channels shrank last year, KidsCo’s buying nearly doubled in 2009 compared to 2008.“We’ve had an amazing year for two reasons,” Robinson explains. “One is that we’re new and we’ve got a very unique proposition in terms of how we fit into the market.Also, we’ve positioned ourselves as being very good value for platforms. In an economy where money’s tight, KidsCo is a really good solution. If you want a really great-value kids’ channel with highquality programming, we fit the bill.As a result, we’ve done very well and we’ve grown tremendously.” KidsCo plans to increase its buying budget again by about 50 percent for next year, due in large part to its aggressive expansion in Western Europe. This news of channel expansion and increased programming budgets bodes well for kids’distributors, which continue to serve up fresh series and new ideas to fill the schedules of children’s channels around the world. ■

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

A relatively new player to the kids’ channel landscape is KidsCo, a joint venture from NBC Universal, Corus Entertainment and Cookie Jar Entertainment. Launched in September 2007, KidsCo’s global distribution already spans such territories as Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the Middle East, the Philippines, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Thailand,Turkey and Ukraine. KidsCo was created to be “a fourth global network,” says Paul Robinson, the company’s managing director. “We’ve designed ourselves to be complementary to the existing channels. We have huge admiration for Disney, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. What we’re trying to do is something different. We’re filling a gap in the market internationally, and this is for boys and girls 6 to 10 with family-safe programming.” Being such a young channel, KidsCo commissions less than 10 percent of its schedule, though this is something it’s looking to increase.The lion’s share is then made up of animated and live-action programming that comes from a range of media companies, including shareholders Cookie Jar and Corus’s 26

Passing the test: Johnny Test, distributed by Cookie Jar Entertainment, is among the series pulling in a boy audience for Cartoon Network.

World Screen

1/10

TV KIDS

Rudyard Kipling’s classic story about a young man-cub raised in the Indian jungle has been adapted for the small screen by India’s DQ Entertainment in the 3-D series The Jungle Book. The first international partners on board with DQ for the project were ZDF and its commercial arm, ZDF Enterprises. Co-productions have played a key role in filling ZDF’s kids’ slate, along with that of KI.KA, for which it supplies about half of the programming. Nicole Keeb, the head of international co-productions and acquisitions for children’s and youth at ZDF, talks to TV Kids about the alchemy of a successful co-production partnership and why this model works so well for a pubcaster like ZDF.

Teaming Up Talent

ZDF’s Nicole Keeb By Kristin Brzoznowski

TV KIDS: The Jungle Book has been selling quite widely since its launch at MIPCOM. What led ZDF to sign on to the project? KEEB: Our team was thrilled by the beautiful design DQ Entertainment came up with.We thought it was great to recreate a classic story in a new version, and we had never seen The Jungle Book as a TV series before.The property teaches a lot about nature, the laws of the jungle, and how humans and animals live together. We thought that children could really learn a lot and be entertained at the same time. TV KIDS: Why is the co-production model so attractive to

a broadcaster like ZDF? KEEB: We have to fill a lot of slots.We are providing almost

half of the material for KI.KA as well. Although we have a budget that we find reasonable, we have to bring in a lot of programming. So we’re obliged to do co-productions—otherwise we couldn’t finance all the shows we’d like to do. It’s also good to bring in other partners with good ideas. Everybody provides different experiences, which I find very helpful.There are a lot of shows that proved to be successful in the past that are co-productions. Mona the Vampire and Laura’s Star, for example, and many other classic shows weren’t done just by one producer and one broadcaster, but rather a mixture of different partners. This formula has proved to be successful in the past. TV KIDS: What are some of the qualities that go into a successful co-production? KEEB: You have to have a mutual understanding of [what the show will be].You have to define the target, the humor, the storytelling. You have to agree on who the characters are—for example, boy or girl, who’s the hero or heroine. Therefore we are working closely with a network of international producers and broadcasters, people who are highly skilled and very competitive to produce the best shows for kids. Obviously it is helpful to build up longterm partnerships. 28

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TV KIDS: What are some of the upcoming projects that you’re working on? KEEB: We do quite a lot of live action now, in particular with our longtime friend and partner Jonathan Shiff. We are continuing with a second season of The Elephant Princess, and H20: Just Add Water will have a third season coming up in Germany. Dance Academy is a co-production with Joanna Werner Productions, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, ABC and Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF). It’s a show about a ballet school. A girl from the countryside has to face the challenges in the big city of Sydney and has to survive the very competitive everyday fight (and the delight) in this coming-ofage drama. We are mixing the romantic stereotypes of ballet with modern dance elements to be on eye level with children or teenagers of today. In animation we will go on with Le Petite Nicolas (Little Nick), an adaption of the famous book property. We’re coproducing SherlockYack with Mondo TV of France. It has a very distinctive style and particularly charming, exciting stories. There’s so much that we committed to last year that is coming now. We are finishing Claude, our little polar bear in the preschool area, with Red & Blue Productions. There’s also Marsupilami, a co-production between France (Samka Productions and France 2) and Germany (ZDF and ZDF Enterprises). TV KIDS: There is so much competition in the pay-TV

arena; why is it important for public broadcasters to continue to provide a dedicated outlet for children’s programming? KEEB: If we didn’t provide children’s programs then kids wouldn’t get to know what ZDF is.That’s a big issue, and we probably have underestimated it in the past. It’s very important that children know that ZDF is a quality broadcaster, because they won’t forget about it. Of course they will choose other channels if the programming is interesting and they want to see it, but if they don’t know that ZDF exists then they wouldn’t even think to choose it at all.We have to educate our audience. Children need to get to know us and we have to stay friends with them—then they will be lifelong viewers.

Making a splash: H2O: Just Add Water is among the series to come out of ZDF’s partnership with Jonathan M. Shiff Productions. 1/10

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TV KIDS

Educating and Entertaining

JCC’s Mahmoud Bouneb Supported by the Qatar Foundation, Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC) is the Arab world’s first dedicated offering for kids. Since its launch in 2005, however, JCC has worked hard to expand outside of its regional borders. With a mix of original productions and acquired fare, JCC has been bringing its mission of educating kids aged 7 to 14 with entertaining content to territories outside the Middle East. JCC also expanded its target base with the launch last year of Baraem TV, a preschool service. Mahmoud Bouneb, the executive general manager of JCC, recently spoke to TV Kids about his aspirations for the two channels.

TV KIDS: At MIPCOM you unveiled JCC’s first co-production with Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).Why is the Saladin animated series important for JCC? BOUNEB: We put our know-how, our efforts together…for the first Malaysian co-production of its kind and the first JCC production of its kind and also the first production between two Islamic countries for the Muslim world with a Muslim hero. It was very challenging to work on this project, and now that it is coming to the world we hope that it will find the success that matches our ambitions. TV KIDS: How do you think the story will translate to people outside of the Islamic world? BOUNEB: We tried to be as universal as possible, without cheating history, but also let’s not forget that our Saladin is closer to Aladdin and not [the real] Saladin. What we have today has no historical accuracy. It’s Saladin as a young man, living with his friends, traveling; we don’t have a political story, we don’t have a religious story, we don’t have a dogmatic story. We have an adventure story from the 12th century. TV KIDS: What kinds of other international partnerships are you pursuing?

BOUNEB: We are on our sixth or seventh co-production. We are coproducing with NHK, with the private sector in England, [with companies in] Canada. We co-produce documentaries, science magazines, animation. We are open to new ideas, we are open to innovation. TV KIDS: What growth opportunities do you see for expanding the reach of JCC? BOUNEB: We are considered a reference in the children’s television industry in the Arab world.You cannot do things in children’s television in the Arab world today without referring to Al Jazeera Children’s Channel. Al Jazeera Children’s produces about 60 percent of what it broadcasts. On the other [hand], we have limitations—maybe not in our ambition, but in our financial means, in our distribution.We are a free-toair channel and we are going to remain as a free-to-air channel. Today our footprint is Europe and the Arab world. We are thinking about a feed to cover North America.And we are trying to bring Baraem [to the international market]. TV KIDS: You mentioned Europe and North America.What about Asia? BOUNEB: Asia, for me and for Al Jazeera, is a top priority, either Muslim or non-Muslim [countries]. Both JCC and Baraem can have a feed either in English or in the local language. There are similarities between the Arab world and some Asian nations, like Malaysia, Indonesia, even Singapore, plus India, Pakistan and others. TV KIDS: What are some of your other priorities for 2010? BOUNEB: To produce international animated movies. We

are open to co-productions for movies, documentaries, animation. [We want to do more] learning programs.We have a co-production now with NHK on a science magazine. The main challenge for channels like ours is to be a value-add for the schools and for the school curriculum.

Story time: Nan and Lili is one of the original series airing on Baraem TV, JCC’s preschool service. 1/10

TV KIDS: What’s the key to successful co-productions with different countries and different cultures? BOUNEB: [That is] at the heart of our spirit.We didn’t launch Al Jazeera to only be a pan-Arabic channel targeting Arabic children. Al Jazeera Children’s Channel was launched from the beginning to be an international player in the production of content for children and families. Thanks to the support from the state of Qatar and the Qatar Foundation, we have a credible name today on the international market for making content for children and families. World Screen

By Mansha Daswani

TV KIDS

PBSkids.org and PBSkidsgo.org are two of the most popular online destinations for children. These sites are often parents’ first stop when their children are ready to experience the Internet. In September 2008, PBS KIDS GO! launched its video player PBSkidsgo.org/video, which features hundreds of video clips and dozens of full-length episodes. Since then, visitors have streamed more than 52 million videos. In 2009, PBSkids.org attracted on average more than 8.6 million unique visitors and 394 million page views per month. A little more than a year later, in December 2009, PBS launched its preschool video player. It, too, offers clips and full-length episodes of all the preschool series, online and on demand. PBS KIDS’s In addition, PBS KIDS has been launching Fizzy’s Lunch Lab. new original web properties. “This is part of our experiment to see how we would create content differently for different platforms, and we’ve asked ourselves what are the technologies that are available to us online that are slightly different from the way we would be creating things for television,” says Sara DeWitt, the senior director of PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! Interactive. The first property made its debut in November and is called Fizzy’s Lunch Lab. It consists of two-minute webisodes and focuses on health and nutrition. “It’s animated and a lot of fun,” says DeWitt.“Professor Fizzy runs a lunch lab where he teaches kids different recipes, he interviews different foods like the Natural Nut peanut-butter rapper, and he has a villain, Fast Food Freddy, so these webisodes will have a narrative arc.” The second property is from The Jim Henson Company For decades, PBS KIDS has been providing entertaining edu- and is called Wilson & Ditch: Digging America. It features two cational programming that has helped millions of children gopher brothers traveling across the country and uses a comlearn how to count, read, resolve conflicts and other basic skills bination of webisodes, a blog, online postcards and games to through endearing shows and characters they can relate to— teach children about the geography, history and culture of the all the while keeping true to the maxim that children learn United States. best while having fun. The third property is called Lifeboat to Mars and is funded Always willing to experiment and find new ways of by the National Science Foundation.“It targets kids 9 to 11 engaging children wherever they may be, PBS offers two and focuses on biology concepts,” says DeWitt.“So it’s helpdifferent strands for children: PBS KIDS for preschoolers, ing kids go through different games about ecosystems and and PBS KIDS GO! for early elementary school kids. Each microorganisms.” provides youngsters the opportunity to explore new ideas PBS KIDS knows that children are using both television and new worlds through television, online and with out- and the Internet.“TV consumption has increased among chilreach programs. dren and so has web consumption, but the web is not canni“At PBS we use the power of media to unlock the learning balizing TV, children are just spending more media hours in potential for every child, and we believe that media can open general,” says Rotenberg. “That leads to the question, is this windows to new opportunities and that children can learn and good or bad? And the answer is, what is the medium they are discover new possibilities,” says Lesli Rotenberg, the senior VP consuming and what is the context?” of children’s media at PBS. PBS KIDS has done considerable research into the impact “We are particularly excited about the potential of new of the content it makes available to young viewers. A recent media and the idea that new technology can help children to study on the preschool series Super WHY!, conducted by the learn in all new ways,” she continues. “So not only are we Annenberg School for Communication at the University of using the Internet to create games for children to learn inter- Pennsylvania, illustrated that the series strengthens the literacy actively, but we are using all kinds of new media like touch skills of preschoolers. Children who watched Super WHY! screens, iPhone and iTouch devices, and interactive white showed statistically significant improvement on standardized boards to unlock the learning potential in new environments literacy tests. “Our charge is to create the very best content so that any place can be a learning place and any time can be because we know that media can teach,” says Rotenberg,“and a learning time.” we want to use them in a way that will help children.” ■

Smart

Choices

PBS is using various platforms to entertain kids with educational content. By Anna Carugati

World Screen

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