TV Kids MIPCOM 2015 by World Screen

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TVKIDS

WWW.TVKIDS.WS

OCTOBER 2015

MIPJUNIOR & MIPCOM EDITION

Preschool Content / Movies & Specials / Canada Profile / Kids’ Content Trendsetters / Viacom’s Cyma Zarghami Dan Povenmire & Jeff “Swampy” Marsh / Gwen Stefani / Rainbow’s Iginio Straffi / Cartoon Network’s Rob Sorcher / ABC’s Deirdre Brennan

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TV KIDS

CONTENTS FEATURES

Finding Good Ideas

82 LITTLE LEARNERS 92 MOVIE MAGIC 100 CANADIAN SPIRIT 150 KIDS’ CONTENT TRENDSETTERS

My niece had a baby girl recently. I hadn’t held an infant since my own 17-year-old daughter was a tot.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Joanna Padovano Sara Alessi Associate Editors Joel Marino Assistant Editor Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Alberto Rodriguez Sales & Marketing Managers Terry Acunzo Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids © 2015 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.ws

Holding an infant, even if it’s not yours, overcomes you with tenderness, but also propels your thinking forward: what will she become, what will be her unique talents? What world will she grow up in? Will she have notepads and workbooks in school or will all learning take place on tablets? How will she be read bedtime stories—picture books or some type of electronic screen? Will she be adept at swiping with her tiny finger before learning how to turn a page? How will she watch shows? On what screen and device? Which characters will become her favorites? What plush doll or stuffed animal will she hug at night? Which characters will decorate her backpack? Only time will tell what shows she will watch and what her play patterns will be, but for sure good stories told well with endearing characters will capture her imagination as they have generations and generations before her. And she will want to extend the time spent with a favorite character beyond the length of a TV episode, engaging with toys, games and videos connected to the show. Since it is very likely she will be watching traditional television channels as well as online streaming services and apps, she will undoubtedly be exposed to stories from a multitude of countries. Programming executives tell me repeatedly that a good idea nowadays can come from anywhere. I heard this from Viacom’s Cyma Zarghami in an interview for this issue, and from our Kids’ Content Trendsetter honorees: Jules Borkent of Nickelodeon, Caroline Cochaux of Lagardère Active, Karen K. Miller of Disney Channels Worldwide, Adina Pitt of Cartoon Network and Boomerang and Sebastian Debertin of KiKA. They will join me for the panel discussion, View from the Top: What Do Buyers Want? at MIPJunior on Sunday, October 4, from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. At the end of the panel, in partnership with Reed MIDEM, we will present each executive with a Kids’ Content Trendsetter Award in recognition of their contribution to children’s television. The search for good ideas and the process of executing them well is a common theme in all the interviews and features in this issue of TV Kids. Children, along with their parents and caretakers, have a lot of entertainment choices. The challenge for producers and distributors is to offer shows that kids will love on all the platforms and devices they are using. —Anna Carugati

92 INTERVIEWS

112 Viacom’s Cyma Zarghami and Ferb’s 118 Phineas Dan Povenmire & Jeff Marsh Network’s 122 Cartoon Rob Sorcher Kuu Harajuku’s 124 Kuu Gwen Stefani

142 Rainbow’s Iginio Straffi 146 ABC’s Deirdre Brennan 167 Wissper’s Dan Good Kids’s 171 Zodiak Jean-Philippe Randisi Falls’s 172 Gravity Alex Hirsch

SPECIAL REPORTS 37 CYBER GROUP TURNS 10 69 MONDO TV AT 50 125 BRAND LICENSING EUROPE

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4K Media Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V The focus for 4K Media at MIPCOM is on presenting Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, the latest installment of the long-running animated franchise, to international buyers. The show is currently airing on Gulli in France, ProSieben MAXX in Germany and K2 in Italy, with many other broadcasters expected to come on board soon. Also in the 4K Media catalogue is Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions, a new movie that is currently in production and slated for release next year. In addition, the company will be promoting other Yu-Gi-Oh! titles at the market, including Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s and Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. 4K Media also hopes to expand its European broadcast presence and secure opportunities in the Middle East and Latin America.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V

9 Story Media Group Nature Cat / Monsters Everywhere / Schnarg Nature Cat is about a curious and melodramatic house cat who dreams of the great outdoors. “Nature Cat is not only incredibly funny but also delivers the ever-important message of encouraging kids to get outside and explore their natural environment,” says Natalie Osborne, the managing director of 9 Story Media Group. “The show was written and created by six-time Emmy Award-winning brothers Adam and David Rudman (Sesame Street, Handy Manny), and the characters are really well developed.” Monsters Everywhere is an animated comedy based on the popular Monster Factory plush brand, while Schnarg centers on two incompetent janitors who discover a world of shape-shifting creatures after they accidentally drill to Earth’s center.

“We want to continue to grow our distribution business internationally with a focus on key strategic partners and emerging markets.” —Natalie Osborne Nature Cat

41 Entertainment PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures / Kong: King of the Apes / Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and Jane A teenage Pac and his friends must protect PacWorld from an evil army in PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures, one of the titles that 41 Entertainment (41e) is showcasing at MIPCOM. The company is also offering up Kong: King of the Apes, an animated action adventure in which the titular hero must save humankind from a group of superpowered robotic dinosaurs. Then there is Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and Jane, a new spin on the classic tale that sees 16-year-old Tarzan attending a boarding school in London, where he teams up with Jane to solve crimes and mysteries. “What makes all three [titles] appealing for international buyers is their iconic and wellknown status in cultures around the world,” says Nancy Koff, 41e’s senior manager for TV and new-media sales.

“41 Entertainment is a leader in highquality animation with worldwide recognition.” —Nancy Koff Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and Jane 230 World Screen 10/15

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ABC Commercial Emma! / Prisoner Zero / The New Adventures of Figaro Pho The Yellow Wiggle from the popular series The Wiggles is at the center of her own short-form spin-off show, Emma!, which is being sold internationally by ABC Commercial. “It contains all the trusted elements of successful Wiggles productions: their winning formula of catchy songs underpinned by educational content, which appeals to kids worldwide,” says Sharon Ramsay-Luck, the head of sales and business development at ABC Commercial. The company is also promoting the sci-fi, action-adventure series Prisoner Zero, which RamsayLuck says has “broad family appeal.” The New Adventures of Figaro Pho features the lovable scaredy-pants character from The Adventures of Figaro Pho, who has now mustered up the courage to venture out into the wide world.

“We are fortunate to represent extremely talented Australian producers who create exceptional children’s content that strikes a chord with global audiences.” —Sharon Ramsay-Luck Emma!

Ánima Kitchent PINY / Cleo Telerín / Bugsted The CGI cartoon Cleo Telerín, produced by Spain’s Ánima Kitchent, is an update on one of the best-known brands in the Spanish-speaking world. It is made in English, combining U.S. writers with Spanish visual talent. Ánima Kitchent first premiered the title in Mexico and will launch a licensing program this Christmas, says Victor M. López, the company’s CEO. At MIPCOM, Ánima Kitchent is also presenting PINY, set in an elite fashion school where a group of mean girls known as the Beautiful People face off against an alternative clique called the Indie Chic Girls. Another market highlight is Bugsted, a multiplatform offering featuring short-form content, an app and a web game. The company hopes to produce 52 episodes of that series, as well as a feature film, López says.

“We are focused on our new properties, co-productions and presales.” Cleo Telerín

—Victor M. López

Animasia Studio Chuck Chicken / ABC Monsters / Harry & Bunny The action comedy Chuck Chicken follows a bird using kung fu to fight evil. Animasia Studio is presenting the title to international buyers at the market, along with ABC Monsters, an educational preschool series that teaches little ones the alphabet, and Harry & Bunny, a non-dialogue slapstick comedy focused on a magician and his stage rabbit. “We produce unique shows with strong characters that will stand out, and most important, comedy elements that will appeal to our audiences around the world,” says Edmund Chan, the company’s managing director. “As part of our strategy to reach our audiences via different media, all our shows come ready with the support of mobile games and apps that will be available on both iOS and Android platforms.”

“We would like to meet and discuss with potential buyers, distributors and investors to explore coproduction opportunities with Animasia.” —Edmund Chan Harry & Bunny 232 World Screen 10/15

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Animation from Spain Four and a Half Friends / Jamillah & Aladdin / Me and Snowy Animation from Spain is the umbrella brand created and supported by ICEX Spain Trade and Investment to promote the Spanish animation industry across the globe. Among the projects being highlighted during MIPCOM is Four and a Half Friends, an Edebé Audiovisual production about a quartet of pals and their pet dog who solve mysteries while facing the challenges of growing up. Arait Multimedia is presenting Me and Snowy, which follows the adventures of a young girl and her elephant friend, while Imira Entertainment is showcasing the family series Jamillah & Aladdin, an update on the classic Arabian Nights story. Other highlights include Planeta Junior’s Mutant Busters, about a mutant invasion of Earth, and the family sitcom Filly Funtasia from BRB Internacional.

Me and Snowy

Australian Children’s Television Foundation Little Lunch

/ Ready for This / Bushwhacked!

Geared toward children ages 6 to 12, Little Lunch is a mockumentary that takes place during the school day’s break for morning snack time. The comedic show is a MIPCOM highlight from the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF). The company is also offering up Ready for This, which tells the story of six teens who are living at Arcadia House to pursue their dreams, and the newest season of Bushwhacked!, an action-packed documentary series that sees its hosts explore remote corners of Australia. “I believe that all three programs add something completely different to the international broadcast landscape,” says Roberta Di Vito, ACTF’s international sales manager. “The breadth of the content, the style and the high production values of each series give them broad appeal.”

“ACTF is committed to being involved with programs that are filled with great characters, strong stories, emotions and humor, along with universal themes.” —Roberta Di Vito Ready for This

Boomerang TV International The Avatars Spanish outfit Boomerang TV International will introduce a new English-language series called The Avatars. The title tells the story of three teenagers who think they have formed a really good rock band. However, the three bandmates are quickly rejected from every audition they participate in because they are considered too young. Because of this, they create a virtual band that becomes extremely popular on the internet—though they must still hide their true identities while at school. “The Avatars is an amazing series for kids and teens with very high standards of quality,” says Esther Agraso, Boomerang TV’s international sales executive. Earlier this year, the company became part of the Lagardère Active group.

“We will keep working to consolidate our position in the Spanish market and expand our strategic growth in the international market.” —Esther Agraso The Avatars 234 World Screen 10/15

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Breakthrough Entertainment Science Max!: Experiments at Large / The Adventures of Napkin Man / Anne of Green Gables Among Breakthrough Entertainment’s highlights are Science Max!, a show combining education and entertainment; the second season of The Adventures of Napkin Man, which helps preschoolers overcome challenges; and Bruno & Boots: Go Jump in the Pool, a new book-based TV movie. The company is also introducing Anne of Green Gables, a TV movie inspired by the beloved classic. “We’re celebrating our 30th anniversary this year and are proud to have been a part of some of the most rapidly changing times our industry has seen,” says Jodi Mackie, director of international sales and acquisitions. “From the rise of digital programming and its importance to younger audiences, to the changing tastes of viewers around the world, Breakthrough has grown and adapted.”

“We’re excited to take our productions to a new level, while continuing our partnerships with top companies and broadcasters at MIPCOM.” —Jodi Mackie Anne of Green Gables

CAKE Ready Jet Go! / Angelo Rules / Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race From Dinosaur Train and Hey Arnold! creator Craig Bartlett comes Ready Jet Go!, a preschool series that is slated to begin airing on PBS KIDS in the U.S. next year. CAKE is showcasing that title in Cannes, along with the third season of Angelo Rules—co-produced with TeamTO for France Télévisions, Super RTL and Cartoon Network—and Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race, the newest season of the hit franchise that is set to debut on Cartoon Network. The company will also be presenting the new Angry Birds series following its international TV distribution deal with Rovio Entertainment. “All three Angry Birds series have no dialogue, making them ideal for international audiences,” says Ed Galton, CAKE’s chief commercial officer and managing director.

“We have worked hard to secure good-quality content and have one of our strongest lineups yet; I think our buyers are going to be really impressed!” —Ed Galton Angelo Rules

Cyber Group Studios Zorro the Chronicles / Mirette Investigates / G-Fighters The heroic adventures of Zorro take center stage in Zorro the Chronicles, one of Cyber Group Studios’ highlights. The show puts a new spin on the classic tale of the famed masked swordsman. The company is also offering up the animated series Mirette Investigates, along with G-Fighters, an action-packed comedy for 6- to 10-year-old viewers. “With Mirette Investigates, we provide kids with a unique and immersive transmedia experience, in addition to the TV series,” says Marie Congé, Cyber Group’s VP of sales, acquisitions and new media. “G-Fighters is a bright and warmhearted superhero animation series, stylish in design and with all the comedy and action ingredients to please kids all over the world.”

“We recently entered the digital space with the creation of apps and digital distribution on VOD platforms.” —Marie Congé Zorro the Chronicles 236 World Screen 10/15

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Daewon Media GON / Noonbory and the Super 7 / Paboo & Mojies A dinosaur-like creature is the main character in GON, an animated series from Daewon Media. The show’s first season has aired on various broadcasters in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, among other countries. “We are aiming for the sales of GON in North and South America, Russia, China and the Middle East,” says Marie Hwang, Daewon’s senior manager. “As we are on the brink of the international market entry for GON this year alongside Netflix and Mondo TV, we are currently looking to extend the brand further in the L&M space, especially in English-speaking countries.” Also on the company’s slate is Noonbory and the Super 7, a preschool program focused on such themes as courage and friendship, and Paboo & Mojies, an animated show for kids between the ages of 3 and 6.

“Within this competitive children’s market, we believe that it is crucial to focus on a specialized field, rather than to cover a wide range of targets.” —Marie Hwang GON

DHX Media Teletubbies / Kuu Kuu Harajuku / Backstage The Teletubbies are back in a new series represented by DHX Media. Teletubbies “is one of the most successful kids’ entertainment brands of all time and has proven to have evergreen appeal,” says Josh Scherba, the company’s senior VP of distribution. “We’ve brought it up to date with a new contemporary version but ensured that the magic of the original is retained for fans both old and new.” Other MIPCOM highlights from DHX include Kuu Kuu Harajuku, an animated series inspired by musician Gwen Stefani’s love of Japanese culture, and Backstage, a tween docudrama set in the competitive world of music and dance. The company is also showcasing a new season of Gaming Show, all episodes of Degrassi and the preschool series Rainbow Ruby.

“We have outstanding content for every young demographic, from preschool to teen shows, live action and animation.” —Josh Scherba Teletubbies

DreamWorks Animation Turbo FAST / All Hail King Julien / Dragons The story of a superpowered snail is featured in Turbo FAST, a film-based series from DreamWorks Animation. Also in the company’s catalogue is All Hail King Julien, which stars the royal lemur from the hit Madagascar films. Another highlight is Dragons, which has three seasons: Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge. Additional titles include The Adventures of Puss in Boots, featuring the feisty feline from the Shrek movies; DinoTrux, set in a prehistoric world ruled by giant creatures; George of the Jungle, led by the titular vineswinger; The Mr Peabody & Sherman Show, which sees a talking dog and his adopted son host a TV program; and the preschool series Noddy Toyland Detective and VeggieTales in the House.

All Hail King Julien 238 World Screen 10/15

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Dusyeri Animation Studios Pepee / RGG Ayas / Pisi A 5-year-old boy who loves to learn takes center stage in Pepee, which Dusyeri Animation Studios is offering to international buyers in Cannes. “Pepee is guiding kids on their journey of growing up,” says Ayse Sule Kirac, the Turkish company’s founder and CEO. “Pepee is designed with experts to help [children] maintain a healthy mind and develop good behavior as well as enhance their skills for understanding and learning.” Other highlights from Dusyeri include RGG Ayas, about a 6-year-old boy living with his big family in Istanbul, and Pisi, which follows the adventures of a curious white cat who enjoys exploring the world. Sule Kirac notes that Pepee, RGG Ayas and Pisi are all already established brands that are supported by successful L&M programs.

“Dusyeri productions offer valuable assets for buyers: they are fun, they are ratings boosters, and they are educational and mother-approved.” —Ayse Sule Kirac RGG Ayas

Entertainment One Family PJ Masks / Winston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding Dong The preschool show PJ Masks follows the adventures of three 6-year-old kids who magically transform into superheroes at night. “We’re confident that PJ Masks has global appeal; we’ll be looking to place the show on free-to-air channels around the world,” says Monica Candiani, the head of international sales at Entertainment One Family. Winston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding Dong is a new high-energy comedy series for 6- to 12-year-olds. “The feedback we’re getting is that the show’s infectious humor is a big selling point,” says Candiani. “We’ll be showing the first two episodes of Winston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding Dong at MIPJunior with the aim of securing wide TV and digital distribution across all territories, excluding Australia and Canada.”

“We’re incredibly excited about presenting these shows, as we believe they offer something absolutely unique to audiences.” —Monica Candiani Winston Steinburger & Sir Dudley Ding Dong

Escapade Media The Fo-Fo Figgily Show / Artie! / Imagination Train Set on a mystical island, The Fo-Fo Figgily Show is a 4K series that is being produced in five different languages. “We are creating a world—with actual sets, costumes and people—that children will dream of visiting,” says Natalie Lawley, the managing director of Escapade Media. “We are changing the face of how our next generation sees food, exercise and problem-solving, and we’re introducing it in a pure and 100-percent positive way. The series’ creative team [counts on] the highest pedigrees from the U.S. and Australia.” Escapade is also offering up Artie!, an animated comedy for 8- to 10-year-olds, and Imagination Train, which uses children’s love of crafts to spark their creativity and development.

“We already have six projects in various stages of development since establishing the company 18 months ago, while also building our boutique library of completed titles.” —Natalie Lawley Artie! 240 World Screen 10/15

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CYBER GROUP T TV KIDS: What was your mandate when you founded Cyber Group Studios ten years ago? SISSMANN: There were three of us who came out of Disney and we first went into venture capital. We were very successful and supported over 20 start-ups in the new tech and media area, but after a few years, I really wanted to go back to animation and kids’ entertainment. So we decided to form Cyber Group Studios. The challenge was to create entertaining animation in the preschool area. At the time, preschool was mostly 2D, and people looked down on CGI. We very deliberately decided to go into CGI because of the nature of the images—the color, the movement, the fluidity. We brought some friends aboard and first created this show called Ozie Boo!, featuring five penguins. We were still doing a lot of venture capital and were consulting for some big companies, but we felt strongly about Ozie Boo!, so we decided to raise the funds to produce it. We invested a lot of our own savings, we took a lot of risk, hired a few people and wrote the full series. We presented it to Disney Channel France and ultimately a 52x2-minute series was bought by Disney Channel Europe. So we said, let’s continue what we’re doing. Our mission was to make series with great visuals, great music and great stories. The adventure had begun. TV KIDS: What have been some of the milestones in the company’s evolution?

PIERRE SISSMANN In 2005, three top former Disney Europe executives— Pierre Sissmann, Dominique Bourse and Cecilia Bossel—decided to pool their skill sets to co-found a new kind of kids’ content company, together with Olivier Lelardoux, now Cyber Group Studios’ VP of animation, and Billy, a former Disney Channel France TV host. Cyber Group Studios launched with a little show about penguins that would go on to conquer the globe. On the heels of the success of Ozie Boo!, Cyber Group, led by Pierre Sissmann as chairman and CEO, built a wide slate of original IP produced with cutting-edge animation technologies. The company also expanded its distribution catalogue via international co-pros and third-party representation deals, while also building a vibrant licensing and merchandising business. As the company marks its tenth birthday, Sissmann reflects on Cyber Group’s success story.

SISSMANN: We were introduced to Theresa PlummerAndrews, formerly BBC’s head of acquisitions, animation and co-productions for children’s TV. We have been working together for ten years developing preschool IP. Our second show was Manon, with Sardine Productions in Canada, based on a series of French books. We didn’t have the budget to do full CGI, and [the property] looked so charming in 2D, so we developed technology to have CGI look like 2D. At the same time, we created our own distribution business, which is one of the strengths of Cyber Group Studios today. I felt that we would be the best people to sell our shows and share our passion with the buyers. By 2008 we were developing series, producing them, selling them and licensing consumer products ourselves. From the beginning, we have been supported by French and European institutions such as CNC,

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TV KIDS: How important have co-productions been for the company? SISSMANN: I admire great ideas that we haven’t had, and great companies with processes we don’t have. Sometimes we stumble on a great idea and we find very talented people who we think it would be good for us to be associated with. We could take a property further or enhance each other’s skills. For example, we have a great relationship with our very talented friends at Brown Bag Films on Gilbert and Allie, which we have been developing for over 15 months. That pushes our company further in the way of excellence. We have also just entered into a development deal with Moving Puppet studio on a famous property called Chapi Chapo—just because we feel that they have a lot of talent and we would love to be associated with the property and its CGI reboot. Coproductions are a great way to learn from others and it is great for us to distribute other series such as Mini Ninjas, created by TF1 Productions, that bolster and complement our catalogue. We love working with companies from all over the world. This becomes a part of the enhancement of our own company.

MEDIA, PROCIREP and Pôle Image Magelis, which has been very important to us. We were really focused on preschool and upper preschool—what people now call bridge programs— until 2008/09. That’s when we released a show that I wrote the bible for, called Tales of Tatonka. It’s now on Discovery Kids in Asia. It won a prize in China. It’s been airing on France 5 and has sold to 120 countries. We had a great preschool and bridge catalogue and had successfully started distributing third-party productions. But people really saw us as a company mostly doing preschool. So by 2009/10, we started looking at how we would enter the kids’ market, and our catalogue is pretty big today. This year we’re releasing Zorro the Chronicles, our most ambitious series ever. A couple of years ago we produced Mademoiselle Zazie, our first co-pro with France Télévisions, for whom we are now producing a new show called The Pirates Next Door, which is targeting the kids’ segment. We are also working on a show for TF1, CANAL+ France, WDR Germany, TV3 Catalunya and VRT in Belgium called Mirette Investigates. We have continued to grow our preschool catalogue. Zou, which we produced for Disney EMEA, is now entering its third season and is a hit worldwide. Last year we signed a co-pro deal with The Jim Henson Company in the U.S. to produce two series targeting the upper preschool segment. And we have presented at Cartoon Forum a new series called Gigantosaurus, which is our next preschool show after Mia.

Cyber Group has assembled a broad slate over the years, including, from top, the preschool hit Ozie Boo!, Tales of Tatonka and the brand-new Zorro the Chronicles.

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10 YEARS OF CYBER GROUP Zou wins its first U.S. award with the Children’s Jury Prize at the CICFF in Chicago. The show has a very strong launch on Disney Junior internationally. Cyber Group Studios receives a third Innovative Company Award for its production technology and processes.

Y 2013

Y 2005

Cyber Group Studios is founded in Paris. The company’s first show, Ozie Boo!, premieres on Disney Channel France.

Y 2006

The company scores its first international sale when SRC Radio Canada picks up the rights to air Ozie Boo!

Ozie Boo! wins the TVFI Export Award as the most exported French series.

Y 2009

Cyber Group Studios picks up its first third-party series for international distribution: the Emmywinning animated show Animalia. © Animalia Productions PFTC 2009 / Produced by Animalia Productions Pty Ltd Distribution: Cyber Group Studios

Cyber Group Studios is ranked as the most active French animation producer by the CNC.

Zou is nominated at the International Emmy Kids Awards in the preschool category. Cyber Group Studios doubles its annual international sales. The company releases its first animated e-books and apps for Zou. Cyber Group Studios signs a co-production agreement with TF1 Productions for the hit show Mini Ninjas.

Y 2014

Cyber Group Studios is named International Producer of the Year at the Pulcinella Awards. A strategic partnership is sealed with KD, a major digital-tablet manufacturer in Europe. The company’s client base reaches 200 broadcasters and platforms. Cyber Group seals its first three-country co-pro for Mirette Investigates, aligning with TF1 and CANAL+ in France, KD in Spain for TV3 Catalunya and WDR in Germany. The firm inks a multiyear financing agreement with Natixis Coficiné Bank for third-party distribution.

Y 2011

Tales of Tatonka is watched by 1 million children a day worldwide. The acclaimed series is nominated for a Gold Panda at the Sichuan TV Festival International in China. Cyber Group Studios signs a deal with ZPI for the rights to produce a new adaptation of Zorro.

Y2015

The Jim Henson Company and Cyber Group Studios enter their first coproduction collaboration for two new productions. The two series are called Enchanted Sisters and Boubouh! Cyber Group Studios and Brown Bag Films ink an agreement for the co-production of Gilbert and Allie. Zorro the Chronicles is announced as the World Premiere Screening at MIPJunior. Cyber Group Studios marks its tenth anniversary.

Y 2008

Y 2010

Y 2012

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LOOKING With its technological prowess and broad development slate,

reative innovation has always been at the heart of the Cyber Group Studios ethos. Over the last decade, the French independent has grown from having one 52-part interstitial preschool series to boasting an extensive slate covering multiple kids’ demos and numerous visual styles. “We basically started in three rooms, in three offices— there were six of us,” says Pierre Sissmann, chairman and CEO. “Today we have a full-fledged company in our own high-tech building, over 25 full-time employees in the various corporate and studio departments and more than 200 people at any given time working on our different productions and development projects.” Today, the Cyber Group catalogue spans 1,000 half-hours, 60 percent of which are the company’s own productions or co-productions. “We always have at least two preschool or bridge shows in production and at least three others in development,” Sissmann says. “And we do the same for kids’ shows. We started producing series such as The Pirates Next Door, Mirette Investigates, Zorro the Chronicles and

Mini Ninjas, where we are the executive producer for TF1 Productions, whom we partnered with as a co-producer. We also announced a major co-production with the multi-award-winning studio Brown Bag Films for Gilbert and Allie, one of our next big CGI shows.” Sissmann says that the company currently has 15 shows in production or development, covering all types of animation and age groups. “We are very fortunate to have Dominique Poussier and Theresa Plummer-Andrews, the former heads of youth entertainment at TF1 and BBC, respectively, as our permanent advisors on new series development.” Using technology to deliver better and better animation has been the goal since the company’s formation. “People come to us because we have shows that appeal to kids across all continents,” says Olivier Lelardoux, Cyber Group’s studio head. “We are very fortunate to have received 14 to 15 awards, including the Pulcinella for best studio of the year in 2014, three technology awards from the French government and

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G AHEAD

Cyber Group has positioned itself for continued growth. © Cyber Group Studios. «Based on Jonny Duddle’s book GIGANTOSAURUS published by The Templar Company Limited 2014» © Cyber Group Studios. «Based on Jonny Duddle’s book PIRATES NEXT DOOR published by The Templar Company Limited 2012» © BROWN BAG FILMS LTD.- CYBER GROUP STUDIOS

an award in China. We’ve been nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award.” To keep Cyber Group at the top of its game, attracting talent has been essential. “We’ve had a great number of new colleagues joining us, sometimes from very different companies, sometimes from competing studios,” Sissmann says. “The more people we have who bring us a talent we don’t have, the better off we are. Cultivating talent is really important. We need to have ideas, we need to make great shows—but if you don’t have talent inside the company, it doesn’t work. We have people of exceptional talent working with us. That’s probably what I am proudest of. We have grown on the success and talent of the people working with us. That’s why we’re here today.” The growth over the last decade prompted a reorganization this year, says COO Dominique Bourse, “to give us more flexibility and the ability to go in new directions.” As such, he adds, “We are very grateful to our financial investors, such as Viveris, Idinvest and Entrepreneur Venture, to have given us support for our growth.” Sissmann is confident that the Cyber Group team, driven by a passion for high-quality animation, can continue to adjust to the fast-changing kids’ business. “We’ve had projects that failed and we learned from them. It’s interesting for us to always learn about new things and new people. It’s about bringing talent into the company, learning from them and building something new that will create the ‘wow’ effect, even for us. It’s not about just doing a show or a series—it’s about being proud of what we do, and going beyond what we’ve already done. Each time we set a bar, we go beyond it and say, we’re going to go to the next stage.” Central to Cyber Group’s approach to talent has been assembling the best creative minds from three of the biggest exporters of children’s content: France, the U.K. and the U.S. “When you’re inside this triangle, you get the best of all worlds. Nobody writes cartoons like U.S. authors. Some of the best preschool comes from the U.K. Some of the best kids’ shows come from France. And we are now actively developing our ties with Asia—China in particular—as our goal is to be truly global.” The ambition to constantly do better work drives all of Cyber Group’s employees, Sissmann notes. And creation is a passion which needs to be constantly fueled by the best. “We live in a world where change is so present—change in technology, change in habits, change in cultures. We have to anticipate those changes. It’s always about creating new shows that will surprise kids and families worldwide, and that our clients will be happy with. And it’s about having fun. And the digital age brings new opportunities that we are excited to be able to tap into.”

Cyber Group’s slate of new projects for the kids’ demo includes, from left, Tom Sawyer, Gigantosaurus, The Pirates Next Door and Gilbert and Allie.

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On the opening night of MIPJunior, delegates will be treated to the World Premiere Screening of Zorro the Chronicles. TV Kids takes an inside look at the new series. he masked crusader Zorro was first created in 1919. In the almost 100-year period since then he has been featured in books, movies and television series. This MIPJunior, Cyber Group Studios is unveiling the latest iteration of the beloved hero in a new animated series for kids. Buyers will get a chance to see the first episode on the opening night of the market, when it will be presented as the World Premiere Screening. Pierre Sissmann, Cyber Group Studios’ chairman and CEO, has a long history with the character. “Zorro has been close to me for over 30 years, as I initiated the colorization of the Disney series in 1992. I felt Zorro’s values were timeless and thought the series would play very well to audiences in color. So 30 years later, it was a pleasure for me to work with ZPI and John Gertz, the property’s owner, to see if we could create a big animated series with the characters, using the power of today’s technology and going back to the roots of Johnston McCulley, the original author.” Zorro the Chronicles is an action comedy geared to kids 6 to 12. Broadcasters on board include France 3, Rai, Boing, Téle-Québec, VRT, Clan, TV 2 and many others to be announced shortly. “We’re preselling Zorro worldwide in a much bigger way than we’ve presold any of our other shows,” Sissmann says. To go about rebooting this classic superhero, Olivier Lelardoux, the series’ director, says that step one was “fully understanding the DNA of Zorro. This took over six months of research into California history, backgrounds, people, etc. Our team also plunged deep into Zorro’s original roots and all the adaptations that had been made in the 20th century. Evergreen values such as justice or defending the poor are eternal. What also lay in Zorro was a strong concept of diversity, and the rising role of women, who had been so instrumental in helping build

California in the 19th century. We focused on these issues and determined how well they would play for today’s audience and how they should be balanced. Between research, writing and designing, we spent over a year and a half giving birth to the fundamentals of today’s series.” The new series, produced in CGI, focuses on the teenage Don Diego, his twin sister, Ines, and his best friend, Bernardo. It fuses high doses of action with plenty of comedy. Much time and effort went into the visual look of the show, which is set in the 19th century. “For character design, we worked with the original graphic authors, Georges Bouchelaghem and Christophe Rendu, to deliver a style based on what Annabelle Perrichon, my co-author and script editor, and myself had envisioned,” Sissmann says. “Regarding colorization and backgrounds, we worked with two very talented artists to focus on the look and feel of California at the time. For instance, we designed a Los Angeles in 1820 based on the original map from 1780, which we received directly from California. Extreme care was taken to make this epic saga believable, not only from a story viewpoint but from a graphic point of view as well.” None of this was easy, Sissmann notes, particularly replicating the look of the era on a TV budget. “We had to develop some technological tools that would enable us to swiftly move from one character to another one in the modelization process. That took us about a year of development and coding new tools. In the end, when you look at the first episode, there are close to 100 characters appearing at any point in time. And the work of our associated partner on the series, Blue Spirit Studio, headed by Eric Jacquot, has been purely outstanding in delivering great animation.” An extensive L&M program is being planned for the show that will include apparel, accessories, action figures and more.

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ZOU FINDS HIS STRIPES A preschool series about a lovable zebra has become one of Cyber Group Studios’ biggest hits. he antics of a little zebra and his family found lots of young fans around the world when author Michel Gay began releasing his Zou picture books in the late ’90s. It was the Zou preschool series from Cyber Group Studios, however, that turned the striped youngster into a global phenomenon. “Zou has become an international success faster than we could have expected,” says Theresa PlummerAndrews, who oversaw the development of the series. The show has aired on Disney Junior internationally, Sprout, Hulu, NBC Kids, France 5, Super RTL, YLE, KBS Kids and numerous other platforms. “Today, Zou can be viewed in 33 languages in 150 to 170 countries around the globe,” says Pierre Sissmann, chairman and CEO. “At one point around the end of the year, Zou could be seen by over 100 million children almost simultaneously.” For Sissmann, the show’s global success comes down to the high quality of the animation and its built-in family values. “Zou is a show that parents enjoy watching with young kids. For younger children, until they go to school, the family is their whole universe.”

Zou has not just been a hit on air—the show is also one of Cyber Group Studios’ biggest licensing and merchandising successes. “As the show developed, we felt it was necessary to create some interactivity between the audience worldwide and the characters,” Sissmann says. The 360-degree strategy for the series started with books, DVDs, music and toys, and then came several educational and entertainment apps, plus a dedicated website. “One major app, in close to ten languages, involves full HD animation and karaoke, e-books and games. Called Zou’s App+, it is available on the Android and iTunes platforms around the world. Built with software developer 3D Duo, it reached the top of the appstore charts upon release in several countries. Concurrently, we launched a set of more edutainment apps, for instance with Hachette group in France.” Given young ones’ fondness for the little zebra, Sissmann notes: “One of the major objectives of the 360-degree strategy, which is still developing, is to have Zou as a part of [a preschooler’s] daily environment at any time of day.”

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FINDING MIRETTE With the new series Mirette Investigates, Cyber Group Studios is building an interactive, multiplatform show for kids. irette has big dreams. The adventure-loving 10-year-old travels the globe with her father, who is a reporter, and her pet cat, Jean-Pat, investigating mysteries. She takes center stage in Cyber Group’s new 52x11minute CGI animation for the 6-to-10 set, Mirette Investigates, which has signed up TF1, Télétoon, WDR, VRT and TV3 as initial partners. For the new show, which takes Mirette to Barcelona, Berlin, Beijing, London, Paris and Cairo, among many other cities, Cyber Group Studios was eager to build an immersive, interactive experience for kids that would go beyond the linear broadcast. “We have associated with KD, the creator of the Kurio tablet, to create a set of interactive apps that will connect directly to the show and the websites of some of the broadcasters,” says Dominique Bourse, the company’s COO. In working on the “enriched experience,” which will be built into Kurio tablets, Bourse says Cyber Group and KD will be developing voice- and movement-recognition technologies. “This world is changing faster than what we ever anticipated,

so we need to be forward-thinking all the time to bring new experiences to the multi-connected children of today.” The transmedia experience will include games on the Mirette Investigates website as well as in an app. Kids will be able to go into the app and choose a city and a crime scene to play hidden-object games. Some scenes will only be unlocked via sound recognition that will detect when the child is watching the series on television. There will also be some games available for purchase. In the future, Cyber Group anticipates the creation of toys, travel guides for kids and a board game, among other extensions. The key philosophy, Bourse says, is that any related apps or products must enhance the TVviewing session for a young viewer, not detract from it. “Three things can happen [with a secondscreen experience]. The viewer can say, I don’t like the interactivity, but I’ll continue watching the television show. Or, there is so much interactivity that I don’t want to watch the series anymore. You don’t want that to happen. You want people to connect with the series while it’s on air and enrich their experience.”

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What’s Being Said About CYBER GROUP “We’re delighted to be starting production on the third season of Zou, starring Disney Junior’s favorite zebra, and the new series Gilbert and Allie for Disney Channel. Cyber Group delivers original animation that our audiences love, and we congratulate Pierre and the whole team on a brilliant first decade!” Hélène Etzi, Senior VP, Disney Channels EMEA and France “We are happy to have been working with Cyber Group since 2007. We appreciate their creativity and their professionalism. Most of their properties, such as Ozie Boo!, Tales of Tatonka and Mia, have been successful on our channels TiJi and Gulli. Lagardère Active thanks Pierre Sissmann and the entire Cyber Group team for their talent, dynamism and dedication to animation.” Caroline Cochaux, Executive Director, Broadcast and TV Programs, France and International, Lagardère Active “Our work with Pierre Sissmann, a highly professional producer and distributor, and his enthusiastic team at Cyber Group over the years has been really inspiring. CANAL+ wishes a very happy tenth anniversary to Pierre and his team!” Laurence Blaevoet, Head, Children’s Programs and Channels, CANAL+ “A very happy tenth anniversary to our friends at Cyber Group Studios from all of us at Brown Bag Films. We look forward to producing our new series Gilbert and Allie together and wish the Cyber Group team every success as they continue to produce great animated content for kids around the world!” Cathal Gaffney, Co-founder and CEO, Brown Bag Films

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DISTRIBUTION POWERHOUSE

OVER 150

duce. We’ll take care of it as one of our own. And people know that and like us for it.” It is a competitive environment, with many kids’ distributors eager for product. According to Sissmann, “reliability and consistency” are two key benefits the company offers producers, alongside “a very deep knowledge of the competitive market worldwide. We don’t go ahead with any program with false expectations and we carefully study the market before taking a show on board.” Cecilia Bossel, deputy managing director, adds, “Thanks to our partnership with Natixis Coficiné Bank, we can also help close the financing of a show that we find to be outstanding and want to distribute.” Traditional broadcasters still account for the bulk of Cyber Group’s business, but some 25 percent of international revenues now come from digital buyers. “We’ll work with our clients to make sure we can exploit our shows in the most constructive way on a majority of platforms in many languages,” says Marie Conge, Cyber Group’s newly appointed VP of sales, acquisitions and digital media. “This is excluding our own free VOD channels for some of our shows—when this doesn’t conflict with rights granted to broadcasters. We are very proactive in working with digital platforms around the world. And we anticipate this to be a growing trend in the future.”

ince its inception, Cyber Group Studios has been distributing its own productions. To widen its slate, the company has been engaging in international copros and taking on third-party fare. Today, the company shops a catalogue of more than 1,000 half-hours to 160-plus clients in over 150 territories, with members of its own team coming from various countries around the world. “We are, for instance, very proud to represent producers and distribute series such as Mini Ninjas for TF1 Productions, G-Fighters from Electric Circus and CJ E&M Corporation, and the award-winning Animalia from Burberry Productions,” says Pierre Sissmann, chairman and CEO. “Our objective is to have an even balance between our own produced shows and distributed ones. We want to have complementary shows in our catalogue that enhance each other. We do not want to have competing shows, as in distribution we attach as much importance to our shows as to our [third-party] ones. We are, for instance, always looking for the next preschool show, such as Balloopo, either for our own slate or from partners that could help fill the needs of our clients and some of the output deals we have. On the kids’ side, there are subjects we don’t have covered in production ourselves, so we are always looking for that show that we feel we would have liked to pro-

TERRITORIES

165 CLIENTS

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HIGHLIGHTS Five-year-old Zou lives in a town inhabited only by zebras. He and his extended family live in a large house right next door to his best friend, Elzee. He is an imaginative and inquisitive foal, and he’s now old enough to start becoming his own person! Each day brings a new sense of discovery, exploration and fun to Zou, and with the help of his own family and friends, Zou learns about the world he is growing up in. Follow Zou on a series of fun-filled escapades, scrapes and experiences. (156x11 min.)

Come with us to a land where everything is made from balloons. It’s a silly, squeaky, gas-filled playground—everything’s inflatable here: the trees, the buildings, even the people. This is a story about the exciting adventures of Balloopo and Paru, the orange-haired balloon boy, in a big playground where gravity is minimized and no one ever gets hurt. (52x11 min.)

Mia is a 6-year-old mouse who lives in the depths of a large house with her Granny Mimi, her friends and neighbors. Inquisitive, daring and fearless, Mia gets excited by everything and anything: she wants to see, try and experience it all. She’s at the ideal age to go and discover the world around her, and start understanding she’s not the center of it all! (39x11 min.)

How do you become the ninja you’ve always wanted to be? Get trained by the wise (and rather eccentric) Ninja Master! This is an adventure comedy series with a wide-screen sensibility and a cool cast of bold, fallible, lovable characters. Hiro, Suzume, Futo, Kunochi, Shun and Tora are a new generation of ninjas. Their mission: defend the Land Below the Clouds from the warlord Ashida, whose Kuji wizardry transforms innocent animals into fearsome (but fortunately dumb) samurais. No easy task for 12-year-olds! (52x11 min.)

G-Fighters

Lynn, an ordinary 13-year-old boy, finds a strange cat on his way home. Mistaking a powerful robotic Bolt Cat belonging to the super villain Gala-Gahs for a stray cat, he brings it home and discovers that they can merge into a cat-boy speedy superhero. As Lynn struggles to take stock of his new powers with his feline companion, he realizes there are other powerful kids like him. They join forces and take the noble vow to save the city from the alien villains. (26x22 min.)

Mini Ninjas

The Long Long Holiday

Recounts the daily life of a brother and sister left by their parents at their grandparents’ house near the Normandy coast for a few weeks at the beginning of World War II. As the war rumbles on, those weeks become five years. This series sheds new light on a unique historical context, viewed through the eyes of two young urban children who know nothing of life in the country. Despite the war, they will experience the most wonderful adventures while coming into contact with nature and making new friends. (5x50 min./10x26 min.)

Mia

Mirette Investigates

Mirette is a 10-year-old with a passion for investigation! Disappearances, thefts, clues, suspects, culprits, high-speed chases, arrests—she loves it all! In the course of her various investigations, she’s assisted by Jean-Pat, her “catssistant,” a lazy but extremely efficient ginger tomcat who just loves his food. These two inseparables argue endlessly and get right back at one another with fun one-liners, while enjoying the fine art of dialogue. The series’ humor stems as much from their relationship as from the situations they wind up in. And last but not least, the greatest cities in the world, from London to Paris, via New York or Cairo, serve as the show’s backdrops. (52x11 min.)

Balloopo

Zou

Zorro the Chronicles

Introduces a teenage Don Diego, who fights for justice against numerous unscrupulous, and well-armed, tyrants! The show focuses on the original Zorro’s qualities and takes us through a whirlwind of entertainment. With villains plotting and Zorro’s cunning tricks and jokes, not to mention spectacular fights, the adventure will be complete! But Zorro never kills: he simply ridicules his opponents to teach them a lesson, and signs his deeds with his trademark Z! Zorro will also have a clever and courageous leading lady by his side: Ines, his twin sister. With her and Bernardo, his faithful friend, Zorro returns to save us when we need him most. (26x22 min.)

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BRAND AWARE To ensure that its shows have strong consumer-products extensions, Cyber Group Studios has its own licensing-and-merchandising division. yber Group Studios struck gold with its debut property, Ozie Boo! Not only did the show sell to broadcasters worldwide, it was a significant licensing and merchandising hit for the company. Understanding the crucial importance of toys and other products for brand building, Cyber Group— founded by a trio of former Disney executives—set up a licensingand-merchandising division early in its history. “We have our own L&M team in Paris responsible for exploiting the full potential of the consumer-products licensing around our properties,” says Alexandra Algard, international licensing and marketing director. “This includes a team of commercial executives, graphic designers and approval and account management. We are present at all the main consumer-products markets around the world and exploit our properties directly or with the help of agents in over 50 territories on all continents. Over the last five years we have also formed a network of about ten agents operating in different regions of the world. We meet with them at least twice a year to determine objectives and evaluate results, and we constantly send them information on our properties, TV ratings and style guides. We communicate monthly with a detailed report of activities so that everyone is kept in the loop.” Ozie Boo! was Cyber Group’s first big L&M hit, and several more have followed since then. Manon and Tales of Tatonka both resonated with licensees and retailers. The company’s latest retail hit is Zou, which boasts more than 4,000 SKUs worldwide across numerous categories, including toys, home furnishings, apparel, back-to-school and more. “We are also now working with ZPI, Zorro’s IP owner, to develop a huge master plan on Zorro the Chronicles, which [launches as] one of our best-selling programs ever,” says Algard. There are several factors one needs in order to have a broad licensing program that secures you retail space, Algard observes. “If you want to be present with big licensees, you need to have your property in a lot of countries around the world. Otherwise you can’t attract the big international toy companies or book publishers.” You can employ a different strategy if your focus is on building an L&M program in a specific market, Algard continues. “At minimum, your property needs to be in the top three in terms of ratings, so you can attract the local players. Your property might not be big in other territories, but it doesn’t matter if you attract a lot of local players. So you need very high ratings in the country you are targeting, or, if you want to play with the big guys, you need to be significantly all over the world. That presence can bring marketing power and muscle.”

The hit preschool series Zou has more than 50 licensees around the world.

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Foothill Entertainment Toopy and Binoo / My Side of the Sky / Boy and the Dinosaur A gender-neutral preschool series, Toopy and Binoo has been broadcast in more than 175 countries. “The program engages and mesmerizes children with charismatic characters, humor and fun,” says Jo Kavanagh-Payne, the president of Foothill Entertainment. “While immensely entertaining, the series encourages children to be friendly, well-mannered and imaginative.” My Side of the Sky is a live-action nonfiction show about six talented teens attending a boarding school for skaters, skiers and snowboarders. Boy and the Dinosaur follows the adventures of an ordinary boy and his prehistoric friend. “This series has universal themes and a family appeal all tied together with a unique look, which gives it a special, intimate atmosphere all its own,” says Kavanagh-Payne.

“Although actively seeking to acquire new programming, we are also embracing the newmedia opportunities that have become available for our existing titles.” —Jo Kavanagh-Payne Boy and the Dinosaur

Gaumont Animation Calimero / Welcome to Bric-a-Broc / Belle and Sebastian Love, friendship and courage are some of the themes explored in Calimero, an animated adventure-comedy series from the Gaumont Animation catalogue. “Calimero is a cute, adorable and fun show, with universal values that are appropriate for any channel that focuses on preschool and/or older school-age children,” says Pierre Belaïsch, the company’s managing director. Another highlight from Gaumont Animation is Welcome to Bric-a-Broc, which Belaïsch describes as being “different from any existing preschool program, with unique design, tone and a mischievousness that reflects through little animals.” There is also Belle and Sebastian, an adventure series set in the heart of the Alps and centered on the friendship that exists between a boy and a dog.

“Gaumont Animation is able to deliver top-notch international shows to the market.” —Pierre Belaïsch Calimero

Hasbro Studios Transformers Robots in Disguise / Blazing Team / My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games The second season of Transformers Robots in Disguise is on offer from Hasbro Studios. “We have lightened the tone of the show and have introduced more humor and added new and exciting Autobot characters,” says Finn Arnesen, the company’s senior VP of global distribution and development. Hasbro is also presenting Blazing Team, a new animated actionadventure series that sees a group of heroic teens fight evil with the mystical power of Yo Kwon Do, and My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games, a full-length movie. “In this new feature, competition is fierce as The Friendship Games bring Canterlot High and its rival, Crystal Prep, together in a series of school-spirit, academic and sporting events to determine which school is number one,” says Arnesen.

“We are wholly focused on engaging with both traditional linear-TV partners as well as our SVOD, digital and ancillary partners.” —Finn Arnesen Transformers Robots in Disguise 10/15 World Screen 257

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HIT Entertainment Little People / Bob the Builder / Thomas & Friends The show Little People is one of the highlights being presented by HIT Entertainment, a subsidiary of Mattel. The company is also promoting the new Bob the Builder series, as well as Thomas & Friends, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary. “Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder and Little People are each celebrations of childhood, with laughter, music and imaginative adventures,” says Christopher Keenan, HIT’s VP of global content and executive producer. “These stories are rooted in universal themes that will resonate with children everywhere. Whether on Thomas & Friends’ Island of Sodor, in Bob the Builder’s new location of Spring City or in the backyard of newcomer Little People, these tales are designed to tickle the imaginations of children around the globe.”

“HIT Entertainment has undergone many evolutions and we are always growing and changing to meet the needs of our valued, international partners.” —Christopher Keenan Bob the Builder

HTC Productions Hank the Cowdog Attending MIPCOM for the first time, HTC Productions is focusing all of its efforts on launching the book-based animated series Hank the Cowdog to the international market. The show is being created in collaboration with New Zealand’s Huhu Studios. “HTC Productions is working to ensure that the animated series embraces the same universal themes and values that have made the book so popular,” says Ralph Boral, the company’s CEO. “We focus on the real-life characteristics and traits of a variety of animals found in America’s great West; the adventures the animals and humans share; the love and sometimes wariness, as well as compassion, that they have for one another; and how they work to trust and respect each other in spite of being very different.”

“Hank the Cowdog provides unique insights into life’s most important and treasured relationships, resonating with the child in all of us.” —Ralph Boral Hank the Cowdog

Imira Entertainment Jamillah & Aladdin / Bat Pat / Alisa The live-action series Jamillah & Aladdin is a co-production with CBBC/CBeebies, Kindle Entertainment, Mediabiz and Toonz Entertainment. Imira Entertainment, which handles the show’s worldwide rights outside of the U.K. and Australia, is promoting that title in Cannes. Jamillah & Aladdin “gives a modern-day twist to Arabian Nights and the legendary figure Aladdin,” says Sergi Reitg, Imira’s CEO. The company is also showcasing Bat Pat, a 2D animation co-produced by Imira and Atlantyca Entertainment with TVE and RAI. Imira reps the title across Latin America and Iberia. Then there is Alisa, a book-based, 3D adventure series distributed by Imira in the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Southern Europe and Latin America.

“Imira’s incorporation into Toonz Media Group means that it now has an expanded international catalogue with versions of popular content in many languages.” —Sergi Reitg Bat Pat 258 World Screen 10/15

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IMPS The Smurfs / The Smurfs and the Magic Flute / From the World of Peyo to Planet Smurf At MIPCOM, IMPS is presenting the television series The Smurfs, the feature film The Smurfs and the Magic Flute and the documentary From the World of Peyo to Planet Smurf. “The continuing success of the Smurfs is due to [the brand’s] broad appeal across cultural, age and gender demographics,” says Nele De Wilde, the company’s business affairs manager for audiovisual. “The timeless stories with universal values continue to enchant children every day all over the world.” As IMPS works to digitize all of its content, the company is building its official Smurf YouTube channels. “Already existing in English, the plan is to roll out channels in over 40 languages, so that each child can enjoy the Smurfs in their own language,” says De Wilde.

“2015 is all about digital— we are in the process of digitizing all our content and at the same time performing an upgrade to HD 16:9.” —Nele De Wilde The Smurfs

INK Global Masha’s Scary Tales / D6 / The Mojicons New episodes of the Masha and the Bear franchise spin-off Masha’s Scary Tales are available from INK Global. The series sees the little Russian character Masha showing young audiences that typical childhood fears are nothing to be afraid of after all. The company is also introducing two brand-new animated series at the market: D6 and The Mojicons. “Both are in production, and our expectations are very high,” says Claus Tomming, the managing partner of INK Global. D6 is an actioncomedy series about six children who become the planet’s only line of defense against aliens intent on global domination. The Mojicons takes viewers behind the scenes of the internet, where the Mojicons live. However, this bunch of condensed emotions is actually clueless about how the web works.

“We are always looking for projects that combine distinct originality with a really strong story, as this appeals not only to international media buyers, but also more importantly to kids.” Masha and the Bear

—Claus Tomming

ITV Studios Global Entertainment Thunderbirds Are Go Thunderbirds Are Go is a reimagined version of the iconic Thunderbirds series from the 1960s. The show, which ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) launched to international buyers last MIPCOM, has been sold to more than 35 leading broadcasters around the world. “The production values we have captured with our partners Pukeko Pictures and Weta Workshop give each episode a cinematic feel,” says Steve Green, the company’s executive VP of kids’ content and distribution. “We are also the only brand for kids ages 5 to 12 that delivers adventure and adrenaline through a non-violent resolution: rescue. These two key factors mean that this show not only works in traditional kids’ slots but also in high-rated coviewing family slots.”

“We’re looking to find partners with a wide audience and a desire to work with standout content, and who are looking for a long-term franchise to work with over the next few years.” —Steve Green Thunderbirds Are Go 260 World Screen 10/15

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The Jim Henson Company Splash! / Dot. / Word Party Currently in development, Splash! is an animated show centered on an inquisitive fish. The Jim Henson Company is promoting the title to international buyers, along with Dot., a book-based series that demonstrates how children can use technology to feed their curiosity about the world. There is also Word Party, a vocabulary-building show that follows four baby animals as they sing, dance and play. “Word Party is produced using the groundbreaking Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, a proprietary technology from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop that allows puppeteers to perform digitally animated characters in real time, enabling the animation to be more lifelike and spontaneous,” says Richard Goldsmith, the company’s executive VP of global distribution.

“Our goal is to find the right strategic partners to co-produce projects with.” —Richard Goldsmith Dot.

m4e/Telescreen Mia and me / Wissper / Tobot Among m4e’s highlights this MIPCOM is Mia and me, a successful fantasy series that combines live action and animation. The show, sold into more than 80 territories around the world, has a third season slated for delivery in 2016. The company is also showcasing Wissper, a new CGI preschool program about a little girl who can talk to animals. “We have strong partners on board for Wissper,” says Hans Ulrich Stoef, m4e’s CEO. “Even before the start of production, the show has already attracted Channel 5/Milkshake! as the commissioning broadcaster, Simba Dickie Group as master toy partner and BASTEI Media as co-producer with BASTEI Lübbe for worldwide book publishing.” Then there is Tobot, a Korean preschool series for boys that is now being offered to the international market.

“We can offer a broad variety of shows with strong content that will appeal to all markets and deliver ratings to all broadcasters.” —Hans Ulrich Stoef Mia and me

MarVista Entertainment A Dog Walker’s Christmas Tale / Rodeo & Juliet / Northpole 2: Open for Christmas The holiday movie Northpole 2: Open for Christmas takes audiences on an adventure through Santa’s hometown. “Using state-of-the-art CGI technology, Northpole 2: Open for Christmas gives viewers a close look into the stunning city of Northpole, which is powered by the magic of holiday happiness around the world,” says Vanessa Shapiro, the executive VP of distribution at MarVista Entertainment. Another holidaythemed offering from the company is Rodeo & Juliet, which tells the story of a city girl who goes to the countryside for Christmas and meets a cowboy and a horse who change her life. Another highlight is A Dog Walker’s Christmas Tale, about a spoiled college student who must put her selfish ways aside to help save a local dog park before the holidays.

“Our partners are always looking for movie titles with cross-generational appeal that viewers can watch around the holiday time as a family.” —Vanessa Shapiro Rodeo & Juliet 262 World Screen 10/15

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Mediatoon Distribution Bobby & Bill / Yakari / Valerian & Laureline Mediatoon Distribution arrives at MIPCOM with Bobby & Bill, which showcases the friendship between a boy and his dog. Yakari tells the tale of a Sioux boy who can speak to animals. The series returns with new episodes in CGI with 2D rendering, a first for the animated program. Mediatoon’s catalogue also features Valerian & Laureline, based on a popular comic-book series. The show mixes comedy and adventure as the titular timetraveling special agents go on intergalactic missions in search of Earth. These shows “emphasize core international values such as friendship, tolerance, family, teamwork and adventure,” says Jérôme Alby, Mediatoon’s managing director. “We’re also proud that these shows have the power to create great family gatherings all around the world.”

“Mediatoon’s main goal is to keep bringing to the market safe, appealing and magical productions that kids from all around the world will love.” —Jérôme Alby

Bobby & Bill

Mondo TV YooHoo & Friends / Adventures in Duckport / Secret Wings Pollen Princesses The 3D/CG-animated series YooHoo & Friends features characters who discover that meteors made of waste are endangering their planet. The title is a highlight of Mondo TV, which is also offering Adventures in Duckport, a cartoon starring characters from the Suzy’s Zoo brand. Secret Wings Pollen Princesses tells the story of two princesses who live in a colorful archipelago, while Eddie Is a Yeti follows the adventures of a yeti who must constantly disguise himself. “[Our series] can appeal to all kinds of buyers, from VOD and OTT platforms that are sometimes desperate for short [content], to traditional channels looking for 3D, CGI edutainment for little kids,” says Matteo Corradi, the CEO of Mondo TV.

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“Every one of our shows carries lots of messages [about] environmental and social values.” —Matteo Corradi

Secret Wings Pollen Princesses

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Planeta Junior Mutant Busters / Oliver Rock / Bubble Bip The first episode of Mutant Busters, an animated comedy from Planeta Junior targeting boys between the ages of 6 and 9, will premiere this year at MIPCOM. That series is made up of multiplatform content, as the last three minutes of each episode are playable online. Those epilogues “are intended to hook the audience with the story in a deeper way, adding value to the overall content experience,” says Ignacio Segura de Lassaletta, Planeta Junior’s managing director. The company will also debut a trailer for the live-action show Oliver Rock, a Sony Music co-production following a boy who dreams about a rock band. Bubble Bip is an animated preschool comedy starring a wacky video-game superhero who escapes from the virtual world.

“We have been creating and developing new IPs... and we are excited to present the result of these first developments.” —Ignacio Segura de Lassaletta

Mutant Busters

Portfolio Entertainment Freaktown / The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! / DOKI Aimed at kids 6 to 11, Freaktown is currently in production. The series is available as 26x30-minute or 52x11-minute episodes and centers on Ben Bones, a skeleton with soul, and his buddy Lenny, a laidback mutant mantis, living “la vida freaky” in Freaktown. Joy Rosen, the co-CEO and co-founder of Portfolio Entertainment, says: “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! Christmas movie special has done incredibly well for us. Our goal with the next three movies is to extend the brand so networks have an opportunity to give their audiences something special and different, but at the same time familiar.” Portfolio is also highlighting several movie specials of DOKI, including a prequel to the series, a musical adventure and a pirate escapade.

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“We are announcing the launch of Portfolio Animation, our brand-new, creativedriven animation studio.” —Joy Rosen

Freaktown

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Rainbow Winx Club 7 / Regal Academy / My American Friend Winx Club 7, the latest installment of the global franchise for girls, introduces fans to new friends, villains and more. Meanwhile, the new live-action series My American Friend (working title) depicts Italy through the eyes of a young American girl who dreams of being a fashion designer. She earns a scholarship to the Milan Fashion Academy, where she meets a trendy new friend. Iginio Straffi, the founder and CEO of Rainbow, says, “The series celebrates music, fashion and the power of friendship.” Straffi calls the new animated comedy Regal Academy a “unique and utterly hilarious take on our bestloved fairy tales.” It’s set in a school founded by well-known fairy-tale characters, with attendees that include Cinderella’s granddaughter, Rose Cinderella.

“Rainbow is committed to providing a constant stream of high-quality content, which is designed to engage with our target audience of young girls across the world.”

—Iginio Straffi

Winx Club 7

Saban Brands Saban’s Power Rangers Dino Super Charge / Popples / Glitter Force The next season in the Power Rangers franchise, Saban’s Power Rangers Dino Super Charge, brings together ten Power Rangers on the same team for the first time. “Saban’s Power Rangers has over two decades of international success and an extremely passionate global fan base,” says Frederic Soulie, the senior VP of global distribution at Saban Brands. Popples is inspired by characters from the popular 1980s toy line and TV series. “Since this series is launching on Netflix, Popples will be available to international audiences around the world, creating instant brand awareness wherever the platform is available,” says Soulie. Meanwhile, five preteen girls make up a superhero squad in Glitter Force. The girls must defend Earth from a band of evil fairy-tale villains.

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“MIPCOM gives us the opportunity to share new content with our partners, whether it be a brandnew series or additional seasons of an existing show.”

—Frederic Soulie

Popples

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Smilehood Media Creators / Plim Plim, a Hero of the Heart / Pispas Targeting kids 6 to 9, Creators is a new transmedia production combining live action and animation. Smilehood Media is now releasing the title to international buyers, following the series’ run on Argentina’s Telefe. The show is complemented by a digital platform with more than 2 million active users, says Silvana D’Angelo, the director of Smilehood Media. “It is one of the most complete and unique transmedia formats in the market,” she says. “It is a title that [transcends] boundaries and brings adults and children together, allowing [children] to stop being simply spectators and become active creators.” Other Smilehood highlights include Plim Plim, a Hero of the Heart and the preschool program Pispas, about a friendly van that can transform into a spacecraft.

“Smilehood Media’s focus is to strengthen our position as a distribution company [with] top-quality, innovative, multiplatform productions.” —Silvana D’Angelo

Pispas

Splash Entertainment Kulipari: An Army of Frogs / Alpha and Omega / Chloe’s Closet The Netflix original series Kulipari: An Army of Frogs is based on a book trilogy by American football star Trevor Pryce. Inspired by his childhood fear of frogs, the program teaches kids about believing in themselves and their abilities, and the power of friendship. Also on offer from Splash are three Alpha and Omega animated family films about the misadventures of “Alpha” Kate, “Omega” Humphrey and their wolf pups Claudette, Stinky and Runt, as they learn life lessons in the great outdoors. Filled with humor, action and family values, these titles “are perfect for family viewing, which is becoming more and more relevant these days,” says Mevelyn Noriega, the president of distribution at Splash Entertainment. There’s also the animated preschool series Chloe’s Closet.

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“We are an innovator, developer and producer of original animated television series, properties and brands that are implemented across all digital media platforms.” —Mevelyn Noriega

Kulipari: An Army of Frogs

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Studio 100 Media The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill / Nils Holgersson / K3 Studio 100 Media is showcasing new versions of classic children’s series. “The contemporary CGI series The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill is an all-new adventure comedy that redefines the Blinky Bill story in an exciting and unpredictable way,” says Patrick Elmendorff, the CEO of Studio 100 Media. “Themes of friendship, adventure and discovery are all wrapped up in a high-energy and sharpwitted comedy series.” The new CGI show Nils Holgersson offers kids a mix of action, adventure, fantasy, fun and mystery. Meanwhile, the girl-skewing series K3 follows three teen pop stars who have fun adventures on a world tour. It features “vibrant music and is full of zany adventures,” Elmendorff adds.

“Our new The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill and Nils Holgersson productions communicate positive messages with educational values, and are particularly attractive to parents who also grew up with these classics.” —Patrick Elmendorff The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill

Sunrights Beyblade Burst / B-Daman Crossfire / B-Daman Fireblast During MIPCOM, Sunrights aims to find partners for Beyblade Burst, the third generation of the Beyblade action franchise. In that show, boys fight to become the best Bladers, battling rivals and making friends along the way. “We are looking for partners…[who will] help make this latest generation a huge success,” says Hiroya Nishimura, the president of Sunrights. The company’s catalogue also features titles from the B-Daman franchise. B-Daman Fireblast sees a hero and his band of B-shots rise up against a cruel Grand B-master to bring the fun back to the B-Daman game. B-Daman Crossfire takes place in a town where the B-Daman toy is popular with kids. “These shows are the key drivers behind brands that are strongly identified by children,” says Nishimura.

“Viewership [of our shows] is driven not just by great content, but also by the strength of the myriad of partnerships attached to the brands.” —Hiroya Nishimura Beyblade Burst

Superights Story Time! / Will / The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales Adventures begin with the words “Once upon a time” in the preschool series Story Time! The title is one of Superights’ highlights at MIPCOM, along with Will, an animated comedy that raises awareness about the disabled. The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales is a collection of “three lovely, surprising and funny specials by Oscar nominee Benjamin Renner, whose humor has proven to travel internationally with Ernest & Celestine,” says Morgann Favennec, Superights’ deputy managing director in charge of international sales and acquisitions. In addition to securing financing and presales for its highlights, including two new projects— Wubby School and Space Dog—the company aims to sell Boyster to free-to-air channels.

“As an independent boutique distribution company, when selecting new projects to widen our catalogue, we always make sure that on top of production quality, they also have strong international appeal.” —Morgann Favennec Will 272 World Screen 10/15

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50Years of MondoTV

Orlando Corradi

he team at Mondo TV likes to refer to the company as “The Dream Factory.” The tagline speaks to the spirit with which Orlando Corradi founded the outfit five decades ago and grew it into one of Europe’s largest producers and distributors of animated content. Corradi initially targeted the emerging interest in Japanese animated series from European broadcasters. “My father, back in 1965, started the business as a distribution

company introducing the Italian market to the most famous Japanese manga series— which are still famous today and on the air in Italy on many channels,” says Matteo Corradi, who runs Mondo TV as CEO, while his father continues to serve as chairman. “Generations of kids grew up watching those animated series. From there he started this marvelous, creative, smart Dream Factory of his.” A major step forward for Mondo TV came in the early ’90s, when the company began co-producing properties with Italian broadcaster RAI. Since then, Mondo TV has produced and co-produced some 1,600 episodes of animated content, plus more than 75 feature-length specials, including theatrical releases. In 2000, Mondo TV was listed on the Italian stock exchange, paving the way for even more expansion. Matteo Corradi says he has learned much from his father about running an animation powerhouse. “On the managerial side, being decisive and courageous in taking certain tough steps,” he says on one major lesson. “Also being humble, honest, fair and never greedy when sitting at the table with partners. Creativity and intuition are things my father has always had, but were not easy for me to learn. I really leave the creative decisions to our internal team.” Today, in addition to its Rome headquarters, Mondo TV has operations in France, Spain and Switzerland and is active across the production, distribution, licensing and merchandising and publishing sectors.

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HIGHLIGHTS YooHoo & Friends One day in peaceful Yootopia, garbage starts to fall from the sky. YooHoo and friends board a spacecraft built by Roodee to investigate the waste meteors. They discover that the garbage has been thrown away by all of the planets. Ellie, the robot Roodee invented, tells YooHoo and friends about the Recycling Planet, which is the only key to getting rid of all the space trash and making the universe clean again.

Sissi the Young Empress Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth loves animals and her large family. She looks like many other girls, yet she is a free spirit and a princess, nicknamed Sissi. One day, the mother of the Emperor calls on Sissi’s sister to marry her son. But Emperor Franz is dazzled by Sissi instead, beginning one of the most romantic stories of all time. Torn between her home at Possi Castle and the Schönbrunn Palace, Sissi has trouble following the rules of court and earning the love of her future mother-inlaw. But even in hard times, she can rely on Franz and his great love.

Bug Rangers The story revolves around a group of best friends—Squiggz, Cosmo and Flutter—who spend their time buggin’ on down the boardwalk of life. For this trio, every day is the first day of summer and every night is filled with carnival lights and excitement. Each episode is loaded with butt-skidding action and lightly spiced, silly humor that speaks directly to the show’s 4-to-9 target age group. Any lessons our bugs learn along the way are subtly and humorously woven into the fabric of our stories rather than clobbered over our viewers’ heads. That’s because kids, first and foremost, still need to be kids—even if they are bugs!

Adventures in Duckport Features the original Suzy’s Zoo character set, which includes the duck Suzy Ducken and her friends Jack Quacker, Penelope O’Quinn, Corky Turtle and more. The series is targeted to ages 4 to 8 and follows the fun adventures of these adorable characters in which they interact with and show respect and love to the elder members of their community. Suzy, Jack, Penelope, Corky and all their friends will do their utmost to help their elderly neighbors, even if they end up in a pickle when doing so!

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Eddie Is a Yeti A new property targeted to children ages 6 to 12, this animated short-form series follows the adventures of Eddie the yeti and his best friend, Polly. The world isn’t ready for yetis yet, so Eddie constantly has to be in disguise.

Secret Wings Set on the shimmering ocean world of Glimmer, the series follows the adventures of Poppy and her friends as they discover their secret identities as the winged princesses of Pollen Island. The friends discover the ancient “Wingredients book” and must renew its power by restoring balance to the fragile ecology of the islands on which they live. Through their newly discovered wings, each girl has a unique talent based on the natural abilities of her associated insect. They must follow clues, solve riddles and outwit the mean and arrogant Lavender Vespa to save Pollen Island. They will also discover the power of teamwork, talent, tenacity and friendship.

Kasslan & Majid These two shows are being co-produced with Abu Dhabi Media. Mondo TV has a deal with the Middle Eastern media company for a total of nine animated series to be made over the next three years. Kasslan and Majid are based on successful comic-book properties.

Cuby Zoo This 52x11-minute animated TV series is about cube-shaped animal characters. They appear to be ordinary children’s toys, but when the nearby humans are away they come to life to play and explore. They are kindhearted and sometimes mischievous creatures that play a vital but anonymous role in keeping the world in balance. They are custodians of our children’s happiness and also sometimes even guardians of our very civilization itself.

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Matteo Corradi Matteo Corradi inherited the CEO mantle from his father, Orlando, in 2012. Co-productions, branded properties and pursuing opportunities with digital platforms are among his priorities as the company marks its 50th year in business. TV KIDS: You have a number of co-production deals with companies for series based on existing brands. CORRADI: This has been a very important business model lately, since there is less risk than inventing a new brand from scratch. However, we are still developing and producing our own properties, such as Partidei, Beast Keeper and Cuore. Our co-production partners are not small creative companies, hence the brands we have introduced and showcased during the past five years have always been successful with great sales. At MIPTV 2015 we introduced to the market YooHoo & Friends, our partnership with Aurora on their famous toy brand. In fall 2016 we are together bringing a new 3D CGI 52x11minute format of YooHoo & Friends. This MIPCOM we shall unveil four new shows with different partners from around the globe. The four new concepts, featuring different stories and animation styles, will appeal to all kinds of channels, including public broadcasters wanting educational messages and values, commercial networks and digital platforms. TV KIDS: What’s driving the gains at Mondo TV? CORRADI: It is well known that our company has been listed on the Italian stock exchange since 2000. Lately we noticed the increase of our stock price in the market, which is a good sign for a medium-sized production company like ours. This is purely a financial evaluation, though. There are other indicators of our suc-

cess. We have not missed any event around the globe lately, from Licensing Expo to Toy Fair to media conferences, and our reputation has given us the opportunity to sit at the table with big players in the worlds of toys and broadcasting to discuss how we can collaborate with them. We have been placing more emphasis on the activities of our international sales team, with members traveling to visit clients in every single part of the globe. In some territories we represent and sell not only our own catalogue, but also third-party titles. In the Middle East we represent 80 percent of the Studio 100 catalogue, all of Nippon’s classic animation, the Turner kids’ catalogue and successful properties like Nutri Ventures. The production arm is an important part of our main business, but our strength lately has been in selling and maximizing our offers to our clients. TV KIDS: What opportunities are you seeing for the exploitation of your back catalogue? CORRADI: Our catalogue today is around 900 hours of series and movies, all available with an English version. The big opportunity in the last three years has been the boom in digital media and new ways of watching TV. What is unique about Mondo TV is that we have, for almost all of our series, dubbed versions in French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic, Turkish, Russian and Greek, among other languages. Having these versions inhouse, available immediately for delivery to all our clients, is a major asset. We also have several of what we’re calling “Classic” titles, with characters such as Robin Hood, Snow White, Cinderella and Zorro, and these series still sell well for us today.

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Technicolor The Deep / Atomic Puppet / Chamelia Technicolor hopes to meet buyers’ demands for boy-targeted comedies by presenting shows such as The Deep, based on a series of graphic novels. The Deep is a “spectacular adventure series that transcends ages and melds underseas exploration and excitement with family dynamics that people all over the world can relate to,” says Alison Warner, Technicolor’s VP of IP sales, acquisitions and co-productions. Also being showcased is Atomic Puppet, a collaboration with Mercury Filmworks and Gaumont Animation, as well as Chamelia. “Our overall mission is to significantly grow our IP business over the next few years, and MIPJunior/MIPCOM provides us an ideal opportunity to meet with talented content creators from around the world,” says Warner.

“We will be focused on looking to acquire properties that are in the very early stages of development—an idea on a napkin might even spark our interest!” —Alison Warner Atomic Puppet

TM International Curse of the Falcon / Sapphire Blue The Precious Stone trilogy is based on Kerstin Gier’s youngadult novels. Following the success of Ruby Red, the first film in the series, TM International lands at MIPCOM with its sequel, Sapphire Blue. “It’s a unique blend of timetraveling mystery, adventure and love story that just hits a nerve with the teenage audience,” says Carlos Hertel, the distributor’s head of international sales. He adds that the third installment, Emerald Green, is currently in production. For a younger set, Curse of the Falcon is a drama mystery in which innocent characters must join forces against evil. Its fourth season is now airing on Germany’s KiKA. Hertel notes that the show has been particularly popular with kids 6 to 13.

“Following the huge international success of the Precious Stone trilogy, we have decided to further expand our kids’ and young adults’ programming.” —Carlos Hertel Sapphire Blue

Xilam Animation If I Were an Animal / Oggy and the Cockroaches / Paprika Wildlife takes center stage in the new documentary series If I Were an Animal. It is “the first wildlife documentary written as fiction and told by kids for kids,” says Marc du Pontavice, the CEO of Xilam Animation. In the series, child explorers take viewers along for the ride to watch animals grow up. Xilam is also highlighting the fifth season of Oggy and the Cockroaches. The latest season uses Ultra HD to delve into the history of the conflict between Oggy and the cockroaches. In addition, Paprika is the company’s first preschool series, “focused on two twin tigers who love to [spread] joy around,” du Pontavice says. “[It’s] a unique blend of comedy and wonder!” These three shows are joined in the catalogue by Zig & Sharko, A Kind of Magic and more.

“These shows demonstrate that Xilam is expanding into new genres. We will also host a special event at MIPJunior for buyers to offer a sneak peek of those brandnew shows on October 3.” —Marc du Pontavice Oggy and the Cockroaches 10/15 World Screen 281

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Your Family Entertainment Sindbad & the 7 Galaxies / Eena, Meena, Deeka / Badanamu At MIPCOM, Your Family Entertainment’s (YFE) highlights include Sindbad & the 7 Galaxies as well as Eena, Meena, Deeka and Badanamu. “All three of these shows are beautifully produced with appealing characters, strong writing and compelling stories for kids,” says Armin Schnell, the executive VP of sales at YFE. The 26x11-minute animated adventure/sci-fi series Sindbad & the 7 Galaxies is about an extraterrestrial, Sindbad, living his life on Earth as a 14-year-old boy with his friends Zac, Lana and Lee. The three siblings Eena, Meena and Deeka are the central characters in the slapstick comedy that carries their names. The characters all live peacefully, until a hungry fox walks in with evil plans. The 73-episode preschool series Badanamu is billed as a comedic edutainment series, done in 3D, that features catchy songs and joyful dances. Besides its licensing operations, YFE operates a fast-growing TV channel network currently broadcasting in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as Latin, Central and Northern America, available in local languages. “The next phase of development will be the addition of new content and first-run shows to all the feeds, and new platform and broadcast partners to carry the channel,” says Schnell. “Our overall goal is to build the Fix&Foxi channel into a global kids’ brand, so further launches in other markets will follow in 2016.”

Sindbad & the 7 Galaxies

“As a full-service company and a channel operator, we are constantly expanding our highly entertaining and educational portfolio of 3,500 half-hours, which will strongly appeal to all broadcasters, VOD and OTT platforms worldwide.” —Armin Schnell

ZDF Enterprises Mako Mermaids / H2O: Mermaid Adventures / Coconut, the Little Dragon ZDF Enterprises’ ZDFE.junior catalogue is home to a number of live-action hits, including the popular H2O: Just Add Water and Mako Mermaids franchises. For MIPCOM, the company has a third season of Mako Mermaids to offer buyers, as well as an animated mermaid series, H2O: Mermaid Adventures. Mako Mermaids comes from Jonathan M. Shiff Productions, while the mermaid series H2O: Mermaid Adventures comes from Les Cartooneurs Associés and Fantasia Animation. “We are not just the ‘Home of Mermaids’—starting off the worldwide mermaid mania with the international distribution of series such as H2O: Just Add Water and Mako Mermaids—we also have an enormous selection of highquality animation and live-action productions for all target groups,” says Peter Lang, the VP of ZDFE.junior. There’s also the animated preschool series Coconut, the Little Dragon from Caligari Film- und Fernsehproduktions. The series is based on a best-selling book property that has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. “Our kids’ slate is comprised of high-end series produced with renowned partners in the industry, many of them through international co-productions,” says Lang. “As such, the content is created by an ensemble of great international partners, thus ensuring that the storytelling is universal and can travel across cultural borders.”

“ZDF Enterprises’ department for children’s and youth programs, ZDFE.junior, has a vast catalogue with anything that any programmer might possibly need to satisfy the viewing hunger of young audiences.” —Peter Lang

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Entertainment One Family’s PJ Masks.

LITTLE

LEARNERS David Wood explores the latest trends in preschool programming. alk to a group of children’s TV producers and distributors, and there’s one thing they can all agree on—there’s a glut of preschool programming on the market. At least, there is when it comes to animated shows at the older end of the age range. If everybody is making preschool shows, you have to ask, why? A poll of preschool-show producers and distributors turns up a wide range of reasons. At the top of the list is the fact that there are more opportunities in the genre now than ever before, with demand coming from preschool programming blocks on terrestrial channels, dedicated digital channels and OTT providers such as Netflix. Hans Ulrich Stoef, CEO of m4e, observes that another reason there is an oversupply of preschool programming is that producers know it is the number one genre for licensing and merchandising. Stoef estimates that at m4e—home to Tip the Mouse and the brand-new Milkshake! commission Wissper—between

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60 and 80 percent of revenues from the company’s preschool brands are derived from licensing and merchandising activity. Also, preschool is considered by many as a relatively easy genre to produce, according to Alison Warner, Technicolor’s VP of IP sales, acquisitions and co-productions. “It’s oversubscribed because it is perceived as easier to develop. There is a certain assumption that anyone can make a successful preschool show, which certainly isn’t the case.” Those who believe that preschool is an easy genre to make are really talking about producing content for the older end of the market, where there are more buyers and fewer constraints. At the younger end, there is much less competition, as producers and distributors recognize that it’s a very tough genre to do well. Stoef at m4e confirms that early preschool is a particularly tough demographic. “Parents don’t really want their kids in front of the TV at that age. And if they do, they want control. They prefer to have them in front of SVOD platforms, and they want to limit the amount of viewing time.”

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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, an extension of a popular toy brand, is one of Hasbro Studios’s key preschool titles.

“Parents really want enriching and empowering content,” says Richard Goldsmith, the executive VP of global distribution at The Jim Henson Company. “The secret sauce of what we do at Henson is tell great stories that include information for children that is really going to impact their lives.” Frederic Soulie, the senior VP of global distribution at Saban Brands, notes that parents and kids will respond to “intelligent, immersive storytelling and appealing songs.” Despite the difficulty of making quality early-preschool content, there’s no doubt that broadcasters are keen on it, especially because their youngest viewers are very loyal— unlike older children, whose attention is a lot more difficult to grab and hold on to. “One of the good things about early preschool is that it’s like wine: properties tend to get better with age,” says Jérôme Alby, the managing director of Mediatoon Distribution. “When preschoolers like a show, they won’t change it for another one.” Broadcasters recognize the loyalty of preschool viewers, which makes them more likely to invest in longer runs of fewer shows, says Saban’s Soulie. “This can make preschool a tough market to break into. Broadcasters are looking to invest in properties with a long life cycle, which means they tend to favor airing additional seasons of established programs rather than brand-new shows. This has led to less variety over the years as broadcasters stick with what works. A very small number of preschool shows are picked up, and even fewer last to a second season.”

older end of preschool, the demographic has changed, with 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds playing with smartphones, going online, using tablets, discovering apps and playing games—things [the kids in this demo] were not doing five or ten years ago. They are increasingly losing interest in educational, prescribed preschool programming and are being introduced to new formats and olderskewing programming earlier than they were in the past.” Olivier Dumont, the managing director at Entertainment One (eOne) Family and Licensing, supports Stoef’s perspective, observing that the upper end of preschool viewers “are more in control of what they are doing. They have their own tablets and connected devices and their own ways of accessing content.” If attracting older preschoolers is becoming more of a challenge, it’s one that broadcasters are rising to with bigger investments in digital. All new shows today come with digital brand extensions, with around 10 percent of budgets now dedicated to digital development. “Preschoolers and their families are often the earliest adopters of new ways of consuming and engaging with their favorite characters and content, so digital brand extensions are very important,” says Finn Arnesen, Hasbro Studios’s senior VP of global distribution and development. “Kids are embracing immersive entertainment at a very young age, and it’s essential for kids’ content providers to have a comprehensive ‘all-screens’ multiplatform strategy, covering both long-form traditional and short-form digital consumption, alongside apps, social media, downloadable games and coloring pages,” insists Arnesen.

MOMMY SAYS The influence of parental control is cited as one important reason that preschool networks such as Nick Jr., Disney Junior and CBeebies have become more successful than their older-skewing sister channels. It also reflects the way the preschool market has changed in recent years, dividing into two quite different demographics with distinct behaviors. At a younger age, viewing is heavily mediated by parents, and 2- to 3-year-olds consume whatever they get, explains m4e’s Stoef. “But at the

Saban Brands’s Julius Jr., which airs in the U.S. on Nick Jr., features an original song in each episode.

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Netflix is among the OTT platforms investing in preschool, ordering Word Party from The Jim Henson Company.

“In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, for example, we have taken an iconic global brand and designed it with full online immersion available for rollout across multiple territories, which provides vital added value for our international clients and is proving a key driver of the show.” The creation of apps and other extensions of preschool brands into the digital world is becoming much more important, agrees m4e’s Stoef. “You need to be across all devices in today’s market.” The biggest challenges with digital extensions tend to be a lack of investment and the difficulty in managing the delivery of digital assets so they coincide with the linear TV show—that is, making sure they look good and match the linear TV brand in terms of quality, and are ready on time.

LET’S GET DIGITAL

Mediatoon’s Alby adds, “As well as working with Netflix, we have provided series to other digital broadcasters, such as iTunes, Watchever, Amazon and DLA. Digital and nonlinear broadcasting has become a key element of our business strategy. Nonlinear broadcasting now makes up 20 percent of our sales figures, compared to 2.5 percent in 2009, and 80 percent of our OTT income now comes from content aimed at 2- to 6- or 7-year-olds.” The rise in popularity of OTT services highlights the fact that on-demand services have discovered and capitalized on an important social niche in preschool homes. “Every parent has a tablet and, when they want to watch the ball game, tend to give the tablet to the kids, allowing them to go to YouTube or Netflix and watch their preschool shows,” Mediatoon’s Alby continues. Plus, the OTT platforms offer parents useful tools, such as profiles for different family members, allowing them to limit what their kids can watch. Many of the preschool world’s best-known content providers, among them The Jim Henson Company, are now making shows specifically for OTT platforms. Word Party, a Henson Digital Puppetry Studio production for Netflix, is designed to improve preschoolers’ vocabularies.

Dumont at eOne says that supplying broadcasters with free digital assets, from websites to digital games, is crucial these days so that kids can interact with a property across the board. “When you become a fan, you want to engage in as many ways as possible—something that parents tend to welcome because games allow kids to become more interactive and less passive.” The amount a studio invests depends on the property, but for an action-adventure series involving more sophisticated gameplay, the figures would be closer to the upper end of 10 percent of the budget. But, companies should not neglect traditional media such as print publishing, advises Stoef. Another growing trend is the increasing importance of the preschool genre to OTT service providers such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. “We have deals with Netflix in place for many of our franchise brands,” says Hasbro’s Arnesen. “Demand from OTT providers is increasing across international territories, not only from the more global-facing providers such as Netflix, but also from local OTT providers in each territory, some of which are making significant inroads into preschool viewing figures.” Arnesen lists Presto in Australia, Kidoodle.TV in Canada and BesTV in China as examples of digital players that are increasingly active in the preschool space. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are particularly keen on preschool because families, and those with preschool kids in particular, are big SVOD users, notes eOne’s Dumont. “Kids like to watch and watch again, which is great for those platforms.” Mediatoon is finding strong demand for preschool titles like Ava Riko Teo from OTT platforms.

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“Word Party underlines the fact that Netflix knows there is a demand from parents to entertain kids with tablets, but there isn’t much good content around,” says Henson’s Goldsmith. Saban has also made strides with OTT services. “We have a really strong relationship with Netflix that began with Power Rangers, Digimon and Julius Jr. and now extends to original content like Popples and Cirque du Soleil: Luna Petunia,” says Soulie. Stoef at m4e notes that the OTT platforms are a great source of additional finance for preschool producers. “They put a little bit of pressure on existing terrestrial broadcasters price-wise. The terrestrials realize now that if they don’t come up with the right amount of money, they might lose a show to an OTT platform. It’s a very positive development, helping to buoy up finance, although we are still not at a very healthy level in terms of program budgets, and there is a lot of room for improvement.” Mediatoon’s Alby adds a note of caution. “I don’t see today’s OTT platforms putting as much money into a show as a free-to-air broadcaster did 15 years ago for the same limited [number] of rights. Another big difference is that OTT platforms are not [acquiring] for one territory but for worldwide rights.”

TOON TIME It’s fair to say that some types of preschool content are in greater demand than others. Animated shows are particularly popular on all platforms because, according to Hasbro’s Arnesen, “Preschoolers are avid consumers of animated content—the rich, colorful visuals, and bright, engaging characters are perfect for this demographic.” Henson’s Goldsmith adds: “Animation makes much more sense for preschool content, as it’s more global. It travels well and, given how expensive our productions are, we need a global business to monetize and profit from our productions.” In contrast, live-action preschool remains largely confined to public-service broadcasters, as it doesn’t travel as well. “Although we are seeing demand for live action, animation continues to be preferable because it allows you to develop a world as big as your imagination, without astronomical budgets,” notes Saban’s Soulie. “It also tends to age better than live-action content, as it avoids of-the-moment fashion styles and special effects.” Many companies are now looking at family-themed preschool shows, appealing to the connection between kids and their parents. Programs about the family unit, which are still relatively rare, tend to resonate well with audiences, says Dumont at eOne, which represents Peppa Pig. Shows that focus on school peer groups and emotions are also in vogue; the latter is explored in eOne’s CGI animation PJ Masks. This adaptation of a French book property concerns a trio of superheroes dealing with emotions, friendship and doing the right thing. Dumont says that kids love the series because it is a preschool spin on the types of superhero characters from the Marvel and DC Comics stables that preschoolers find fascinating, but are not allowed to watch. The key is to avoid familiar, oversubscribed themes, such as shows about builders, that are designed to exploit preschoolers play patterns, recommends Technicolor’s Warner. “Broadcasters are not really looking for different versions of things they already have. They want something fresh and new. But if you do want to do a vehicle-based show, make sure you go away and produce a teaser and a script that will knock their socks off in terms of being completely different,” she says. Above all, content is still king, across all platforms, concludes Hasbro’s Arnesen. “Buyers are looking for first-class production quality, great storytelling with elements of adventure and comedy and strong characters. These ingredients continue to be the driving force behind preschool’s long-running series.”

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Splash Entertainment’s Norm of the North.

MOVIE MAGIC Broadcasters are using TV movies and specials to launch new brands and create event programming for kids. By David Wood he teenage offspring of some of Disney’s most notorious villains were all the rage in the U.S. this summer. During a traditionally slow television season, Disney Channel drew more than 6.6 million viewers for its Descendants TV movie, making it the biggest cable-TV movie of the year so far. The special’s soundtrack then debuted at the top of the Billboard charts. Descendants is the latest in a wave of headline-generating TV movies at Disney Channel that started back in 2006 with High School Musical. And Disney is certainly not the only broadcaster looking to movies as a way to create event programming, spawn new series and fill prime-time, family coviewing slots. Many producers and distributors have recently announced plans to kick-start or expand the production of kids’ specials and family movies. This push is a response to a growing market demand for long-form children’s or family entertainment. “Just a few years ago your only options were theatrical release or DVD, with broadcasters showing little interest in long-form entertainment,” observes Christopher Keenan, the VP of global content and executive producer at Mattel’s HIT Entertainment.

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“It was not in their budget plans or their programming strategy. But now there are more buyers on digital, cable and OTT. There are so many different places to go, it has created a much more robust marketplace.” OTT services such as Netflix and Hulu want specials and family movies because they drive subscriptions, adds Keenan. “Episodic series are important for them, but long-form content gives a literal and perceived value to their offering.” All broadcasters, whether terrestrial, cable or OTT, use longform content as event marketing. “Films can be big tentpole events, which really help drive viewing, with platforms often building a theme or an entire day around them,” says Keenan. Pierre Belaïsch, the managing director of Gaumont Animation, notes, “You can create a big splash around a film, so it’s a good thing to have.” Networks schedule and market movies most actively around Christmas and Halloween, among other holidays, so there is an obvious market for producers to develop TV specials specifically tailored for these occasions. “We actively distribute six to eight holiday specials that work for Halloween and Christmas, and they sell quite well

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The Disney Channel movie Radio Rebel is among the successes of MarVista’s long-formspecials business.

around the world because broadcasters like to use them as a focus for their schedules,” says Ed Galton, the managing director and chief commercial officer at CAKE. “But films can work as marketing tools all year round, because a good story is a good story.” If family movies and specials are in demand, it’s no surprise that companies from Gaumont Animation and Studio 100 Media in Europe, to Splash Entertainment in the U.S., have recently launched new film-production initiatives. Belaïsch says Gaumont Animation is making a strategic effort to develop more feature-length kids’ content following the success of its film franchise Santa’s Apprentice. The property started as an animated series in 2006, spinning off its first feature in 2010. Belaïsch recalls how successful the first film’s limited release was. “In four to five weeks we sold 600,000 tickets.” Three years later, Santa’s Apprentice 2: The Magic Snowflake delivered 700,000 ticket sales. The third release in the franchise is due out in 2017. “Not bad for a 52-part animated series!” Belaïsch says. Gaumont’s second major kids’ feature franchise is Belle and Sebastian, based on Cécile Aubry’s original ’60s live-action TV classic, set in the French Alps and detailing the adventures of a 6-year-old boy and his beloved white dog. The wellreceived 2013 live-action release has since spawned a 52-part animated series and a second live-action feature for release in December 2015.

rise of the new generation of VOD platforms,” says Atlan. In partnership with Lionsgate, Splash is producing three new 45-minute TV specials of Alpha and Omega. The latest animated film based on the wolf cub franchise is set to be released early next year. Splash also made four Dive Olly Dive! specials, based on the hit series of the same name. Long-form kids’ content will be used on Splash’s free VOD network, Kabillion, which is now ranked among the top ten free on-demand kids’ networks in the U.S. Studio 100 Media has also launched its own film division, kicking off with an animated feature based on Maya the Bee. “The production and distribution of animated feature films is a new business venture for Studio 100,” says Patrick Elmendorff, the CEO of Studio 100 Media. “Our first theatrical release, Maya the Bee: Movie was introduced for worldwide cinematic distribution under the new film division, Studio 100 Film. Its huge success meant feature films would become a key element of our 360-degree approach and an important part of our strategy, and [the model] will be extended to other main brands in the future.” “Studio 100 is producing TV movies and specials specifically to support our brands, in close cooperation with broadcasters,” adds Maarten Stevens, the director of content distribution and business development at Studio 100 Benelux. “In the majority of cases, a TV movie or special allows us to bring in new content at a lower cost than producing a new series.” Studio 100 recently experienced success with a film based on its live-action brand Prinsessia. “We produced a movie that was intended for an initial TV run, but we decided to organize a limited theatrical release, with great success,” Stevens says. If the move into features is a new initiative for some, others have long appreciated the importance of kids’ films. What’s new at MarVista Entertainment, as CEO Fernando Szew explains, is that the company is stepping up its activity.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE Gaumont isn’t the only company to have capitalized on the potential of feature-length products. Last year, Splash Entertainment created a new feature-film division and unveiled its first planned release, Norm of the North. Splash co-CEO Nicolas Atlan, a producer on Norm of the North, insists that creating a new division was the next logical step for the company as it continues to grow its film development and production slate. “There is a growing market for kids’ films—particularly with the

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CAKE’s A Monsterous Holiday taps into broadcasters’ demands for content to air around holidays like Halloween.

“We are hiring more people, getting involved in more projects and putting more resources to work,” declares Szew, who also notes that the move is in response to the greater importance of long-form content on OTT platforms.

THE NETFLIX EFFECT

While the typical target market for family movies and specials is a wide demo of 4- to 10-year-olds, there is a growing interest from broadcasters, distributors and producers in properties with co-viewing potential. “At MarVista we have been very passionate about films for the whole family, and the platforms also want to encourage families to sit and watch entertainment together,” Szew says. First, it makes sense from an altruistic point of view, Szew continues; this type of watching encourages a conversation between generations. But it also widens the audience— “appealing to more eyeballs, which the broadcasters and their advertisers like.” HIT’s Keenan is also a fan of the rising trend toward coviewing, even though the company’s flagship properties, including Fireman Sam and Thomas & Friends, are aimed primarily at preschoolers. “There was a period when producers shied away from entertaining multi-generational audiences, but our current thinking is that as long as we are serving our primary audience to the best of our ability, there’s nothing wrong with entertaining families.” Keenan adds, “Other studios, such as Disney-owned Pixar, have done a phenomenal job of creating content that the whole family wants to watch...for different reasons.”

“The impact of OTT platforms is pretty clear,” Szew observes. “The kids’ section on Netflix is now an important destination. Netflix is becoming very oriented toward longer-form family entertainment—it devotes a lot of marketing to [original] family movies, and of course it needs the content to support that. Then there’s YouTube, which has launched its phenomenal family and kids’ apps. There’s a whole range of new ways for kids and families to access this kind of content.” Audiences are switching on to long-form content more as well, adds Szew, thanks in part to improved streaming technology that offers a higher quality end-user experience. “I have kids and see them all the time watching long-form content on tablets. They can certainly sit through a movie. The early days of YouTube may have been very much about shortform content, shareability and virability, but now the viewability has improved.” MarVista has a huge slate of live-action TV movies and specials with another dozen projects in the pipeline over the next year. Titles include comedy creature feature Kids vs Monsters; Pants on Fire, a Disney XD movie premiere; and Zapped, a Disney Channel original. Although MarVista is best known as a distributor and producer of live action, Szew reveals that it is considering another move. “The internal debate here is at what point we get back into animated features. The cons are that animation is a highly competitive market dictated very much by technology, capital investment and production incentives—an area where, as a distributor, we are not that well positioned. We are considering it, but we have put a lot of resources into live action, so that’s where the releases will be for the foreseeable future.” New activity around HIT’s Thomas & Friends includes the animated movie Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure.

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But it’s important to remember that blockbuster films such as Frozen, with its $150 million budget, are very different entities than a typical TV movie or special for kids. As Gaumont’s Belaïsch points out, although Santa’s Apprentice had a theatrical release, it was done on a limited budget of around €5 million ($5.6 million). A typical Pixar or DreamWorks Animation budget would be more like $150 million to $170 million. It’s a completely different business model.

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Gaumont Animation’s Belle and Sebastian is the basis for an upcoming live-action theatrical release.

Whereas big-budget Hollywood 3D kids’ films are all about the box office, with Frozen quickly becoming one of the biggest grossing animated features in history, lower-budget kids’ films are not necessarily relying on theatrical revenues. The thinking is that the kudos of a theatrical release can help a film’s performance in SVOD and DVD markets. HIT’s latest Thomas & Friends film, Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure, had a limited theatrical release in the U.K. and Ireland. “It’s the icing on the cake really, with the DVD and SVOD markets being the places where we recoup our production costs,” Keenan says. With falling DVD sales of most films, it seems that the fastgrowing SVOD market is taking over as the main source of revenue for kids’ films. “The DVD market is certainly in decline,” says CAKE’s Galton. “There are still opportunities to make money, but not nearly the same as there were ten years ago. The only exception would be the holiday specials, for which DVDs go up front in terms of the points of sale in stores.” Keenan adds, “For the time being at least, SVOD and DVD seem to be coexisting. It’s not unlike the situation in the record industry, in which there was a fear that record sales would disappear altogether as digital grew, although it didn’t happen.” For long-form entertainment to succeed, it has to offer something unique, particularly if it’s a spin-off of an existing TV series. “There has to be a reason for turning it into a theatrical film or feature-length TV episode that offers content

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that the series doesn’t; otherwise why bother?” says Keenan. “One of the questions I ask writers, directors and producers all the time is, ‘Why does it warrant a long-form treatment?’ We want stories that require a larger scope and scale, that go to places that require more time and explanation. We look at upping the ante in terms of overall production value, introducing new characters; we take on much more complex stories with an epic quality and incorporate more subplots and musical numbers.” The danger with kids’ films, particularly when they are being consumed on digital devices, is that audiences can switch off the moment they are bored. The key, insists Keenan, is to employ all the techniques in making the films that a seasoned Hollywood screenwriter would use.

TUNED IN “Maintaining attention is really about engagement,” explains the HIT executive. “The longer films in particular have to be sculpted in a way that there is a mix of physical, visual and verbal humor. You have to offer peaks and valleys in terms of the humor and action. We want to keep the excitement level up without keeping the adrenaline going too much. We try to create a story landscape that allows kids to inhale with excitement and exhale with relief or laughter. It’s all about building a rhythm so that when they are coming down and relaxing, we are poised to take them back up again on a little bit more of a roller-coaster ride. “We approach our long-form content as if we are making the biggest, best Hollywood film,” Keenan adds. “Then we look at it through the eyes of our preschool audience, asking ourselves if they can track the story and understand the peaks and valleys. Then we might add in more visual humor where it’s needed.” The number one rule? Don’t talk down to your viewers. “The best thing you can do is overestimate the intelligence of your audience,” Keenan says—an adage that seemingly applies to any form of kids’ content, whether it runs for 11 or 120 minutes.

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Breakthrough’s Max & Shred.

CANADIAN SPIRIT Andy Fry surveys the latest developments in Canada, from regulatory changes to consolidation in broadcasting, production and distribution. he Canadian kids’ TV business has always punched above its weight. A combination of strong governmental support and sure-footedness on the international stage has fostered a production and distribution ecosystem in which creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship thrive. In getting an idea of the overall value of kids’ and youth production in Canada, the best figures come from the Canadian Media Production Association, which puts the total at C$352 million ($265 million) in 2013–14. This is up from C$317 million ($239 million) in 2012–13. But this isn’t to say that the Canadian kids’ industry is without its challenges. Just like their counterparts in other countries, the key players have had to contend with disruption caused by changes in ownership, regulation, digital technology and audience behavior. The big story in the last couple of years has been consolidation in the kids’ broadcasting business. Leaving aside CBC (the national public broadcaster), Quebec-based French-language players and the publicly-funded channel TVOntario (TVO), there are now only two kids’ broad-

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casters of significance in the Canadian market: Corus Entertainment and DHX Media. Both companies have substantial TV production divisions, which inevitably raises questions about the commissioning opportunities for third-party producers.

CANADIAN TREEHOUSE Corus is the biggest beast in the Canadian jungle, with a portfolio that includes YTV, Treehouse, TELETOON, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Disney Junior. In any other country in the world, at least half of these channel brands would be competing with each other. But laws designed to protect Canadian culture from U.S. encroachment dictate that Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney can only operate in Canada by licensing their brands to a domestic player, in this case Corus. At first, this gives the portfolio the appearance of duplication. But, Colin Bohm, the executive VP and head of Corus Kids, says, “It’s a lot of channels, but we have set them up to target each stage of a child’s development and to provide numerous different family viewing options. For

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DHX’s Make It Pop was commissioned by Corus-owned YTV.

example, Treehouse and Disney Junior are both preschool but target different age bands, and we are repositioning TELETOON to hit a younger audience, 5-to-8s, who aren’t quite ready for the more sophisticated offerings of the older channels. Then we get into a mix of brands that offer a range of shows to target different moods, stages of development and, where appropriate, gender.” Corus’s Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network resemble their cousins in the other markets, “but they have been adapted to suit Canadian rhythms,” says Bohm. “Of course you will see a lot of the same shows, but there are idiosyncrasies around viewing times, seasonal audience behavior and cultural nuances that we take into account.”

ROOM FOR INDIES? When asked about the impact of Corus’s clout on Canadian kids’ indies, Bohm argues that there are good regulations in place to protect producers. “There are rules that govern how much home cooking we can eat,” he says. “75 percent of our spend on Canadian scripted content has to go to indies, which means players like Thunderbird Films, 9 Story Media Group and Breakthrough Entertainment are important partners for us. Besides, we don’t have a monopoly on great ideas, so it wouldn’t make sense to source everything in-house.” YTV, for example, has indie shows such as Some Assembly Required (Thunderbird) and Max & Shred (Breakthrough), while TELETOON airs 9 Story’s Camp Lakebottom. “Preschool is different because this is an area of excellence for Nelvana, so Treehouse tends to rely mostly on shows from the studio,” Bohm says. From Bohm’s perspective, consolidation isn’t about squeezing suppliers; it’s about protecting his business from its own competitive and regulatory challenges. “With all the changes we’re experiencing, scale in kids is a no-brainer, because it helps us build a stronger relationship with cable platforms, advertisers and audiences.”

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The changes affecting Corus are due in part to the current shift to on-demand and multiscreen viewing. “But there are regulatory changes too,” he says. “The CRTC [Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission] is relaxing rules on genre, which means there may be more competition between channels. And there is also a discussion around ‘pick and pay,’ which will give consumers more freedom in terms of the channels they choose to buy.”

KIDS ON DEMAND Corus is responding to this change in a number of ways, says Bohm. “We launched a TV Everywhere app for Treehouse in June and will extend that across all our channels by the end of the year [so audiences can watch across all devices]. We are also investing more in channel-branding events, such as summer road shows, and we are placing greater store on shows that can encourage family viewing. For example, we have commissioned live-action TV movies Anne of Green Gables (from Breakthrough) and Bruno & Boots: Go Jump in the Pool! (Aircraft Pictures) for YTV.” Of course, all of this only relates to Corus’s activities in Canada—its production and distribution arm, Nelvana, is a supplier of kids’ content to the global marketplace. The Corus model is similar to that at DHX Media, which Steven DeNure, its president and COO, likes to think of as “an international company based in Canada,” rather than a purely domestic outfit. DHX, through an aggressive acquisitions strategy, has seen it expand its Canadian production capabilities, transform itself into a broadcaster and become one of the world’s largest kids’ content distributors (it currently has around 11,000 half-hours in its library). On the broadcast front, DHX acquired Family Channel, an opportunity that opened up after a cable company megadeal triggered a series of channel divestments to comply

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with regulatory ownership rules. Under the old setup Family Channel was heavily reliant on Disney content. But Corus acquired the rights to Disney’s content as part of the market shake-up. This left the DHX-owned Family Channel with a gaping hole in its programming lineup. DeNure, however, is comfortable with the way things have panned out. “The Family Channel is a great, strong brand in Canada…[it’s] the highest-rated kids’ channel. The Disney shows airing on the channel were very expensive and not necessarily the highest rated. So we didn’t think it made economic sense for us to continue with them.” While Corus boasts an eclectic array of channels, DHX has decided to build a multichannel portfolio around the Family brand, says DeNure. The English-language Family Jr. and the French-language Télémagino target preschoolers. Family CHRGD will cater to the 6-to-12 set with animation and live-action content.

OPEN SCHEDULES DHX’s in-house production arm and Canadian indies will be the beneficiaries of this increased capacity and the departure of the Disney shows, continues DeNure. “There will be a significant ramp-up of new content commissions. For DHX, that’s good news, because we want to be in the business of creating and owning content. And for indies it means there are more schedule slots for which they can compete.” DeNure says Family Channel is an enthusiastic commissioner of indie content, irrespective of the regulatory requirements placed on it. “Look at a show like Temple Street Productions’s dance drama The Next Step, which has

been a big hit for us. That has now been commissioned for a fourth season, and we have also commissioned a spin-off called Lost & Found Music Studios.” The performing arts is such a hot topic with tweens that the channel has even greenlit a third series in this subgenre, says DeNure. Backstage from Fresh TV—due for launch in spring 2016—is a 30-episode, half-hour drama series set at a fictional school for the arts and features dance, instrumental and vocal performances from the cast. Other original commissions include season four of Slugterra (produced by Nerd Corps, now part of the DHX family), season two of Gaming Show (In My Parents’ Garage), season three of Justin Time and a new series called Fangbone!

BUYING TIME There is no way, of course, that Canada-based original commissions could replace the entire Disney pipeline, so Family Channel has signed a multiyear agreement with Mattel that will bring brands like Barbie, Monster High, Hot Wheels, Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder to its channels. It has also acquired the CBBC commission Hank Zipzer and Nowhere Boys from Australia, and signed a development and production agreement with DreamWorks-owned AwesomenessTV, which will create content for the channel. The channel also licensed three current AwesomenessTV series: AwesomenessTV, Make Me Over and Cheerleaders. While DHX Television is now a key component of DHX Media’s business, the company is best known as a production and distribution behemoth. Original and acquired brands Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Teletubbies, In the Night Garden,

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DHX has also prioritized SVOD and AVOD, securing content deals with platforms around the world. Its YouTube channels generate 330 million views per month with new and existing kids’ content, says DeNure. The video platform also provided the inspiration for Banger Films’ Gaming Show, which makes YouTube gaming reviews the spine of a TV show.

STAYING INDEPENDENT

Canadian independent 9 Story produces several series for local kids’ channels, including Numb Chucks for YTV.

Inspector Gadget, Johnny Test, Slugterra and Degrassi have made DHX a leading provider of content internationally. The relaunch of Teletubbies is a high priority, says DeNure. “We expect there to be a lot of interest. The new version produced by Darrall Macqueen in the U.K. looks fabulous. We’re also very excited by Make It Pop, which was a hit right out of the gate for YTV in Canada and Nick internationally.” The fact that Make It Pop is on YTV is interesting, says DeNure, because it shows that Corus and DHX are able to both collaborate and compete. “We also make Inspector Gadget for TELETOON,” a Corus channel, he adds.

Canadian indies, forged in the furnace of the international kids’ market, are not unduly worried by broadcaster consolidation. While they acknowledge the importance of the funding and protection they receive domestically, most Canadian kids’ indies believe their ability to navigate the global market explains the success of the industry. Vince Commisso, the president and CEO of 9 Story Media Group, is adamant that “the economics of this business mean content has to work for the international market. Through our distribution activities, we get information about what is working and what isn’t internationally, and then we factor that into our production and development activities.” This approach has reaped rewards in terms of domestic commissions and international sales. Camp Lakebottom, an animated series on TELETOON, has sold to various international Disney channels as well as ABC TV (Australia) and Super RTL (Germany). Numb Chucks, another animated series on YTV, has aired on Cartoon Network (U.S. and Latin America), Disney (Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Israel and Benelux) and CANAL+ Family (France and Africa). There have been similar successes for other recent shows such as Cache Craze, Daniel

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Tiger’s Neighbourhood and Nerds and Monsters. Nerds and Monsters, for example, was one of three 9 Story series licensed to U.S. streaming service Hulu this summer. While the company is probably still best-known for its activities in the 6-to-11 age group, 9 Story has had growing success in the preschool market. Peg + Cat, a co-production with The Fred Rogers Company that airs on PBS in the U.S., has been sold to 180 territories, says Commisso, while Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood has been licensed into Asia and Latin America. “And we’ve just acquired the rights to Loren Long’s best-selling children’s book series Otis the Tractor, which we are currently developing as a preschool TV series,” he adds.

BRAND PLANS Having increased its production and distribution capabilities—including the acquisition of CCI Entertainment’s kids’ library—a priority for 9 Story now is to beef up its licensing capabilities, says Commisso. “We like to do everything in-house because it takes the guesswork out of the process. We have script-to-screen covered, but now we’re looking to expand our L&M activities.” However, this doesn’t mean he is planning any lavish corporate acquisitions. “For the most part we’ve grown in a measured, organic way, and that’s what we intend to do with licensing. We would consider strategic M&As, but we’d have to be sure that what we acquire complements our existing business.” This echoes the situation at Breakthrough, which has built a formidable slate without making any aggressive expansion moves.

“We’ve kept our feet firmly on the ground,” says Ira Levy, executive producer and partner at the company. “We’ve always seen ourselves as a creatively driven company that focuses on attracting the best talent. Rather than going public, we nurtured creative partnerships.” In addition to Max & Shred and Anne of Green Gables, other key Breakthrough shows include The Adventures of Napkin Man (CBC), Rocket Monkeys (TELETOON), Science Max: Experiments at Large (TVO) and My Big Big Friend, a co-production with 2D Lab in Brazil that is a toprated show on Treehouse. “We are working with writer Margaret Atwood on a 26x11-minute preschool animation series for the CBC, loosely based on a series of books she created called Wandering Wenda & Friends,” adds Joan Lambur, executive producer for animation and kids’ live-action and family programming, on what’s coming up from Breakthrough. “We have also teamed up with much-loved Canadian poet Dennis Lee on Melvis and Elvis, another book-based property about a giant monster girl and an elf.” Breakthrough has kids’ properties targeting various demos, both live action and animation, notes Lambur. “We want to cover all bases, but we don’t want too much volume, because we are looking to raise the bar on quality all the time.” Levy believes this emphasis on creativity and quality is the best protection against changes in the market. “Consolidation is just a fact of life,” Levy says. “And I try not to get too sidetracked by what is happening in terms of new digital platforms. The platforms may change, but kids still want to watch great stories. Our slate shows that we have done a good job of reinventing ourselves and that we continue to

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attract new creative talent. We actually feel like we’re at a pretty awesome moment in which our hard work is paying off.” In response to the changes in the marketplace, Shaftesbury has been diversifying its slate. Ryan St. Peters, its VP of kids and family, notes, “We’ve always been strong in tween and teen live action, but now we are developing a portfolio that also includes preschool and animation.” Shaftesbury’s big preschool news is the launch of The Moblees on pubcaster CBC. The company is also continually committed to live-action teen and tween content, he adds, in the shape of Super Duper Deelia, about a girl who inherits a series of superpowers when she is 11.

FUNDING MECHANISMS While consolidation has caused some ripples in the industry, Canadian producers have the opportunity to receive support from a variety of government mechanisms. These include tax incentives, co-production treaties, Canadian content quotas and various regional and national funds. The most important of the latter is the Canada Media Fund (CMF), which feeds millions of dollars into the Canadian content market every year. For example, “The CMF is committing C$375.2 million ($283 million) to support Canada’s TV and digital media industry in 2015 –2016,” says CMF’s president and CEO, Valerie Creighton. “Typically the CMF will provide around 20 to 25 percent of the budget for a CMF-supported kids’ show, which we see as one of our most important genres. We like the fact that this genre can be evergreen and travels well.”

The CMF’s goal is to “guide Canadian content toward a competitive global environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voices and promoting access to content through industry and private-sector partnerships.” Its budget is provided by the central Canadian government and the five biggest cable companies (which are subject to a formula based on their overall revenues), says Creighton. “The money is triggered by a broadcast licence. As soon as a Canadian show is commissioned, it becomes eligible to receive an award from the Fund.” Creighton continues, “The process is always led by the producer. As long as they meet the Canadian content requirements and lay out their plans for some digital brand extensions, then they will be eligible for their payment.” In terms of international success, the CMF tracked its shows in 2013–2014 and found that, of 31 CMF-funded projects sold internationally across six continents, 35.4 percent were in the children’s and youth genre, 45.1 percent were drama projects, 12.9 percent were documentary and 6.4 percent were variety and performing arts. The U.S. was the top buyer, followed by Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. The CMF’s status is protected by the government, so there is no chance of it being abolished in the near future. But there is one concern, says Creighton. “As ondemand viewing grows and more consumers start to cut the cord, we are projecting that cable revenues will decline, [which will have] a negative impact on the CMF. The new platforms don’t have to contribute, so it is an issue for the industry.”

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CYMA ZARGHAMI VIACOM By Anna Carugati

Nickelodeon has always prided itself on connecting with kids and reaching them wherever they are. A champion of this strategy is Cyma Zarghami, who has been with the children’s service since 1985 and today is the president of Viacom’s Kids & Family Group. She oversees a bouquet of brands in the U.S. and around the world that includes the flagship channel Nickelodeon, as well as Nick Jr., Nicktoons, TeenNick, Nick at Nite, and, since February of this year, TV Land and CMT. As Zarghami tells TV Kids, providing fun shows, must-see live events and really cool games and content on linear and nonlinear platforms have been the pillars of her group’s success.

TV KIDS: Nickelodeon has always done extensive research about its target audiences. What can you tell us about today’s kids? ZARGHAMI: Well, there’s a tremendous difference between the first Nickelodeon audience and the current Nickelodeon audience, starting with the fact that we called the first Nickelodeon audience “latchkey kids,” because they were the first generation of kids who were going home by themselves with their keys around their necks to let themselves into the house. With today’s kids, that’s the norm in many ways. In the early days, kids were seen and not heard. Kids rule the roost today! Parents didn’t necessarily ask for their kids’ opinions on anything back then. Kids give their opinions about everything today! The family dynamic has shifted tremendously. What’s going on in the world has changed radically, and the amount of content and places where kids can get it has changed. So the difference between serving today’s audience and serving the first Nickelodeon audience is a really, really giant difference. That’s one of the things that we’re spending the most time trying to understand, so that as our creators make shows for this audience, they are reflecting, not necessarily their own childhoods, but translating for the current audience the stories that they want to tell. TV KIDS: On what screens and devices are kids watching and playing? And how is Nickelodeon serving them? ZARGHAMI: In a very short time, the number of kids who have devices and smartphones has grown to tremendous numbers. So it is our obligation to give them content wherever they want it, whenever they want it. Linear television is still the primary place of discovery, and the extensions are on those other devices. So between delivering the content on Nick.com and the Nick app, and Hulu, Amazon and VOD, we make it available everywhere, and we’re very strategic about the way we window from place to place. When kids love something, they can see it the next day on one platform. If they want to tap into something that they missed, then we give them opportunities to catch up. We go series by series and genre by genre; [there is] a different strategy for each because kids use [different kinds of] content differently. TV KIDS: Children today live in a multicultural world. What responsibility does Nick feel it has to reflect that diversity in its shows, and what positive role models is it offering? ZARGHAMI: Since the beginning, Nickelodeon has been committed to making sure that we represent all kids. Even 16 years ago, when Dora [the Explorer] was born, it was in response to the fact that the population was changing and that the non-white population was going to significantly shift by the years 2015 or 2020. Dora was a hit not only in the Latino community but in the broader community as well. One thing that’s very exciting to us right now is the work that we’re doing in Latin

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America. We’re bringing the telenovela format to the Englishspeaking market with the Nickelodeon team in Miami as our partners. We’re making sure that we reflect both Latino and non-Latino culture together in these series, and they’re doing very well for us. The other project that we’re really excited about is Make It Pop, in which we are tapping into K-pop. We have three Korean girls living as roommates in a boarding school, and that’s done really well too. TV KIDS: What are some of the highlights of Nickelodeon’s animated programming? ZARGHAMI: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to be a phenomenal success story. We made one movie; we’re in production on the second movie with our partners at Paramount. We’re actually tapping into the younger audience and making what we’re calling a prequel special called Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past. It really is one of those franchises that is able to reinvent itself and have spin-offs and long legs. We just launched Pig Goat Banana Cricket, which is an odd name for a series, and it’s an odd series! We’re hoping that it’s going to be fun enough and weird enough that kids will be drawn to it. We also have Harvey Beaks, which is really reflective of today’s kids. Harvey is a really good little bird who’s running with a fast crowd, and it’s the conflict between wanting to be naughty and wanting to be good and really liking his parents. But the fast crowd is quite fast in the woods!

Nick Jr. targets the preschool set with animated offerings like Blaze and the Monster Machines.

TV KIDS: What highlights do you have in live action? ZARGHAMI: We have two shows that are very exciting. Bella and the Bulldogs, which is about a girl on a boys’ football team, is set against a backdrop of middle school and friendship. The second is a show from Dan Schneider [creator of Drake & Josh

and iCarly] called Game Shakers, about two girls who code and have accidentally launched a hugely successful game app. The app is bought by a rap superstar, so the girls have a gaming business and they’re 12 years old! We have another Dan Schneider show called Henry Danger, which is about superheroes, and we have The Thundermans, a comedy about a family of superheroes. The parents [in the series] just had a new baby who grows at an accelerated rate, so she’s 6 by the time the first two days have passed, but she has superpowers as well. We have 100 Things to Do Before High School. We’re making a series out of the movie franchise School of Rock with our partners at Paramount. And we have a series about quadruplets called Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn—three boys and their sister, who is the star. TV KIDS: Tell us about the Nick apps and digital extensions. ZARGHAMI: The Nickelodeon app is a great second screen for us; it really is like the TV of the future. If you have a smart TV, then you can either go to the Nickelodeon channel or to the Nickelodeon app, and all the content will be there. The Nick Jr. app launched recently, and that’s a phenomenal story, because the app is clearly a way that preschoolers and their moms are entertaining themselves. The Noggin app launched not so long ago. We took the name of the old Nick Jr. channel and relaunched it as an over-the-top app that is subscription based. It has a great library of preschool content. When we have a hit television show, we launch a game; the games and the shows [work] together. If kids love something [on TV], then they look for it [online or in an app]. The coordination of those two has been very successful. We have a bunch of SpongeBob games, and Turtles games. We have about 60 game apps in the iTunes Store at the moment. TV KIDS: How is Nick nurturing new talent in front of and behind the camera, and how are you finding new voices? ZARGHAMI: Russell Hicks [the president of content development and production for the Nickelodeon Group] in L.A. has done an amazing job with the animation studio and in creating opportunities for new people to come in and work. He has an Animated Shorts Program that gives creators the opportunity to come in and make one- and two-minute pilots. So the amount of product and talent that’s coming to the studio has quadrupled. He’s also very excited about working with people who grew up on Nickelodeon and partnering them with Nickelodeon veterans. The creator of Hey Arnold! is working on one of the newer shows, and the creators of The Adventures of Pete & Pete are working with the creators of Sanjay and Craig. Russell is making these great partnerships between the original and newer Nick talent so that they get the proper education and DNA they need to be successful. Because we’re making so much more, we’re casting a much wider net. We have shows in development with our international partners in several different countries. We have pilots

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ZARGHAMI: Live events are important for so many reasons. They’re a way for the brand to manifest itself and bring all of our talent together. They provide opportunities for Hollywood or the sports community to bring their kids and connect with kids. And they are a way for us to entertain our clients in a way that we don’t get to day in, day out. When you experience something with your family, which can be rare, it really creates something very special. TV KIDS: The parents of today’s generation of kids grew up with Nick, and young talent also grew up with Nick. How does this affect parents’ expectations and the talent you work with? ZARGHAMI: Nick Cannon is a really interesting example because he probably grew up watching Nickelodeon, and he was 19 when he did his first work for us. Then he started making shows for us when he was probably in his early 20s, and now he has 4-year-old kids and he’s still working with us, but through a slightly different lens. People who started with Nickelodeon have a real emotional connection to it; it’s fantastic. The moms have built-in equity and feelings about the preschool content, so they know it’s good and they trust us implicitly. There are a lot of people between 20 and 30 who are yearning for their early Nickelodeon days. So we’ve created The ’90s Are All That [a nightly block on TeenNick] for people to come back and reconnect with the stuff they grew up on. The ’90s Are All That is getting a new name; we’re calling it The Splat so we can [tap into programming] from the 2000s. We didn’t want to be limited to the ’90s. We’re trying to take advantage of the social aspect of the people who want to re-connect with their old Nickelodeon, so there are a lot of social components to it as well.

New live-action tween highlights on Nickelodeon include 100 Things to Do Before High School.

coming from the U.K., from Spain; we’re making a movie series in Spain; we have one being developed in Holland, and we have another one being developed in Australia. We’re really combing the globe because the new formats are so exciting. TV KIDS: What are some of the formats and shows coming from the international market? ZARGHAMI: Our partners in Latin America started a process with us, in which we took a telenovela called Grachi, translated it into English, and produced it in Miami with both a Latin American and American cast so that we had a great mix of content. The storytelling is similar to the telenovela format, with a little humor mixed in, and it is working really well for the U.S. audience. It then traveled around to the rest of the markets, which has been really exciting to see. We are looking in all of the territories for different ideas and formats to bring back to the U.S. and then send back out to the rest of the world. We’re looking in the U.K. and in Holland, and we’re making content in Spain. We’re doing the Kids’ Choice Awards in Germany and Latin America. We’re having a great time bringing the world together to try and find the most exciting stuff for kids. TV KIDS: You mentioned the Kids’ Choice Awards, and now there’s a Kids’ Choice Sports Awards. Do live events continue to be very important to Nick?

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TV KIDS: In what areas do you foresee growth in the next year or so? ZARGHAMI: There are a lot of opportunities, [first of all] in the preschool area because there is an expectation now—which is very different than when we first began—that if children fall in love with a piece of IP, then they’re going to expect to get it everywhere. As soon as they love a show, they want games, books, clothes and backpacks. The other thing that’s exciting to us is the expansion of the ecosystem: from the apps to the dot-coms to the games to the SVOD platforms, back to the channels—and we still have the four channels. The ecosystem is getting bigger. We just have to wait for all the dust to settle on the new viewership model and then determine how we connect kids from one to the other and make the most of it. TV KIDS: What issues are impacting the children’s television business? Is television still the entry point for content? ZARGHAMI: Yes, it’s still the first place of discovery. It’s the biggest opportunity with some challenges attached. The challenges are in the short term and the opportunities are in the long term. I think that the appetite for great content has just gotten bigger. There is more content than there ever has been, there are more people making higher quality content, and the trick is to make sure that kids are going to see the best stuff. That’s why the brand is more important than it’s ever been, because it’s still our stamp of approval, and it’s still a way to weed through all of the content [when kids] say, what do I want to watch? So in the short term, we have to make sure that the brand is still representative of Nickelodeon kids and the things that they care about. And in the long term, we just have to make sure that kids get to see good content.

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DAN POVENMIRE &

JEFF “SWAMPY” MARSH By Anna Carugati

Disney Channel and Disney XD’s hit animated comedy Phineas and Ferb features the adventures of two boys trying to find “creative” ways of filling their summer vacation days, while Perry the Platypus is working as a spy to foil the plotting of the evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. To top it all off, almost every episode has a song, with titles like “Gitchee Gitchee Goo” and “Ain’t Got Rhythm.” The boys’ antics, the underground subterfuge and the songs all sprang from the fervent imaginations of creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh. The final episode of Phineas and Ferb aired this June, but Povenmire and Marsh are already at work on a new series, Milo Murphy’s Law. With their inimitable sense of humor they tell TV Kids about saying goodbye to the first series and their plans for their next one. TV KIDS: Looking back on Phineas and Ferb, what made it so successful? POVENMIRE: It’s two things. I think the songs had a lot to do with it. Whenever we talk to people they always feel like the songs are what hooked them in. But early on in the process there were decisions that Swampy and I made to keep the show really positive and not have characters ever motivated by meanness, making them respectful of their elders, and that really resonated with parents, whether they knew that was it or not. A lot of people have talked about and blogged about those things, so we know it’s gotten through. Others have said they had a nice feeling about the show. They feel happy that they watched it and that their children watched it. It helps when the parents are on board.

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MARSH: And we always kept it smart. We always refused to dumb down any of the jokes. We always believed that kids were smarter than everybody gave them credit for and that was one of the first things we heard back from the fans and the parents: thank you for making a show that is smart. The music didn’t hurt either!

TV KIDS: Tell me about the music. You composed all the songs yourselves? POVENMIRE: We would get in a room and get the chords and the melody all together on guitars and then we would sing it into the answering machine of our composer, who also produced all the songs. That worked well for the whole first season and then one time he accidentally erased one of the songs! We don’t always remember the song. We learn it just long enough to sing it, we do the whole thing in about an hour, we get it to where we like it and then we sing it. But now we do it in GarageBand on our Mac. After that we never play it or sing it again, so if it’s a couple of weeks down the road and our composer says, I lost that thing that you did, we have to go in and re-write it. MARSH: We have to look back at the sheets of scribbles and lyrics and hope we can piece it back together. TV KIDS: The show has two levels of humor—one that kids can understand and the other for parents. Was that intentional?

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POVENMIRE: We did it that way because we are control freaks. MARSH: That’s a big part of it. POVENMIRE: It was because we did it as though we were making a show with our friends in our garage, so everybody did what they could and what they wanted to do. And we just like doing all those things, so we arranged our production around us being able to take part in all those parts of the process. I didn’t sleep a lot for a couple of seasons. I was working from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. or midnight almost every day. And back then I also had a newborn at home, so I was getting up at 4:30 in the morning to do the middle-of-thenight feeding for my daughter. But I was in my early 40s, so I didn’t need a lot of sleep yet! TV KIDS: Besides Phineas and Ferb, there are also one-hour specials connected to the series, so you haven’t completely said goodbye to the characters? POVENMIRE: We haven’t completely said goodbye. There is a Doof and Perry-centric special called The O.W.C.A. Files, which we really like. Phineas and Ferb are in it, but only very briefly at the very end.

One of Disney Channel’s biggest hits, Phineas and Ferb focused on the comedic adventures of two step brothers, their friends and their crime-fighting pet platypus.

POVENMIRE: It was intentional only in that we would laugh at two levels of humor and we are just trying to make each other laugh. We never took anything away because we thought the kids wouldn’t get it, we just made sure we would put in jokes that the kids would get. MARSH: We had a rule that if it was a joke for the adults and the kids wanted to know why it was funny, that conversation couldn’t be an uncomfortable one. So the jokes that were for the adults weren’t rude jokes or dirty jokes. POVENMIRE: They were references to cultural things that the parents might get. TV KIDS: Would you give some examples of the type of feedback you have gotten about the show? POVENMIRE: We got some great letters from people. We got this wonderful letter from a lady whose kid never liked art class, he just wanted to go out and play. He was always belligerent in class and would only draw a line on a piece of paper because the teacher would tell him he had to. But she showed us these wonderful drawings that he would do in art class after he had watched Phineas and Ferb and that made us cry! The thing that we got the most, and we still get, and it makes me happy every time, is parents thanking us for making a show that they could watch with their kids and felt good about their kids watching. Early on I remember telling Swampy, looks like we somehow stumbled upon the Life Cereal of animation because it was something that the parents all thought was good for their kids and the kids all thought was cool! Had we set out to specifically do those two things, we could never have done them. It was a happy accident that we were able to hit both of those boxes. TV KIDS: How did your creative partnership work? You did so much, you wrote, you drew the characters, you voiced two of them, you wrote songs—how did you juggle all of that and still find time to sleep?

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TV KIDS: Tell me about the upcoming new show, Milo Murphy’s Law. POVENMIRE: Milo Murphy’s Law is about the great-great-greatgreat grandchild of the original Murphy from Murphy’s Law. In Milo’s whole life everything that can go wrong goes wrong around him. Instead of being upset or beaten down by this, he’s maintained a really positive outlook and that’s just the way his life is. He doesn’t think anything of it and he has developed all sorts of coping mechanisms. He has a backpack full of hazmat gloves and helmets and whatever you might need if some disaster happens. It’s just him going through his life in this weird prism of disaster. MARSH: He thinks that it just makes his life more fun and interesting and exciting. TV KIDS: What is the message to kids? MARSH: [Management] thought we were going all negative on this one. POVENMIRE: Yes, we are going all negative, nothing but horrible stuff happens and Milo’s very sad at the end of every episode. MARSH: No, we’re not doing that. POVENMIRE: Milo remains this absolute indefatigable optimist and the theme becomes optimism in the face of adversity. MARSH: It’s about what you choose to do with what life throws at you. Either you look at it as an adventure or a chance to learn or it can defeat you. It’s your choice. TV KIDS: When you are writing together, do you bounce ideas off of one another? Do you break stories together? MARSH: My idea is… POVENMIRE: NO!!! You can’t do that. MARSH: There, that’s how it works! No, actually we have an amazing team of creative people around us, writers and storyboard guys, and everybody gets to come in and throw around ideas. That’s where we start: it’s the idea that makes you laugh or maybe even the one that everybody at first says, No, we couldn’t do that! And then you start building on it. You have to have faith in the people that you have brought on to help mold the show and give them the freedom to say stupid stuff and build the story.

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volume, I am certainly prouder of our quality storytelling and nimble expansion across platforms. TV KIDS: How much of what’s airing on Cartoon Network channels globally is from the studio? SORCHER: Cartoon Network around the world is exhibiting product from many studios, including a large contingent of excellent and top-rated series from our sister company Warner Bros. Animation. Given the surging success of Cartoon Network, and the recent relaunch of Boomerang as [part of] a global two-channel strategy, the overall slots from CN Studios have increased, but so have the overall slots from Warner Bros. Animation, and we are still on the market for quality acquisitions to fulfill the two channels’ needs globally. TV KIDS: What are some of the key projects in the works? SORCHER: In addition to our new output deal with Warner Bros. Animation, we have announced our first digital and interactive series, Mighty Magiswords, and we have just launched the new Cartoon Network app, which features an innovative interface.

ROB SORCHER CARTOON NETWORK By Kristin Brzoznowski

As part of his remit as the chief content officer of Cartoon Network, Rob Sorcher is responsible for overseeing the Burbank-based animation production house Cartoon Network Studios (CN Studios). The original productions from CN Studios have contributed greatly to the success of the channel, which is the number one ad-supported network for kids 6 to 11, boys 6 to 11 and 9 to 14. Seven of CN Studios’s originals are part of the overall top ten series for boys 6 to 11, including The Amazing World of Gumball, which comes from CN Studios EMEA. Sorcher tells TV Kids about the evolution of the studio, sheds light on the new Ben 10 and Powerpuff Girls productions and shares what’s coming up next. TV KIDS: How many hours of output are coming from CN Studios each year? And are you looking to increase that amount? SORCHER: We are in the midst of a record output year of animation production at the studio during a record year of animation production in the industry. This is no easy task because for us that means creating a studio where creative talent wants to work, among the many choices available. And it means keeping up with quality, which may not be sacrificed for quantity. We see no slowdown in production. Our overall success is driving us to invest even more in the animation business for the long term, and there are a greater array of screens and formats to produce for than ever before. So, while I am proud of our

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TV KIDS: Tell us about the new Ben 10. How did that come about, and what can viewers expect? SORCHER: We’ve made over 250 half-hours of Ben 10 in multiple iterations, and it has been an ongoing powerhouse brand for Turner, with particular strength internationally in recent years. The new Ben 10 will feature a young Ben, just like the first original series, and it will bring together comedic and action elements in a new format, along with a worldwide merchandising program. TV KIDS: The Powerpuff Girls is also coming back. What can you tell us about the reboot? SORCHER: Powerpuff Girls was one of the first CN Studios originals in the ’90s, and though it has been out of production for many years, it is still closely associated with the Cartoon Network brand. Global demand for these characters from an audience that grew up with them and now wants to introduce them to their own kids drove the remake. It is a joy to see young animators at work on a show they grew up with—in some cases Powerpuff Girls inspired their careers as animators. TV KIDS: What are CN Studios’s initiatives in the year ahead? SORCHER: We launched the eighth animated series to be created inside of our Global Artists Program. We Bare Bears launched July 27 in the U.S. I dare anyone to watch this show and say it isn’t adorable. We have a new animated miniseries, Long Live the Royals, airing later this year, and this will be another exciting and entirely different flavor than we have tried before. Long Live the Royals follows the overwhelming success of our Over the Garden Wall miniseries last year—and I am very pleased the Emmy voters recognized Over the Garden Wall in the outstanding animated program category. Mighty Magiswords started as a 15-second original microseries, making its debut on our acclaimed CN Anything app. The popularity of Mighty Magiswords has now propelled us to develop our first full digital series and a suite of new digital products and video formats, which will start to launch over the next year.

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Gwen Stefani The street fashion and youth culture found in the renowned Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan, served as the inspiration for the brand-new animated show Kuu Kuu Harajuku. The series was created and executive produced by the Grammy-winning singer Gwen Stefani, and her vision for a stylish, colorful and musical world was carried out in partnership with Moody Street Kids and Vision Animation. Commissioned by Network Ten and sold by DHX Media, the series follows the adventures of the girl band HJ5, whose gigs are constantly interrupted before they can actually play. It is meant to embody the creativity and individualism that Stefani saw and loved in the Harajuku district. As Stefani tells TV Kids, she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be more pleased with the results. By Kristin Brzoznowski 328 World Screen 10/15

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CONTENTS FEATURE

Shop Around Shelf space—or more accurately, the lack thereof—has long been cited by licensors as one of the biggest hurdles in the children’s licensing and merchandising (L&M) business.

The aisles of major retailers are jam-packed with toys, plush, action figures and the like tied to kids’ TV shows, though they are mostly dominated by megabrands. There have also been a number of iconic properties that have been rebooted for a new generation, and these come with a builtin awareness that makes stores feel more confident about the potential for scoring sales. It’s increasingly difficult to get brand-new IP onto shelves at retail, but there are now more opportunities popping up beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar outlets. Just as the digital world has transformed the way that children’s programming is watched, the internet holds much promise for exploiting the brand extensions of these properties. The e-commerce market has been growing worldwide, and is getting better and more convenient all the time as technology makes it easier to select items and pay for them. Online retailers have the ability to target a very specific audience and can provide them with one-click access to the product they are looking for—without the hassle of having to tote the kids to the toy store. Whether working with internet-shopping behemoths like Amazon or niche e-retailers, licensors are benefiting from the power of the web as a venue for L&M sales. According to LIMA’s first annual Global Licensing Industry Survey, the impact of digital-product distribution and overall growth in ecommerce is making the licensing industry more global. The report finds that many of the new opportunities in the licensing segment will come from outside of North America, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region. In fact, the proliferation of broadband connections, as well as the strength of the Chinese e-commerce outfit Alibaba, resulted in online sales accounting for 33 percent of retail sales of licensed product in China, the highest in the world by a large margin. We explore the latest trends, opportunities and challenges in the global L&M market in this issue. There is also an interview with Avi Arad, the former head of Marvel Studios, whose Arad Productions is today working with 41 Entertainment to give a number of known properties new life. Despite the difficulties that may come with launching new IP, brand owners understand that the value of providing kids with multiple touch points to connect with their favorite TV characters makes the process well worth it. —Kristin Brzoznowski

6 READY FOR LAUNCH Brand owners heading to BLE in London are coming up with creative solutions to turn their shows into L&M hits, such as new forms of retailer promotions and exploring opportunities in digital.

INTERVIEW 12 Arad Productions’s Avi Arad New series featuring King Kong and Tarzan are on the roster at Arad Productions.

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Playset for ITVS GE’s Thunderbirds Are Go.

READY FOR Brand owners heading to BLE are coming up with creative By Jane Marlow

n a year when every trip to the supermarket means wading through aisles crammed with merchandise featuring the characters from Frozen, Ant-Man and Star Wars, it would seem that the kids’ licensing and merchandising (L&M) industry is enjoying a vibrant, fertile period. But, given that all these properties derive from one company—Disney— perhaps their omnipresence on the shelves presents more of a challenge to the industry as a whole rather than being a barometer of good health. Jennifer Coleman, the VP of licensing and marketing at 4K Media, is upbeat about how Yu-Gi-Oh! has grown over the last two years. Coleman started with a blank slate in 2012 and now has a roster of licensing partners across apparel, back to school and more. But, she says, the consolidation and “Disneyfication” of the L&M industry is currently one of its biggest challenges. “There’s been consolidation within the licensor realm and so much on the retailer side too—with some retailers going away—which makes it so much harder,” says Coleman. “Tesco can go meet with Disney and they’ve got every demographic covered, from preschool to the older folks, with Marvel and Indiana Jones and Star Wars—it’s one-stop shopping.”

Confronting challenges generates creative solutions, however, and Coleman says that niche brands like hers are starting to benefit from the growth of online shopping and retail.

NICHE APPEAL “More small manufacturers in the industry are understanding niche brands and niche retail, which doesn’t necessarily mean brick-and-mortar [stores],” she explains. “There are manufacturers that are deciding they want to take advantage of these online opportunities. We have one T-shirt licensee that is making a huge investment to do a print direct and is partnering with Amazon. I feel that as a licensor we are benefiting from some of the unique opportunities that licensees are seeking out in the marketplace now.” Mediatoon also has a wide manga catalogue, as well as comics with characters such as Garfield, Gaston Lagaffe and Spirou. Jérôme Leclercq, the director of Mediatoon Licensing, agrees that the rolling program of movies churned out by Disney, and Minions and Jurassic World from Universal, make shelf space hard to find. But, with a new movie release scheduled, new properties being added to the catalogue and a new TV season of

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Yakari in the offing, the next two years present good opportunities for the company. “It’s important to refresh the catalogue and have events, new movies and new series coming up,” says Leclercq. His strategy is to think differently than the larger outfits. “We have the chance to partner with some licensees that don’t work with Disney. We try to be smarter and help them to continue to sell our properties at retail.”

DAY AT THE PARK Central to this approach are two theme-park projects, Parc Spirou in France and Spirouland in Belgium, which will feature properties from Belgian comics such as Lucky Luke. Mediatoon hopes success in Europe will open doors in China. “We have an office in Shanghai and are trying to develop the Chinese market,” Leclercq adds. “We have a Chinese partner who is looking at what we’re doing with the theme park in France; it could be a great way to develop our brand in France and outside the country too.”

Increasingly, imaginative partnerships and product ranges are also improving the health of the L&M arena as companies strive to bring fresh and engaging products to shelves.”

STANDOUT BRANDS Hayward says the challenges lie particularly in the boys’ market, which is saturated by big-budget franchises like Star Wars and The Avengers. “It does seem that the licensing industry is still polarized to the tried-and-tested brands that can deliver an established fan base and the short-term opportunities for new properties.” That said, Hayward reports that ITVS GE’s Thunderbirds Are Go has had a stellar year since its launch in April 2015, with British consolidated TV ratings nearing the 3-million mark for the series’ two opening episodes, which aired back-to-back. “We have assembled a very strong consumerproducts program and already have all key categories covered with over 45 licensees on board globally,” says Hayward. “The retail rollout of Thunderbirds Are Go

LAUNCH solutions to turn their properties into L&M hits. Theme parks are also core to The Smurfs’ presence in the marketplace and are indicative of the brand’s commitment to a long-term growth strategy. The iconic blue characters will have a home at various multi-property parks that are in the pipeline, and at motiongate in Dubai, which is set to open in 2016. Tim Verschure, the head of sales at IMPS, licensor of the Smurfs brand, says the benefits of a big project like this are manifold. “You’re doing a licensing deal with theme parks for 10 or 15 years, so it’s long-term vision. That’s one of the most important elements. Secondly, you can get income from the entrance fee; your products will be shown in a restaurant with food, drinks and placemats; there will be a shop where people will come into contact with your products—toys, plush, apparel, health and beauty—so you create engagement. There are marketing commitments, which means that the brand will be promoted through the park on a national or international level. It means visibility and keeps the brand alive for the target group.” Trudi Hayward, the senior VP and head of global merchandise at ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE), thinks the L&M arena is improving all the time. “The upturn is underpinned by having strong brands across the market. They help buoy retail as their halo effect helps spread confidence among consumers and retailers alike.

merchandise kicked off in July with the debut of Vivid Imaginations’s new toy range.” Thunderbirds Are Go will be leading ITVS GE’s presentation slate at BLE, where the focus will be on adding innovative products within existing categories for the brand. “It’s important that all our partners have a genuine passion for the brand and will develop products that fully capture the show’s key themes of adventure, teamwork and rescue,” Hayward continues. “We’ll also be seeking promotional partnerships for the property to further enhance consumer engagement with the brand.” Thunderbirds Are Go taps into audience recognition of the original series. Similarly, Saban Brands’s Power Rangers is an evergreen property, with evolving themes that help it engage old and new fans alike in the core 4-to-8 target age group. Dino Super Charge is the 23rd season of the franchise, launching in 2016. “Toys are our strongest category—action figures, roleplay and costumes,” says Kirk Bloomgarden, the senior VP of global consumer products at Saban Brands. “Power Rangers is the perfect vehicle for kids to live the experience and role play. In the U.S. for Halloween we have a tremendous product sell-through, and in Europe for other year-round events. Kids want to dress up as their favorite

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Mediatoon’s portfolio of recognizable characters includes Garfield.

ZDF Enterprises arrives at BLE with a slate that includes H2O: Mermaid Adventures.

Power Ranger. Costumes are huge for us on a global basis. Apparel is strong—[it provides the ability to] express yourself and showcase your love of Power Rangers through your apparel and accessories. The other strong category is publishing—comics and magazines that the kids can follow. It’s not as strong as it once was, clearly, but it is still important. It rounds out the categories that are important for the brand.” Bloomgarden adds that, from a retail point of view, Saban Brands is also interested in online and e-commerce opportunities. “While staying traditional, we are still branching out into other areas.” Mediatoon’s Leclercq agrees that online retail is important, notably for manga, which has a fan base accustomed to consuming material on the internet. “We have developed our own website to sell collectible products based on our comics. Collectorbd.com launched in November 2014, and now we have more than 600 different products—high-quality, high-price and limited-edition items—made by our licensees, which we sell directly. It’s a different way for us to sell and to expose our products.” Collectibles are also central to 4K Media’s Yu-Gi-Oh!, whose fans graduate from the animated series to engaging with trading cards. It’s a play pattern the company is keen to build on. “We’re looking for a licensing deal and a licensing partnership to enhance the trading-card play and the collec-

tability of the overall brand,” Coleman explains. “There are so many different types of collectibles, so we’re looking to target that market as much as we can.” Having previously focused on opportunities in the U.S., Coleman says 4K Media is now looking to make inroads into the European market at BLE. The brand has secured good TV exposure in Italy, France and Germany, and Coleman is aiming to expand the presence in the U.K. Mondo TV’s current top properties are Sissi the Young Empress and the Ferrari co-production The Drakers. Roberta Puppo, the company’s international licensing and marketing manager, says the two properties are working well with toy, food and publishing partners. She aims to increase their presence in accessories and luxury. For Mondo TV, online is also key in supporting the brands. “We consider online to be a really good opportunity for children to interact with their heroes in order to know them and the world they live in better,” says Puppo. “We are currently working to develop this business.”

TWEEN SCENE Launching new properties is still a challenge in the current environment. ZDF Enterprises is confident that the TV success of its key live-action tween brands Wolfblood, Dance Academy and H2O: Just Add Water will boost their appeal to licensees. “Wolfblood, an award-winning BBC co-production, has sold to more than 150 territories, including a multi-territory agreement with Disney Channel,” says Peter Lang, the VP of ZDFE.junior at ZDF Enterprises. “The third and fourth seasons guarantee the longterm perspective for any partner’s merchandising portfolio. Dance Academy, aired in over 140 territories, unifies a variety of attributes that will turn it into an international merchandising hit—unique look and feel, dance scenes and music and high involvement of the viewers.” Lang continues, “Our ‘Home of Mermaids’ series have traveled all over the world and found millions of devoted fans everywhere. Sold to over 160 territories, these award-winning series stand out for their storytelling and, in the case of the live-action version, for special effects and underwater photography. Mako Mermaids was even launched internationally as the first live-action Netflix original children’s series.” Tapping into that track record, ZDF Enterprises has launched the animated series H2O: Mermaid Adventures. “It is a combination of comedy, friendship and adventure for

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younger fans. The combination of 2D and 3D animation offers countless possibilities for merchandising products for little girls 6-plus.” Lang says that the home-entertainment, publishing and lifestyle categories will be priorities for the liveaction brands. For H2O: Mermaid Adventures, which skews younger, toys will also be a key focus. Saban Brands is launching the preschool show Cirque du Soleil: Luna Petunia at BLE. “Cirque du Soleil is a global, family brand, so we feel we have a great basis to start this from,” Bloomgarden says. “We’re starting to talk to partners to get them on board early, but we’re not rushing things either. With preschool shows specifically, you need to let them build, and we want to grow an audience and, as demand builds, feed the marketplace with product.” For IMPS’s The Smurfs, the show’s classic brand recognition has been bolstered in recent years by the live-action/animated feature films released by Sony Pictures Entertainment. The movie releases are tentpoles in terms of audience awareness. The next Smurfs movie is scheduled for release in March 2017 and will be accompanied by a “blue tsunami” of marketing initiatives across publishing, apparel, food, health and beauty, home products, toys and video

games, explains Verschure. “There is also a new category; we have signed an agreement with BrandLoyalty, which is putting in place the licensing deals with supermarkets. They are negotiating now with all the supermarkets in Europe, Asia and South America.” Verschure says food is a category that is doing good business for the brand, but it’s crucial for The Smurfs to maintain a presence on TV to create a bond that feeds into a retail experience. “I think retailers are more open to talk to brands than before,” he says. “[Retailers] need to find ways to beat each other. It’s a red ocean [amid stiff price competition] out there in the supermarkets. They need to find ways to get the clients in their shops, and brands are a possible mechanism to do that.” “To keep consumers returning to their stores, retailers need to offer everything from pocket-money toys to impulse purchases and then higher-ticket gifting items,” says ITVS GE’s Hayward. “Within these larger ranges, it’s also important that each licensee complements one another. We strive to appoint licensees that bring something new and exciting to a brand’s licensing program.” That remit will surely extend to other brand owners at BLE as they look for new and innovative ways to turn their hit shows into must-have products for kids.

Saban Brands’s Power Rangers: Dino Super Charge launches in 2016.

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one time, people didn’t understand that the safest things in the world of entertainment are big brands. [When we launched Arad Productions] we started to look at the kinds of IP that we couldn’t look at in the Marvel days. Manga was always a big priority, so we got into aggregating high-profile manga properties and big-title video games, converting them into movies that would satisfy fans and become broad-based entertainment. The skill set necessary to translate [these video-game and manga properties] into films and TV shows is virtually the same as what we did at Marvel. Part of the decision-making process for us is to make sure that the IP is the kind of brand that will generate licensing and merchandising for a long time. In the spirit of [creating] brand-building vehicles, we went back into animation. I became executive advisory chairman for Bandai Namco [creator of the PAC-MAN video game] and Production I.G., the company behind [the Japanese franchise] Ghost in the Shell. We are now starting the live-action Ghost in the Shell movie with Scarlett Johansson. I told my friends at Bandai that they had one of the greatest properties of all time—PAC-MAN—but it had been dormant. So we started working on PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures. We created characters and backgrounds and origin stories and so on. We made 52 half-hour episodes. It’s been very successful on

AVI ARAD Arad Productions By Mansha Daswani

Avi Arad has been involved with some of the biggest comicbook movie franchises of the last few decades, including the Spider-Man films. Formerly chief creative officer at Marvel Entertainment, Arad also founded and ran the comic-book giant’s Marvel Studios division. In 2006 he set out on his own, setting up Arad Productions. Today, Arad is working on a variety of titles, including two new animated properties for Netflix: Kong: King of the Apes and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and Jane. Arad tells TV Kids about how he is working with 41 Entertainment, which is handling TV, licensing and merchandising rights, to build these new shows into global brands that help kids understand the importance of protecting wildlife and the environment. TV KIDS: When you created Arad Productions, what kinds of content did you want to make? ARAD: When I started Marvel Studios we did a lot of animation and then we started making movies, which was not an easy thing to do. Believe it or not, it took two years for someone to say they’d do the Spider-Man movie! At

Disney XD and Netflix. There have been a lot of licenses. I brought Allen [Bohbot, managing director at 41 Entertainment] in to handle the distribution and licensing. Together we are building a major animation business. TV KIDS: What led to the Kong: King of the Apes series? ARAD: Allen Bohbot produced a Kong animated show many years ago. I always loved Kong. The first movie, the black-and-white one, was awesome. Kong is a wonderful character, especially if you humanize him and make him misunderstood. Every show that I’m obsessed with now has to do with the environment and saving wildlife. One of the hottest subjects for kids and for parents is the issue of poaching and protecting the environment. So Kong: King of the Apes is very environmentally correct, with lots of adventure. It’s about the relationship between a family and the monkey they save as a baby, who is growing out of control. It’s kind of funny how fast he grows, and then they have to find a place to hide him. There are two brothers, one is a naturalist who is all about

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41 Entertainment is working on a range of licensing deals for Kong: King of the Apes at BLE.

saving the environment and living things, and the other is a bionics genius who does not see the value of living things and would rather create robotic versions of extinct species. This creates an opportunity to give Kong a worthy adversary in the form of various bionic dinosaurs. What can be better than bionic dinosaurs fighting a living, breathing Kong? Not only is it a fun story to tell, but it created great opportunities for licensing, merchandising, toys, games, etc. for the brand of Kong and the dinosaurs. In our show, Kong is an unrealized hero on the run [after causing havoc at the brothers’] wildlife preservation on Alcatraz. It features the adventures of Kong. He’s a hero to some and a menace to others—but the audience knows the truth! It’s a very different-looking Kong; all you want to do is hug him. But when he gets mad, watch out! The animation company on the series is the same one that did PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures. There are a lot of licenses. MGA Entertainment is doing the toys. And Allen is doing licensing deals in every form and every shape. The international support on this show is what I expected. Kong is a known character. If you have a Kong who you feel like you can hug, who will save people even if they are trying to hurt him, you have a heroic, misunderstood creature. That makes for a good story. TV KIDS: How did Tarzan and Jane come about? ARAD: Allen and I were throwing around ideas of known IP that had stood the test of time, both domestically and internationally. When Tarzan came up, it got me really excited. As a kid I loved the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan [films from the 1930s and 1940s]. I had always tried to get the rights for the live-action movie. Tarzan has captured the minds and hearts of generations since the ’30s. The Disney animated movie [in 1999] did $500 million at the box office. I believe it was a mishap that they didn’t renew it. So there was an opportunity [to do a new Tarzan animation]. Tarzan fits very well with my passion for saving the environment and wildlife. We

started dealing with the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs [the creator of Tarzan]. We wouldn’t have done it without the estate’s permission. During a presentation to Netflix, the executives came up with an idea: why don’t we call it Tarzan and Jane and make Jane just as strong and adventurous? In the old movies, she was sweet and pretty, yet not very active. So we wrote the story and called it Tarzan and Jane. They become a team, working together to save all living things and the environment. It is hard to believe the tragedy of Cecil the lion. Poaching is a big business. The only way to change the situation is good awareness campaigns and teaching kids from a young age about this looming issue. Tarzan and Jane are probably the best ambassadors that one can have for this mission. We want boys and girls to look at Tarzan and Jane and say, I wish I could be like them. The show takes Tarzan, Jane and audiences to remote places in the quest to stop this insanity [of poaching]. Tarzan and Jane’s base of operations is in London in Greystoke Estate. Their mission is to stop the people who pull the strings and support the destruction of both the environment and wildlife for financial gain. When the movie comes out, there will be a couple of surprises— which I would rather not divulge at this point—that make the team unique. TV KIDS: Animation technology has changed considerably over the years. Are you finding you have more flexibility now in the way you tell your stories? ARAD: To give you an idea, 10 or 15 years ago in the CGI business, hair was a tough thing to do, water was a tough thing to do. There are a lot of things that took a lot of research to accomplish. It was time consuming and expensive. In the CGI business now, we have the ability to [reflect] both humans’ and animals’ emotions, so you can feel for the animals as much as you do for the humans.

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TV KIDS: What sparked your passion for the Harajuku culture? How has this influenced you creatively? STEFANI: I feel like traveling the world impacted me in ways that I never even knew possible. The first time I went to Japan, I felt this incredible pull toward the culture because of all of the traditions and then all the futuristicyet-modern sensibilities. In Japan, the attention to detail and care [put toward] everything, whether it be food presentation or layering outfits or wrapping gifts and packages, it’s all completely inspiring to me. Everything is telling a story. I love when Japanese culture takes other cultures and interprets them in its own unique way. I was immediately attracted to all of these things, and will continue to be for the rest of my life.

STEFANI: It took my breath away! The level of understanding in terms of my taste and my vision—the team just took it to a place that I couldn’t have even dreamed of in my mind. To me, the artwork is so beautiful, and everything about it is perfect and super kawaii [cute]. I couldn’t even imagine it coming out any better.

TV KIDS: How did the collaboration with Moody Street Kids and Vision Animation for Kuu Kuu Harajuku come about? STEFANI: I’ve wanted to do an animated or live-action Harajuku TV show or movie since the conception of my dance record Love Angel Music Baby. It was one of the first things that I wanted to do; I wanted to do that along with the music. That was more than ten years ago! It is a dream come true that now it’s actually happening. I never really dreamed that it would come to life in the way that it has. [The show] is such a quality work of art with a team that is so devoted.

TV KIDS: The show is also filled with music. Why do you think music is such an important tool for reaching kids? STEFANI: Music is an important tool for reaching all human beings. Music is one of the biggest gifts that we have been given in this world. It’s kind of an unexplainable thing when you see babies react to music the way that they do. You see that it’s an inborn gift that we all gravitate toward and that brings so much joy. Music captures emotion so well. Music will always be important in life, and it was really important to me that it be incorporated into the series.

TV KIDS: What are some of the core values of the Harajuku Girl characters that you want young viewers to embrace? STEFANI: Self-expression, confidence in who you are, uniqueness and individuality. Be sparkly, be curious, never give up, be resilient, be determined, be stylish, be creative. Basically they need to be me! [Laughs] TV KIDS: What was your reaction when you first saw this world come to life in animation?

TV KIDS: Why do you think this series will resonate with kids all over the world? STEFANI: Kids everywhere want to laugh, and kids want to see silly things happen. I think kids love to be in an imaginary world, and this cartoon has no boundaries. It literally has so much fantasy going on that your mind can go anywhere, and that is a global and universal thing. People like to escape.

TV KIDS: What have you enjoyed most about the experience of working on Kuu Kuu Harajuku? STEFANI: The experience of working on the show has been nothing short of mind-blowing. With this brand, every artist and collaborator that has gotten involved took it to a place that I couldn’t even dream of. The characters are unstoppable. The Harajuku Girls can do anything, they can wear anything, and they can be anything. And that’s what this cartoon has been. Everybody that’s touching this show is so passionate about it and believes in it and really gets it.

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DHX Media is launching Kuu Kuu Harajuku at MIPCOM.

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we felt were either missing from the market or were original enough to succeed compared to what was around. This strategy has been paying off over time because we managed to build, from Tommy & Oscar onward, licensing programs around [our properties], which gave us not only extra revenues, but also even more exposure from books, video games, and the whole world that we create around them. That was the idea, which was not popular at the time, when I started 20 years ago. Back then it was believed it was better to have a huge library with a lot of episodes and be a big media company. Time has shown that our strategy of focusing on brands, not too many, but doing [a few] with a lot of care and effort, has been paying off. TV KIDS: And Winx Club is an example of that, right? STRAFFI: Winx Club is the best example, yes, that proved our strategy of creating a brand, a huge universe, a mythology, that has crossed generations. The dancers and the singers of our latest live show, which is was touring Italy with big success during the winter and continued into spring, are all around 21, 22, 23 years old, and they were so excited to be interpreting Bloom, Musa, Stella or Flora, because they grew up with Winx Club as their heroes. TV KIDS: Tell us about the deal with China. That’s a multipart deal, isn’t it? STRAFFI: Yes. In China, we started to air Winx again last September, with a very good audience. And at the same time, we’re working with the digital platforms iQIYI, Youku, LeTV and BesTV to create extensive brand awareness.

IGINIO STRAFFI RAINBOW By Anna Carugati

As an independent producer and distributor of animated children’s fare, Rainbow has branched out far beyond its home market of Italy. It has sold series like Tommy & Oscar, Monster Allergy and Huntik: Secrets & Seekers to broadcasters around the world, but it is perhaps best known for Winx Club, about a group of girls who possess extraordinary powers and attend a school for fairies. Rainbow founder and CEO Iginio Straffi has led the company into television and film production, linear and nonlinear distribution, consumer products and toys, as well as theme parks and live shows. He talks to TV Kids about recent deals in China and an ambitious new series in development.

Together with this, CCTV, which is very pleased with the performance of our cartoon, has decided to dedicate about one-third of their theme park, which they are building in Haining, south of Shanghai, to Rainbow’s IP, starting with Winx, but also some others which will be more educational or will show how cartoons come to life. This is very important because the park is dedicated only to Chinese characters. Ours is the only Western animation that will be present in this park. We are very excited and are already in discussion for other co-productions and opportunities that might come from this important market.

TV KIDS: Rainbow has been successful in a very crowded and competitive children’s market. What have been some of the strategies that have led to your success? STRAFFI: The key idea of the strategy was to create brands, not only TV content. We tried to create a world that kids could identify with and would want to live in, in order to be part of the cartoon and part of the adventure. I guess this was the difference between making just another cartoon or putting all the elements, all the passion, all the ideas, to make [the show] last and make it a part of kids’ imaginations. From the beginning, we didn’t want to create many series and have a wide portfolio and offer everything to the market. Instead, we focused on [projects] that

TV KIDS: You also recently made a deal with Netflix. STRAFFI: All our passion and hard work of the last 20 years has paid off. When Netflix started to put their investment and their heads into animation, they knocked at the doors of the key players. They made an important deal with DreamWorks Animation to create new content based on DreamWorks series, but after that, they started to look at other independent players who had strong brands and know-how. We’ve been very honored that they decided to contact Rainbow and we are in production on WOW: World of Winx, a spin-off of our very famous fairies from Winx Club, which are performing very well on Netflix. That’s why they are interested in doing more original content, with a

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Rainbow’s latest animated series is Regal Academy.

little bit different storytelling, which is an exciting experience and experiment for us. We’re creating stories with cliffhangers, a bit more like adult fiction, with a different graphic look and, of course, taste. So we’ll see what will come. The spin-off is in production. TV KIDS: Tell us about one of your big new upcoming shows, Regal Academy. STRAFFI: Regal Academy, after Winx and Mia and me, is the show that took the longest for us to develop. The right top executives, like Luca Milano from RAI, had seen our first bible of Regal Academy back in 2007, 2008. We had this great idea, but we wanted to find the right style and the right storytelling. It had to be something original and something that was missing from the market; it couldn’t be just another Winx or another cartoon. So we have been doing extensive research, even focus groups, and Regal Academy has at least five or six pilot episodes with different styles of animation, from CGI to Flash to 2D, and different graphic looks for the characters. We created this imaginary world where the descendants of [famous] fairy tales have their own school where they have to keep fairy tales and the spirit of the fairy tales alive. We have the great-great-grandson of Snow White, who is a boy—you would expect a girl, but sometimes [these descendants] are boys, sometimes girls, it depends on the situation. This school has fun characters from different fairy tales, and of course they have a mission, but the most interesting part is that it allows us to play with a lot of things that kids already know, for example, Cinderella’s shoes, Snow White’s apple, or Pinocchio’s nose, but in a very, very fun way. The audience is already familiar with these elements [but sometimes in the stories on Regal Academy] these elements play a role that is different from the original fairy tale. So kids can enjoy recognizing them, but then they get a nice twist. We think we have created something very special with Regal Academy,

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something original and entertaining for television and children’s series. I look forward to having it on the air next year, when the first 26 episodes will be completed. And we are already writing another 26. But I’m very positive [about Regal Academy], and I had this feeling only when I was producing Winx because I could see that we really had something special. The industry has received Regal Academy very well because besides Nickelodeon, who has done a worldwide acquisition, we have many other broadcasters, from RAI to Gulli in France and other countries. Many licensees for toys, books and apparel are excited and signing licensing contracts. I think we will have another exciting brand to deliver to the kids’ world. TV KIDS: In which other businesses is Rainbow active? STRAFFI: We are also very active in apps and all the digital world where kids are focusing their attention more and more nowadays. They’re switching from the classic appointment with the TV schedule to watching and playing whenever they want with whomever they want, using their devices. So of course, being in the kids’ business, we are paying close attention to these fast changes in the industry. Another area where we are working hard is in theme parks and other entertainment centers, where we believe we can give families, and specifically kids, the chance to live in this imaginary world, not seeing it only in a virtual place like an app or a television show, but finding a physical place where they can meet their heroes, live in their rooms and touch their devices. I’m not inventing anything, so I must never take credit for all this, just following the great Walt Disney, who was a visionary and created so much fun in a swamp in Florida! So, we are just doing our little part with the limited resources that an independent can have, but always trying our best with a lot of passion and great fun!

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Families in Australia lead increasingly full and complex lives. We know that they want the very best quality television for their children at a time that works within their day—on TV, online and mobile (particularly tablets). Mornings continue to be focused on the family routine, but afterschool activities often mean that older children don’t relax until later in the afternoon. In a world full of entertainment choices, kids are also looking for experiences they can share with their parents and siblings—they really care about spending time together as a family. Preschool parents also want to be able to access their child’s favorite show at a convenient time, rather than relying on traditional channel schedules. All of these trends influence our content strategies, but the value of a great story, an imaginative adventure or a playful song has not changed. Our role is to deliver distinct programs for children of all ages, at times that suit their families’ needs. TV KIDS: What is your overarching content strategy? BRENNAN: We want to enrich the lives of Australian families by providing the best content for their children across all appropriate platforms. Our ongoing vision is to produce distinct content for Australian children by being creatively adventurous, exploring innovative models and new formats and developing local talent while celebrating the expertise of established partners. TV KIDS: What sorts of programming are you looking for? BRENNAN: As a public broadcaster, we need to ensure that all our produced and acquired content supports our trusted position with Australian audiences. We not only need to provide local

DEIRDRE BRENNAN ABC TV By Mansha Daswani

Australia’s ABC has made children’s programming a cornerstone of its offering. Between ABC KIDS for preschoolers, ABC3 for older kids and the nonlinear service iview, the pubcaster is catering to a broad range of young demos with animated and live-action content, both original and acquired. Deirdre Brennan returned to the ABC to head up children’s television in 2013 following three years at BBC Worldwide. Before that she was at Nickelodeon Australia, which she joined after six years in kids’ programming at ABC. She speaks to TV Kids about how much had changed since her last stint at the broadcaster and offers up insights into what her audiences expect from the ABC today. TV KIDS: The kids’ business has changed so much in the last few years. What were the biggest shifts you had to contend with when you returned to the ABC? BRENNAN: I’ve been working with ABC Children’s for 18 months now and it’s the most responsive, exciting genre to be involved with. Our audience keeps us evolving and experimenting, and that’s a great opportunity for Australian producers and international broadcasters. We must strive to innovate to keep young people engaged and ensure the ongoing success of our industry. The ABC had secured its position within the local market, but a level of reinvention was required to increase collaboration with the global kids’ industry and allow great content to thrive. We took the opportunity to develop a new approach to windowing, brand management and partnerships.

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programming, but an Australian perspective on content from around the world. We also have the ability to experiment with new formats and interactive concepts, to discover how our audience responds. Flexibility across ABC platforms is very important and we do work closely with creators to build the success of their programs in the territory. ABC TV’s original content must be distinct, creative and relevant. The 2015 production slate reflects a diversity of genres. Preschool titles include Play School, Giggle and Hoot, Guess How Much I Love You season two and Kazoops! Older viewers will enjoy Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows and Ready for This, factual hit Bushwhacked! and The New Adventures of Figaro Pho. New titles include innovative comedy Little Lunch, Sir Winston Steinburger & Dudley Ding Dong and the groundbreaking Prisoner Zero. We are keen to explore innovative production models and new formats that push beyond the prescriptive nature of current kids’ output. Live-action financing is challenging, but it is important that we ensure the ongoing success of Australian drama and comedy for kids. Our acquired inventory consists of a variety of genres. Although we do have established content partners in the international market, ABC KIDS will consider all formats and types of programming suitable for our preschool target audience, with new titles required from mid-2016. ABC3 will look at content for our in-between, tween and young teen audience.

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Acquisition priorities for 2016 relate to older children’s and family content, proven program brands and innovative scripted formats, including telemovies, serials and miniseries. TV KIDS: ABC seems to be among the few kids’ broadcasters investing in drama. Why is this an important genre for you, and how are you managing the costs associated with these shows? BRENNAN: Australia has produced some of the world’s most loved children’s series, but as live-action storytelling becomes increasingly challenging to finance, our local drama expertise has clearly shifted towards animation. It is vitally important that we maintain real faces and stories on our screens, connecting younger Australians directly to their culture and building drama audiences for the future. Public broadcasters play an important role in live-action children’s production, but it is exciting to see there are new players in the market who are revitalizing this important genre. Since 2013, we’ve increased our live-action production slate with Nowhere Boys season two, Ready for This, Tomorrow, When the War Began and Little Lunch, with an exciting slate of projects in development including Monkey, Heat Wave, Trip for Biscuits and a live-action pilot initiative with Film Victoria and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation. The Screen Australia guideline changes will also open up more opportunities for Australian independent producers to apply for additional funding for live-action production in the year ahead. TV KIDS: What have you learned about how your audiences are using the iview player? BRENNAN: Mobiles and tablets have quickly become a platform of choice and primary interactive experience for children in Australia. By 2016, we will create an engaging, integrated and ABC commissions a slate of local kids’ content every year, offering up shows like the flagship preschool series Play School on ABC KIDS.

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scalable ecosystem serving digital content across a range of mobile touch points, including mobile web versions of existing ABC KIDS and ABC3 online gateways, branded children’s flagship apps and more integration with iview. ABC connects to young audiences across all available, appropriate platforms. It is vital that we create the infrastructure that can support this platform-agnostic approach and manage all of our content accordingly. In future, this will include programming or gaming that lives away from the linear channel, to allow greater engagement and discovery of ABC content. A decline in linear broadcast viewing has definitely been matched by an increase in online engagement. January holiday ABC3 iview figures increased by 56 percent on the 2014 monthly average. We have established a number of digital-first content initiatives in the year ahead, so we’ll continue to learn how our audiences are moving between ABC services. TV KIDS: What do you see as the major challenges facing the Australian kids’ television industry? BRENNAN: Changing media models and tightening resources have resulted in a reduction of children’s content investment by ABC and the commercial TV networks in Australia. This puts increasing pressure on local producers to secure ongoing funding to sustain their businesses. We have a responsibility to promote Australian projects to our international partners, but how this shapes the nature of the content we produce here is yet to be seen. TV KIDS: What are your goals for ABC’s kids’ services in 2016? BRENNAN: TV continues to dominate Australian media consumption, but we are seeing an increasing preference for local Australian stories in prime time and a slow shift towards ondemand viewing. ABC remains the market leader in children’s, but we are very focused on improving and evolving our services to maintain this competitive position. This involves a clear digital roadmap, strong brand management and a focused, audience-led strategy for commissioned and acquired content. As new VOD players enter our market—Netflix, Stan, Presto, Hopster—our priority must be to deliver more Australian stories on all screens, in order to differentiate ABC TV in an increasingly cluttered market. In 2016, ABC Children’s will play an increasing role in building a lifelong connection with audiences through diverse and distinct content, on all their screens!

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CONTENT TRENDSETTERS hildren are our future and their experiences shape the kind of thinkers, citizens and leaders they will become tomorrow. Their influences come not only from parents, caregivers, relatives and teachers, but increasingly from the toys they play with and the shows and content they engage with on TV and online. The very youngest learn ABCs, 123s, colors, shapes and the wonders of the world around them through preschool programming. More importantly, they are exposed to the basics of problem-solving and conflict resolution through the adventures of beloved characters on their favorite TV shows. School-age children love to chill with silliness and laughter in their free time, and gravitate toward animated series that provide zany characters, a lot of humor and even fantastical worlds. They also love to see real-world situations they can relate to and watch other kids navigate friendships, overcome adversity, or find ways to fit in during the very sensitive and challenging tween years—all frequent topics in liveaction series. Executives in charge of sourcing and commissioning programming for children have a serious responsibility on their hands, because they are tasked with entertaining and informing young viewers in their formative years. Nowadays that task goes beyond simply finding the right shows for their television channels; it also includes providing content on the many devices and platforms where children look for entertainment. In acknowledgement of this vital segment of the television industry, World Screen, in partnership

with MIPCOM, is launching the Kids’ Content Trendsetter Awards to honor five individuals who have made significant contributions to the children’s television business. The honorees represent children’s services that are leaders in one market, as well as channels that are seen around the world: Jules Borkent of Nickelodeon; Caroline Cochaux of Lagardère Active; Karen K. Miller of Disney Channels Worldwide; Adina Pitt of Cartoon Network and Boomerang and Sebastian Debertin of KiKA. All are keen to innovate and offer their viewers shows they haven’t seen elsewhere. These five television professionals will take part in the panel View from the Top: What Do Buyers Want? at MIPJunior on Sunday, October 4 from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Conference Room at the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez. World Screen’s group editorial director, Anna Carugati, will moderate a lively discussion that will focus on identifying ideas for shows and multiplatform content for today’s mediasavvy children. “We’ve been thrilled with our partnership with Reed MIDEM over the last five years to honor programming wizards who are tasked with building compelling schedules for audiences,” says Ricardo Guise, president and publisher of World Screen. “Given the responsibility children’s programmers hold, we felt it was time to create the Kids’ Content Trendsetter Awards. These executives have the difficult task of spotting innovative ideas while serving the developmental needs of children. We look forward to celebrating their discerning tastes with this award.”

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Jules Borkent Nickelodeon ow in its 36th year, Nickelodeon’s mission has always been to put kids first. This strategy has allowed it to grow from a U.S. channel, which today is seen in nearly 100 million homes, to a bouquet of businesses and brands that includes television programming and production around the world, consumer products, special events and digital services. Nickelodeon’s brands reach nearly 1 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 160 countries and territories, through more than 80 locally programmed channels and branded blocks. Jules Borkent is the senior VP of global acquisitions and international programming at Nickelodeon, part of Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN). He is responsible for leading global acquisitions for Nickelodeon around the world, as well as programming strategies for Nickelodeon International. In his position, which he has held since 2008, he coordinates between the U.S. and international channels, bringing content from the U.S. to the various services around the world and sourcing international content for the U.S. channel. Appealing to both boys and girls, Nickelodeon is known for fun, often cheeky animation, and comedy live-action series. The global hits SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, iCarly and Big Time Rush exemplify Nick’s gender-neutral programming approach, which has served as an important point of differentiation from other children’s services. In his acquisition strategy, Borkent is keen on programming that can work across multiple territories and he likes to get into the development process of shows early on. He also looks for co-production partners. Past acquisitions have included Winx Club and House of Anubis. More recent ones have been Max & Shred and ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks.

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Caroline Cochaux Lagardère Active agardère Active operates three top-rated youth channels in France: Canal J, Gulli and TiJi. Each draws a loyal audience and combined they reach 99.4 percent of French children. All three are overseen by Caroline Cochaux, the executive director of broadcast and TV programs for Lagardère Active’s channels in France and internationally. Canal J, which targets children 8 to 13, celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. It was able to win the hearts of French children at a time when international children’s channels were starting to beam their signals into France. Gulli, the top-rated DTT channel for kids, focuses on all ages, from preschoolers all the way up to family members, and TiJi is for the littlest viewers, 3- to 7-year-olds. The three channels are programmed in a complementary fashion, and each offers a rich mix of shows, many of which are acquired: Thunderbirds Are Go and Sailor Moon Crystal on Canal J; Teletubbies, Chica Vampiro and The Fairly OddParents on Gulli; and Super 4 (Heroes United) and Zafari on TiJi. Cochaux is open to programming from around the globe and also looks to coproduce and co-finance shows in order to offer the best quality to her young audiences. Recent co-productions have included Popples, Sonic Boom, Xiaolin Chronicles and The New Adventures of Peter Pan. As Cochaux explains, the three channels create a virtuous ecosystem that not only allows her and her teams optimum crosspromotion opportunities, but also enables them to build multichannel acquisition deals. She joined Lagardère Active in 2011 and was appointed to her current position in 2014. She is responsible not only for the company’s portfolio of channels in France, but also for Gulli in Russia and Africa.

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Karen K. Miller Disney Channels Worldwide isney is one of the world’s most popular brands and for Karen K. Miller, the VP of worldwide programming strategy, acquisitions and co-productions at Disney Channels Worldwide, it is critical that the brand be consistent around the world. Equally important is that the programming shown on the various Disney services, which include Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Disney Cinemagic and Hungama, represent the quality for which the brand is known. Disney Channels Worldwide is a global portfolio of some 100 channels and/or channel feeds available in 166 countries and territories. In the U.S., Disney Channel reaches more than 96 million homes. The linear channels are accompanied by websites, video-on-demand services and apps, which serve the group’s strategy of providing content and games on multiple platforms. Disney Channel appeals strongly to girls, but also attracts boys; Disney Junior is largely for a preschool audience and Disney XD is mainly for boys, but many of its shows also appeal to girls. All three channels offer a mix of original animation and live-action series, along with acquired shows. Miller looks everywhere for content to feed linear channels as well as their digital extensions, because, as she explains, a good idea can come from anywhere, but of paramount importance is that shows have a unique voice, and not be similar to other shows on the air. Recent acquisitions include Yo-Kai Watch, Gaming Show (In My Parents’ Garage), Kate & Mim-Mim and PJ Masks. Prior to joining Disney Channel in 2011, Miller worked at Atlantyca Entertainment, was an associate animation producer on The Simpsons Movie and, before that, had spent 18 years at Warner Bros.

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Adina Pitt Cartoon Network and Boomerang artoon Network is a leading destination for boys 6 to 11 and 9 to 14, although many of its shows are watched by girls as well—and is seen in 97 million homes in the U.S. and in 194 countries around the world. Adina Pitt, the VP of content acquisitions and co-productions for Cartoon Network and Boomerang, is responsible for sourcing and acquiring series, specials, movies and short-form content that can live on multiple platforms and fit the two channels’ brands. Once a show is acquired she continues to see how it is positioned at each of the networks. She also serves as a liaison with the international Cartoon Network and Boomerang channels to coordinate global acquisition deals. Part of the Turner Broadcasting System, Cartoon Network offers linear channels, online games and content, as well as mobile apps. Original properties such as the Ben 10 franchise and Adventure Time are complemented by high-profile acquisitions, such as the Total Drama franchise, Pokémon and The Garfield Show. Boomerang was recently rebranded and Pitt was responsible for making sure that the channel’s look is uniform around the world. The service targets 4- to 7-yearolds, is gender-neutral, and is the home of Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Cartoon Network originals from many years ago. Among Pitt’s recent acquisitions are Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Supernoobs and new seasons of Sonic Boom and LEGO Ninjago. Prior to joining Cartoon Network, Pitt was VP of acquisitions for Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group, where she developed acquisitions strategies for Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Nick Jr., Nick at Nite, The N and Noggin.

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Sebastian Debertin KiKA hen KiKA (Der Kinderkanal) launched in 1997, it had a very clear mission. While young viewers expected to be entertained by a channel entirely dedicated to them, management believed KiKA had a responsibility to quench children’s thirst for knowledge and weave important values like tolerance, friendship and conflict resolution into programming story lines, and reflect the diversity of the real world. Sebastian Debertin, who today is the head of fiction, acquisitions and co-productions, was on the team that established those goals for the channel and then looked for programming that would support that vision. He buys from all territories, but his main suppliers are from Europe—in Germany, France, Ireland, and the U.K.— along with Canada, the U.S. and Australia. The German TV market has always been crowded, and with major U.S. studio product locked up by competing channels, KiKA has had to innovate, create its own brands and search for shows from independent distributors. Thanks to the deep pockets of its shareholders, the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, KiKA has had the resources to do so. Debertin also led the strategy to offer more than simply fun animation and live-action series. KiKA’s schedule includes a daily news show as well as documentaries. In line with its parent companies, ARD and ZDF, KiKA is commercial-free. Some of Debertin’s recent acquisitions include Cloudbabies, Poppy Cat, Doozers and Whatever. Co-productions are very important to KiKA, and Debertin and his team are currently involved in 15 jointly produced or financed projects, including Lily’s Driftwood Bay, Mouk, Annedroids, Super Wings, Insectibles and Guess How Much I Love You.

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DAN GOOD

WISSPER Dan Good didn’t have to look far from home for inspiration for his new series, Wissper. Commissioned by Channel 5’s Milkshake!, Wissper focuses on a quirky little girl who can talk to animals. For Good, his own young daughter was the starting place for the new animated series, which is being made by Good’s company, Absolutely Cuckoo, in conjunction with m4e, Telegael, Discreet Art Productions and BASTEI Media. Good is not new to the British animation sector, having created the massive hit Waybuloo. He tells TV Kids about Wissper’s journey from sketch to screen and weighs in on the state of British animation today. TV KIDS: Where did the idea for Wissper come from? GOOD: Wissper was inspired by my daughter, Indie. She is 8 years old now. The idea had been floating around for quite a while. It first came to me when she was about 4 or 5. We live in the city and we’ve got a little house in South London near Wimbledon and we have 12 pets. They are all Indie’s. And she believes—or certainly used to believe—that she could talk to them and they could talk to her. So I didn’t have the idea, it was just there in my world. It’s all about Indie.

TV KIDS: How did the partnerships with Milkshake! and m4e come about? GOOD: I’ve been in the business for about seven years. My first production was Waybuloo, which is a CBeebies show, and that kind of established me, it gave me a little bit of a name for myself within the industry. Since then I’ve been developing my own shows and pitching them. Once in a while you have one of those ideas that you just think, I’ve just got to get this out there as quickly as possible because someone else is going to do it; a really special idea, one that you know is going to work. Wissper was one of those. We did a lot of development and pushed it forward and got it down to Cartoon Forum in 2013. Jessica Symons [the head of children’s at Channel 5] was so super happy with what was happening with the development that she commissioned it just before we went to Cartoon Forum. So, she allowed us to go there and say that Milkshake! was on board, which was absolutely awesome for the project. Jo [Daris, the head of operations at m4e] was in the audience. Not that many people came to talk to me afterwards, but he did. We did a deal

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Milkshake! in the U.K. commissioned Wissper, which m4e is now selling worldwide through its Telescreen distribution arm.

that allowed us to put the financing together. We went into production in February of this year. TV KIDS: Why do you think Wissper will resonate with kids around the world? GOOD: Wissper is a global idea. It’s not connected to any country or territory. The whole world is in the show. She goes everywhere to help animals. It’s mainly a girls’ show—I hope boys are going to watch it and I’m sure they will—and I can’t think of any little girl anywhere in the world that wouldn’t want to be an animal whisperer. A lot of preschool children actually do believe that they can talk to animals and that animals can talk to them. You see those games being played with their stuffed animals and their farmyard toys and everything else. Taking that message to children all over the world and sharing the magic with them—I have the best job in the world! I’m like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy or something. It’s my job to bring magic into the lives and the worlds of children. I’m so lucky and I just want as many children in the world to believe for as long as possible and to love Wissper as much as I do. She’s my daughter. I’m giving a love story about my daughter to the world, and I want as many people to have it as possible. TV KIDS: How did your daughter react when she saw the first artwork coming through for the show? GOOD: I don’t think she entirely wrapped her head around it at first. We do a lot of bonkers things in my house; we’re always making Plasticine models and puppet films. But when she got hired by Milkshake! to become the voice of Wissper, it became very, very real to her. And she’s now super excited and a bit of a diva, actually! [Laughs] She’s super cute. She’s actually really gotten into the voice recording and she takes it quite seriously. She marks up all her scripts, she learns her scripts. She’s only 8—she hasn’t been reading for that long! And she’s taking singing lessons. I think maybe she’s got the itch, like I have, to entertain people and enrich people’s lives with lovely things. TV KIDS: The media world kids live in today is very different from the one we grew up in. For you as a creator, how do you

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track how much kids are changing? How you stay up to date with them? GOOD: That’s a difficult question for me because I’m not digitally savvy at all. I’m all about pencils and crayons and Plasticine and bits of paper. My whole studio is like that; we’re very old school. So, although I understand that kids’ eyeballs are moving [to other platforms], I don’t think it matters where they go. The most important thing is making beautiful ideas, creating things that resonate with kids, that they want to be a part of and they want to watch, and writing awesome stories. And it doesn’t matter what platform they’re delivered on—on YouTube or whichever TV channel or via an app or through toys or picture books or whatever. We’ll find them if we’ve created something lovely. TV KIDS: How important are the high-end tax breaks for British animation producers? How do you face the economic challenges of being able to get these shows off the ground? GOOD: It is really tough. The tax credits have helped. They allowed me to bring £350,000 [$549,000] to the Wissper budget. Certainly there’s a much more vibrant production industry now in the U.K.; it’s kind of exploded quite quickly. But it continues to be tough. How does some bloke who went to art school and got a sculpture degree go find £3.6 million [$5.6 million]? It’s very tricky. But I’m a believer and I’m a born optimist. I’m like the Rocky Balboa of the kids’ TV industry, you know? [Laughs] So I just keep believing and keep fighting and if there’s a good idea, it’ll get the money and it’ll get made. If you’re compelled or committed to enriching the lives of children and creating things with integrity, making things with love that deserve to be in the world, then you find a way. There’s a really lovely Jim Henson quote that I always write in the front of my new sketchbooks: “Do what you love and the money will come.” I’m not interested in getting rich. I’m not a businessman, I’m a creative man. But I do need to make a little bit more money so that I can just relax into doing what I do. I think Wissper’s going to facilitate that. I want to spend what I make on making more shows, making more lovely things for children.

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Zodiak Kids is a leading independent producer and distributor of children’s content. Its large catalogue includes many shows that have been sold around the world and appeal to children of different age groups, including The Ranch, Floogals and Totally Spies! CEO Jean-Philippe Randisi combined Marathon Media and Tele Images Productions in France and The Foundation in the U.K. to form Zodiak Kids Studios. As Randisi tells TV Kids, he believes the company is now best positioned to respond to broadcasters’ needs and the constantly evolving international children’s television landscape. TV KIDS: Earlier this year, Zodiak Kids underwent a restructure. How did it come about and what does the new structure entail? RANDISI: The restructure is really about bringing together different entities. Zodiak has been the owner of a number of kids’ production companies for several years and some distribution resources as well. Those companies were managed independently for a long period of time.

JEAN-PHILIPPE RANDISI

ZODIAK KIDS I don’t think this was really by design; it just happened that way historically. When I joined, my question was, how do we make sense of that organization? We looked at a number of different options, but at the end of the day, what was driving us in this direction was, If we were starting this business now, how would we do it? Would we go for independent structures doing their own thing, hoping for the best? Or would we try to create a pipeline of properties that would stand out and make an impact in a world that is more and more competitive, more and more global. So, that’s why we [restructured]. We need to take the best of a number of organizations and make the strongest-possible team with the strongest-possible pipeline and the biggest ambitions on an international basis.

TV KIDS: Creativity is a word that is usually connected to production. Given the complex landscape for distribution, is creativity also necessary in finding the right outlet for the right property? RANDISI: It’s a mix of intelligence and creativity. The market and the producers need to be collectively smarter at identifying what programming is relevant to certain broadcasters. [It’s about having a] better understanding of what works for them, what doesn’t work, and what’s missing—sometimes that’s against their opinion, and that’s OK, that’s part of a debate. But that’s the starting point. The other thing is that there is so much content out there, you absolutely need creativity in some shape or form. You just can’t expect that some-

thing is going to work because something else quite similar has worked; that’s a recipe for disaster. So there will always be a premium, even more so in such a competitive environment, in being able to say, What’s unique to my property is this. TV KIDS: Do you want to produce for different age groups and offer something for everybody? RANDISI: The strategy is to cover in the best possible way the different segments and genres of the kids’ market. It’s a fairly small market in the larger scheme of things, and it’s a market in which if you’ve got different properties that are really addressing the same kind of audience. What is probably going to happen is that you will have to kill one in order to push another one. Also, the economy of this business is such that you want to have your property alive for the longest possible period of time, so you need to have different segments and you need to be able to move from one segment to another and target all the needs that your broadcast partners or digital platforms may have. TV KIDS: What are your main priorities for Zodiak Kids? RANDISI: For me, what matters is really being able to work in a collaborative fashion across the organization. This implies that we all have to be humble about what we do because we need the skills and the talent of other people around us to make it work. We may be ambitious for the organization and for the company, but we have to work in a very collaborative and humble fashion.

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ALEX HIRSCH GRAVITY FALLS By Kristin Brzoznowski

The summer premiere of the animated series Gravity Falls set a new record for Disney XD viewership, with an average of 2.3 million viewers. It marked the largest audience for a regular Disney XD series in the network’s six-year history. The show follows the adventures of Dipper Pines and his twin sister, Mabel, who are sent to spend the summer with their greatuncle (or “Grunkle”) in the town of Gravity Falls. The siblings soon begin to encounter unexpected situations involving paranormal and supernatural creatures, and use a cryptic journal they find to solve the mysteries that surround them. Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch, who also voices some of the characters. The animator talks to TV Kids about the series and its success. TV KIDS: How did Gravity Falls come about? HIRSCH: Gravity Falls is a strange, warped, fun-housemirror reflection of my own childhood. I spent many summers with my own twin sister swatting mosquitoes and making s’mores in the woods with relatives. With the lack of TV and internet and modern distractions, we found our imaginations grew to fill the void. This show makes real all the paranormal fantasies I would invent to survive the lack of sensory input. TV KIDS: What are some of the core themes addressed by the show? HIRSCH: Gravity Falls is a show about growing up. Childhood is a precious thing, made only more precious by how short it is. Dipper and Mabel are two kids with very different perspectives on growing up, and the series is about putting those perspectives to the test. TV KIDS: The ratings have been fantastic. To what do you attribute the show’s success? HIRSCH: Gravity Falls is a show that rewards obsessive viewers. Although we want most stories to be able to stand alone for a casual audience, we really try to play off of the questions and secrets that we sprinkle throughout the show [for avid viewers]. I think this is actually pretty rare in kids’ television. Once people start to realize that your story has a very specific plan, they

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can start to play along, theorizing and guessing where it’s headed. This makes watching premieres a kind of cool, shared, communal experience. Everyone wants to be there when the answers are finally revealed! TV KIDS: Comedy for kids is often very hard to nail down. How did you approach injecting humor into the series? HIRSCH: I think the most important thing is to create good characters. If your characters are flawed and relatable and come from a specific observation or idea, jokes will come naturally. Even if some jokes might go over the heads of certain age groups, personality is this immediate thing that people of all ages and backgrounds can understand. Kids are much smarter than people give them credit for. They enjoy a challenge, and if you give them a puzzle, they’ll solve it, whether that puzzle involves getting a joke or solving a mystery. TV KIDS: Did you have the international market in mind when creating this show, or did you just set out to make the best possible series and hope that it would play well globally on Disney XD? HIRSCH: Our crew has had one goal and one goal only: to make a show that we love. It’s impossible to appeal to everyone, and the moment you start asking yourself which demographics might or might not respond to something is the moment you stop being an entertainer and start being a marketing executive. We just throw that talk out the window and try to make something we would watch. TV KIDS: What’s next for the Gravity Falls brand? HIRSCH: Right now I’m too busy focusing on season two to really comment on that, but I can say that Disney Press is going to be releasing a full hardcover version of Journal #3 [a mystery book companion to the show] in 2016. I’m co-writing it with series producer Robert Renzetti, and it’s going to be the ultimate Gravity Falls fan collector’s item. If you’re a mystery nut like Dipper, who wants to get his hands on all of “The Author’s” greatest secrets, then this is the book for you!

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