TV Kids NATPE 2017

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TVKIDS

WWW.TVKIDS.WS

JANUARY 2017

NATPE EDITION

Selling to On-Demand Platforms / 9 Story’s Vince Commisso

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6 TV KIDS

CONTENTS

Take the Tablet

FEATURE 12 STREAM ON On-demand and streaming platforms are changing the game for kids’ programming producers and distributors.

Move over television set; you’ve been declared irrelevant by viewers under 12.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Joanna Padovano Tong Managing Editor Sara Alessi Associate Editor Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Elizabeth Walsh Sales & Marketing Manager Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids © 2017 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.ws

Look at this staggering figure from a recent study from DHX Media and market intelligence firm Ipsos: 72 percent of children’s daily viewing is from streaming services.

When watching, 61 percent of those under 12 are using tablets. In addition, 40 percent of kids are using smartphones to view content.

Ofcom’s Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes report in November revealed that online has overtaken television as the top media pastime for children in the U.K. British kids between the ages of 5 and 15 are spending 15 hours a week online. Television viewing, meanwhile, is down from 14 hours 48 minutes a week in 2015 to 13 hours 36 minutes.

Online content is also resonating for young ones in the Asia Pacific, according to SuperAwesome’s second annual Kids Digital Insights Report for ASEAN and Australia.

More kids between the ages of 6 and 14 in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are watching internet clips in their free time over movies or using social media. However, television is still their dominant media activity, with 81 percent of those surveyed watching TV daily for about two and a half hours.

So what does this all mean for content owners, who have spent years building businesses off of licensing shows to television broadcasters and then turning those properties into L&M hits? Well, the good news is that streaming platforms have become great partners for kids’ companies, as Kristin Brzoznowski found in her comprehensive report on doing business with on-demand platforms in this issue. This edition also contains an in-depth interview with 9 Story Media Group’s Vince Commisso in which he discusses scale, expansion and the challenges and opportunities in the kids’ media business today.

Clearly, there are a lot of unknowns out there. All these young ones are addicted to mobile viewing, but how will their consumption habits change as they get older? What role is there for the lean-back traditional broadcast experience? And yet, just as it seems that everything has changed, there are some things that are just as they’ve always been, as Jane Rumble, Ofcom’s director of market intelligence, noted in the regulator’s children’s report: “Children’s lives are increasingly digital, with tablets and smartphones commanding more attention than ever.

Even so, families are finding time for more traditional activities, such as watching TV together or reading a bedtime story.”

—Mansha Daswani

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INTERVIEW

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9 Story’s Vince Commisso

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9 Story Media Group 3 Amigonauts / Monica Chef / Nature Cat The animated comedy 3 Amigonauts is one the highlights that 9 Story Media Group is presenting to international buyers at NATPE. The series, aimed at youngsters between the ages of 6 and 11, follows three friends as they attend the solar system’s most prestigious space academy. “In addition to the lovability of the characters, the show’s story lines are chock-full of visual gags and jokes, adding to its global appeal,” says Federico Vargas, the company’s director of distribution. 9 Story is also offering up Monica Chef, a musical live-action tween dramedy centered on a girl who aspires to become a chef. Then there is Nature Cat, an animated comedy for the 4-to-8 set about an indoor feline who dreams of exploring the great outdoors.

“There is a great deal of visual storytelling in Nature Cat in terms of adventure and comedy, which translates well across different territories.”

—Federico Vargas Nature Cat

BBC Worldwide Latin America/US Hispanic Sarah & Duck / Hey Duggee / Go Jetters The third season of Sarah & Duck is on offer from BBC Worldwide Latin America/US Hispanic at NATPE. The animated series chronicles the adventures of a young girl and her feathered friend. The company is also showcasing the sophomore season of Hey Duggee, a preschool program meant to encourage physical activity, and Go Jetters, an animated show about four students who travel the globe together. “Our great programming, powerful stories and memorable characters have won a place in the hearts of viewers around the world, and Latin America is no exception,” says Anna Gordon, the executive VP and managing director of BBC Worldwide Latin America/US Hispanic. “These factors, combined with the world-class, premium children’s content we offer, make our programming resonate with Latin American audiences.”

“Year after year we have seen demand grow for our children’s content, which resonates strongly with Latin American audiences.”

—Anna Gordon Hey Duggee

Hasbro Studios Transformers: Robots in Disguise / My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic / My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Two My Little Pony titles lead the slate that Hasbro Studios brings to the market: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. The company is also promoting Transformers: Robots in Disguise. “All three series continue to achieve high ratings throughout the [LatAm] region and will premiere new content in 2017,” says Gustavo Gomez, Hasbro Studios’ sales director for Latin America and Iberia.

“The My Little Pony and Transformers franchises continue to appeal to audiences thanks to their multi-generational fan bases, compelling stories and rich characters. [This] will be a banner year for both brands thanks to major motion pictures that we feel will broaden their audiences even further.” The upcoming films are My Little Pony: The Movie and Transformers: The Last Knight.

“Hasbro Studios’ mission is to use immersive, crossplatform storytelling to bring Hasbro’s most iconic brands to kids and families.”

—Gustavo Gomez Transformers: Robots in Disguise 66 WORLD SCREEN 1/17

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Mattel Creations Barbie Dreamtopia / Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures / Barbie Dolphin Magic Among the highlights that Mattel Creations is presenting to international buyers in Miami are Barbie Dreamtopia, Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures and Barbie Dolphin Magic. “The Barbie brand has broad appeal with global fans of many ages,” says Andrea Carpenter, the company’s senior director of content distribution and programming. “These new specials will take families on exciting new adventures with Barbie and her friends, continuing the ever-enduring popularity and affinity for the brand, and the new Barbie Dreamtopia series has a distinctive visual look that will appeal to a younger preschool demographic.” Mattel Creations is also offering up the specials Max Steel Turbo Charged and Max Steel Turbo Warriors, as well as the brand-new Korean animated series Turning Mecard.

“We’re enriching and deepening our Barbie content by launching an expanded portfolio of specials and serialized content.”

—Andrea Carpenter Barbie Dreamtopia

Mondo TV Iberoamerica Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa / YooHoo & Friends 3D / Invention Story Created by the Argentine writer Marcela Citterio and inspired

by Johanna Spyri’s 1880 novel, Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa is a live-action series being presented by Mondo TV Iberoamerica.

“Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa is our first co-production of a teen fiction series, produced entirely in Argentina alongside Alianzas Producciones,” says Maria Bonaria Fois, the general manager of Mondo TV Iberoamerica. “This brand-new series will launch in early 2017 on one of Latin America’s major regional pay-TV channels: Nickelodeon Latinoamérica.” She adds, “The TV adaptation will bring [Heidi’s] story to the screen through an exciting mix of music, humor, comedy and color, all combined in a cinematic style that creates a truly magical universe.” Mondo TV Iberoamerica is also presenting the animated series YooHoo & Friends 3D and Invention Story.

“Our focus is to build our distribution business and to be wellpositioned in the market as a strategic partner for original productions.”

—Maria Bonaria Fois YooHoo & Friends 3D

NPO Sales Full Proof / Just Kids / SkateKeet The youth science documentary series Full Proof, part of NPO Sales’ catalog, explores topics such as rockets, balance, static electricity and more. Intended for kids ages 7 to 10, it features outdoor experiments and has been sold in Australia, Scandinavia, Spain, Finland, Italy, the U.S., Hong Kong, France and Germany, among other countries. The awardwinning youth documentary Just Kids, meanwhile, features episodes such as “How Ky Turned into Niels” and “Under the Stars I Felt at Home.” NPO Sales is also offering the documentary SkateKeet, about a 10-year-old girl whose skateboarding skills have earned her recognition in a domain dominated by boys. “NPO Sales is very proud of the rich youth content that has been produced in the Netherlands,” says Margaret Stanneveld, the company’s sales manager.

“We are privileged to present Dutch programs of high quality and make them available all around the world.”

—Margaret Stanneveld SkateKeet 1/17 WORLD SCREEN 67

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Toei Animation Dragon Ball Super / Saint Seiya Soul of Gold / Mazinger Z Reuniting the franchise’s iconic characters, Dragon Ball Super follows the aftermath of Goku’s fierce battle with Majin Buu as he attempts to maintain Earth’s fragile peace. “Overseen by Dragon Ball’s original creator, Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Super draws on its 30-year history to create a bold new universe that is welcoming to fans and endearing to new viewers,” says Daniel Castaneda, the director for Latin American licensing at Toei Animation. Further company highlights include Saint Seiya Soul of Gold and Mazinger Z. Castaneda notes that these properties “have all performed extremely well in Latin America,” which is why he’s excited about promoting them at NATPE. “Besides securing important deals with longstanding clients and strengthening our relationships, we are looking forward to meeting new potential clients for emerging platforms.”

“These programs have proven success worldwide and are considered evergreen properties.”

—Daniel Castaneda Mazinger Z

Toon Goggles Hooray for Hollie Wood / The Magic Academy Toon Goggles is introducing the first of several new influencerbased series it has been working on as part of an initiative to offer more originals. A top highlight is Hooray for Hollie Wood, a red-carpet show for kids. The series features weekly interviews with celebrities straight from movie premieres, as young reporter Hollie Wood asks the questions that kids want to know answers to. Toon Goggles is also starting production on a second season of the original series The Magic Academy, which now features kid magicians. “These masters of prestidigitation will marvel our audience with tricks and illusions for all ages,” says Stephen L. Hodge, the company’s CEO. “We believe that our new and inventive series will keep viewers coming back not just on a weekly but a daily basis, providing entertainment they can’t find anywhere else.”

“Our main goal with these new series is to provide daily interactive entertainment that kids can follow, comment on and get tips from.”

—Stephen L. Hodge Hooray for Hollie Wood

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Hasbro’s My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.

Kristin Brzoznowski explores how on-demand and streaming platforms are changing the game for kids’ programming producers and distributors. ids today wield a tremendous amount of power with their tiny fingertips. In one click of a button or swipe of a screen they can call up their favorite TV shows at any time in any place, and their penchant for on-demand viewing is reshaping the children’s programming landscape as we know it.

Kids are “transforming the business that we’re in from a ‘push’ business into something that is entirely consumer-centric,” Catherine Balsam-Schwaber, the chief content officer at Mattel, said in her MIPJunior keynote. “Kids are the primary reason that people everywhere have become consumed with creating their own content. Most significantly, when we think about what kids are doing, they’re turning media from a medium that is defined by form [into] one that is defined by platform. They’re the ones driving us into this new age of connected platforms for telling stories.”

Indeed, the number of on-demand services seems to be multiplying by the minute, and kids’ content has become a staple of their slates. The proliferation of these platforms has had a widespread impact on producers and distributors of children’s programming, who are learning to adapt to the myriad challenges and opportunities of selling kids’ titles to on-demand and streaming services.

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“It’s the unknown frontier!” says Rick Glankler, the president and general manager of FremantleMedia Kids & Family (FMK). “We’re all figuring it out together. There are growing pains that come with that.”

THE RIGHTS STUFF Olivier Dumont, the managing director of Entertainment One (eOne) Family, lists the “slicing and dicing of rights” as one of the most challenging issues to grapple with nowadays when it comes to deal-making. He says it has become “more and more complicated to do multiple deals, as they all need to be compatible with regard to nonlinear viewing, including catch-up rights of traditional broadcasters.”

Dumont also notes that certain SVOD platforms are now “aggressively pursuing” first windows and exclusivity.

For the time being, though, the majority of nonlinear players remain perfectly pleased to take the second run.

“They do still see value in having a broadcast window first, to build general awareness, and then having the SVOD window after,” says Josh Scherba, the senior VP of distribution at DHX Media. “Those are tricky deals to negotiate, but when it works, it can be a great symbiotic relationship. The initial broadcaster might not have to pay as much for exclusivity over the term, but they still get first-run exposure, and our SVOD partner that took a little bit of the burden

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off the first-window partner financially gets the benefit of linear exposure.”

Jérôme Alby, the managing director of Mediatoon Distribution, has seen more requests coming through for first runs, “especially when it’s a key franchise or property.” However, he notes, “When we have requests for a first run, very often it’s for a series that we’re not able to grant those rights for.”

Mondo TV is looking initially at nonlinear slots for two of its latest series, Invention Story and Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa.

“We’re knocking on the doors for digital to have the first window, and then we will take these to free-to-air broadcasters,” says Micheline Azoury, the company’s head of TV sales. Mondo has also teamed up with the kid-focused on-demand entertainment service Toon Goggles for the original IP Eddie Is a Yeti.

BEING ORIGINAL Hasbro, meanwhile, signed a deal with Netflix to produce its first original for the platform, Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters. The company has also placed several series from two of its top franchises with digital platforms, including My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls and Transformers: Rescue Bots. Gustavo Gomez, sales director for Latin America and Iberia at Hasbro Studios, cites recent deals with such services as Telefónica, Claro Video, blim and VTR. Part of the appeal with these Hasbro shows is that they are based on well-known properties, making them stand out when kids and parents survey a vast catalog of on-demand titles.

The slate at Mattel Creations is filled with series and specials based on iconic brands, among them Barbie and American Girl.

The latter inspired the animated series WellieWishers, which has Amazon Prime Video as its exclusive premium subscription streaming home.

“Without question, brands are winning the day,” says DHX’s Scherba. “That goes for linear as well. As the market is increasingly fragmented, having familiarity is key, particularly in kids’ content, which has a certain amount of parental control and impact on what’s being viewed. It has always been important, but the new technology is emphasizing just how important it is.”

Scherba also notes that nonlinear players are trying out different types of kids’ series. “With on-demand consumption, you can change the storytelling slightly,” he says. “We’ve had huge success in the U.K. with Topsy and Tim. The ratings are excellent for CBeebies, and the on-demand views are great on iPlayer. What’s interesting is that it’s a live-action preschool series that has a slight series arc. There are events in episodes early in the season that have an impact on what happens later in the season, which is new for preschool content. I’m not sure it would have worked without on-demand technology.”

“There is a resurgence of serialized content,” echoes eOne Family’s Dumont, “although SVOD platforms do see the same trend as linear platforms with regard to the lack of repeat viewing for that type of content. That being said, it is good to see more variety in the formats of the content being commissioned

by SVOD platforms and this includes serialized series.”

Dumont says that overall it’s a “great time to be making TV content, because the rise in these digital platforms has created opportunities to do a wider variety of shows, such as actionadventure series, prominently girl-skewing shows or [shows about] niche subjects that traditional broadcasters would have required to be more gender-neutral or have broader audience appeal in order to commission them.” He adds that producers can also push the boundaries a bit more “with some of the

digital platforms that are actively looking for content that is more authentic and a little less sanitized.”

FMK has been both reactive to and proactive about the changes in the marketplace caused by the rise in ondemand and OTT players. “One of the things I’ve learned over the last couple of years is that there is a difference in the consumption needs of linear broadcasters and SVOD broadcasters,” Glankler says. Traditional broadcasters, he explains, constantly have a need for more episodes, new seasons and fresh content to drive ratings, which are their metrics of success. “SVODs, especially the younger you go [regarding the programming], comparatively could live with fewer episodes and have less of a need for the constant newness that a linear broadcaster has.”

“It will be interesting to see how we balance that, especially in terms of originals, because we want to create franchises and properties that will have multiple seasons,” Glankler continues. “That’s the struggle that we’re finding. We build our development and production [pipelines] based on the linear model. That’s the next wave, reconciling the differences in consumption needs.”

BALANCING ACT DHX’s Scherba has also encountered this challenge and says it becomes particularly tricky with properties that have SVOD partners in some territories and linear partners in others. “Linear services tend to burn through more episodes quickly, and their audiences are expecting new [content] from the shows they have on air. With SVOD, the data supports that having fewer episodes in seasons is beneficial for them, or there’s less of an impact from having a higher volume than there is in linear.

It’s about finding the middle ground between both.”

Scherba says that another issue in dealing with the ondemand world involves the marketing of content on these platforms. “The promotional aspect and discoverability aspect of video-on-demand is something that we’re all talking a lot about.

There’s an understanding that that’s going to need to evolve so that these shows have a better chance of finding their audience.”

“Unlike linear platforms, which have built-in self-promotion and advertising structures, it is more difficult to keep viewers on

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Properties with built-in brand awareness, such as Mattel Creations’ Barbie Dreamtopia, are high up on the wish lists of many SVOD buyers.

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Mondo TV is planning a digital-first launch for its new series Invention Story.

digital platforms aware of what content is available on which devices or on an on-demand basis,” agrees Hasbro’s Gomez.

While many execs in the kids’ content business acknowledge that marketing exposure can be a challenge with on-demand platforms, Mediatoon’s Alby views these services as having an interesting opportunity when it comes to their consumer reach.

“If you subscribe to an SVOD platform, sometimes they will send you an email telling you about a program that’s going to premiere or giving you a recommendation,” he explains. “‘You watched this, this and that, so we believe you might like this.’ There is less exposure; however, the contact with the end-user is stronger.”

A pressing aspect for Alby when it comes to working with ondemand players is rooted in technology. “Shows that have been produced, for example, at the end of the ’90s or in the early 2000s don’t always have the technical specifications that are required by an SVOD platform,” he says. “Sometimes it can demand a lot of technical investment and money. That’s difficult when you leverage that with the income you get” from doing these deals.

Speaking of revenues, for Mondo’s Azoury one of the most difficult parts of structuring deals with on-demand or digital platforms is adjusting to their business models. “Most of them, maybe 70 percent, are on a shared-revenue model of 50-50 or 60-40,” she explains. For a company like Mondo, which is publicly traded and has financial investors checking in on contracts quarterly, it’s challenging to not always have a hard figure to peg to a sale.

MONEY MATTERS “I always ask about expectations...of how much money we will be generating,” Azoury says. “This is something that we can attach to the agreement, but in so many countries you can estimate a figure but not get close to it.”

She says that often, when negotiating an agreement with a smaller platform that offers a license fee, doing a volume deal is the best way to go. The fact that Mondo has a library of titles that are available in multiple languages is alluring for bulk ondemand buys as well.

“Many of these platforms do not want to venture into an extra cost with dubbing,” Azoury says. “If you come as a producer and 72 WORLD SCREEN 1/17

negotiate a small fee with them for other versions on top of the license fee, they will take it! If they would have to dub it into another language themselves, it’s a headache for them”— and a costly one at that.

With regard to volume, DHX’s Scherba believes the trend nowadays is for platforms to be more selective when picking up titles, particularly as these services begin to develop more original content. “There are only so many hours that they need, and as more originals come they are going to push out more of the library,” he says.

“The thing to keep in mind is that the world is a big place and platforms are at different stages,” Scherba continues. “The U.S. is the most mature market in this space, but if you go to Southeast Asia, for example, where services are newer and getting a foothold, we’re continuing to sell interesting large packages, as it’s important for them to have a big selection of content to see what’s going to work or what’s not going to work.” The company recently announced sales for more than 2,400 half-hours of preschool and kids’ content across VOD services in China.

China, and Asia at large, has also been a market of keen interest to FMK when it comes to on-demand. Glankler says that because there isn’t one dominant service in the Chinese ondemand space, but rather several “very nimble, fast-moving players,” the strategy there is not about landing an exclusive SVOD deal with a single platform.

WHERE THE KIDS ARE “We launched Tree Fu Tom and Kate & Mim-Mim on CCTV in China...and then immediately after expanded to all of the footprint of SVODs to have hundreds of millions of eyeballs watching. As we look at global [strategies], it’s still important to recognize unique markets like China or Japan to make sure that we have a regionalized focus that maximizes those markets.”

But global strategies are proving to be increasingly important in this space, Glankler says. “The local regional SVOD players are now becoming global. Look at Amazon and Netflix. Their biggest gains aren’t in-market year-over-year subscriptions; it’s about global footprint. With that come global deals.”

Despite the complexities that accompany this, distributors and producers in the kids’ space recognize that the opportunities of working in the on-demand arena outweigh the challenges. “The reality is that kids are consuming in very different and evolving ways,” says Glankler. “We have to create shows and deliver our stories in each and every one of those ways and then look at how we leverage those platforms to deepen engagement even further.”

At eOne Family, Dumont says that sales projections for digital platforms are becoming “very substantial. With shows like Peppa Pig, PJ Masks and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom in our portfolio, we have prime content that drives tremendous viewership on these platforms, and they are therefore prepared to pay premium license fees to access our content.”

Nevertheless, he says, “Linear platforms are still a big part of our business, and there is still no better way to get your brand discovered than having it on linear platforms, even if digital platforms are catching up.”

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they do CG. That mentality trickled over to us. In terms of backing up, process and pipeline, we’re now one of the most advanced companies in the world in tracking all of those things and moving forward in regard to animation production.

We’ve since put in place a new management structure, with an executive leadership team that involves Cathal Gaffney [cofounder of Brown Bag]. We’ve also brought in some Brown Bag employees at senior levels across the company. We went to both sides of the company and looked at who can do what the best and merged the teams underneath them. Cathal is responsible for the studios, and creative takes center stage in our process.

We’ve integrated our development slates. We’ve opened a distribution [operation] in Dublin, and some of our people [from Toronto] are moving over to run international distribution there.

TV KIDS: What other growth opportunities is 9 Story exploring?

COMMISSO: When we partnered with ZMC [Zelnick Media Capital] in 2014, we were very clear about what we wanted to acquire. For one, it was factors of production, and with Brown Bag we’ve acquired the best, highest-quality independent factors of production in the marketplace. Another was libraries, which we’re looking at in a new light these days because getting a library for library’s sake, while there are some long-tail opportunities, is not the win that it was two or three years ago. Selectively, we’re still looking at that. Then, if there’s a brand that opens up a new line of business for us, we would look at acquiring that, too. So there are a couple of [areas] we’re looking at, but the wonderful thing about being in the position that we’re in right now is that we don’t have to do anything! We’re only going

By Kristin Brzoznowski

The acquisition of Ireland’s Brown Bag Films, renowned for its prowess in 3D animation, set into motion a wave of activity at 9 Story Media Group.

This includes the recent launch of a new sales operation, 9 Story Distribution International, based in Dublin and housed at Brown Bag’s flagship animation studio. For Vince Commisso, co-founding partner, president and CEO at 9 Story, this is all part of a larger strategy to deliver the bestquality content possible to the international marketplace. Commisso tells TV Kids about taking bigger bets with shows in development and about Canada’s place on the global stage in the content industry.

TV KIDS: It has been almost a year and a half since the Brown Bag acquisition. What has evolved from that deal for 9 Story?

COMMISSO: There have been a lot of great changes since the acquisition. In addition to Brown Bag’s new flagship studio [in Dublin], our studios in Toronto are now markedly different.

We’ve undergone a massive transformation, with a rebranding effort and upgrading our resources and technological infrastructure on both sides of the Atlantic. [Technological infrastructure] is one of the things that Brown Bag has always been conscious of because they have such large files when 1/17 WORLD SCREEN 75

to do something that makes sense. When we did [the deal for] Brown Bag, we got to know the people, and because of that we wanted to do the deal. We now have a terrific mix of people on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s a powerhouse team; there’s perfect chemistry. We are reluctant to mess with that. We will more likely look at [acquisitions] that are accretive from an asset standpoint.

TV KIDS: What’s currently in the production pipeline?

COMMISSO: We’re currently in production on several shows. We have 3 Amigonauts going on, and Camp Lakebottom season three. We’re doing Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood season three and there will probably be more. We’re doing Peg + Cat season two and Wild Kratts season five. We recently greenlit more Nature Cat, which we produce in partnership with Spiffy Pictures and distribute around the world. We’re also in active production on The Magic School Bus with Netflix. There’s going to be a big announcement with regard to who is going to be voicing Ms. Frizzle. We’re in production on a show called Top Wing in a new partnership with Nickelodeon that we’re excited about.

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One of 9 Story’s most recent productions is 3 Amigonauts, a comedy aimed at the 6-to-11 demographic.

On the other side of the Atlantic, we have Doc McStuffins season four, and the show has been greenlit for a fifth season. We have Vampirina being produced [in Dublin] and Nella the Princess Knight being produced out of Manchester. We’re in active development with some high-end shows, too.

TV KIDS: What can you share with us about the development slate?

COMMISSO: It’s ironic; we’ve grown and become a bigger company—we have more people and more resources—yet we’re developing fewer shows. That’s by design. We’re taking bigger bets and putting more behind the development. As a producer these days, you’re required to develop more fully than you were in years past. You have to go with concepts that are pretty much baked. You have to take the risk that somebody will say yes to that concept, and you have to have the star voice cast, star showrunner and high-end talent already attached. With the reboots of Barney and Angelina Ballerina, you’ll see some big names attached to the shows when they get greenlit. We recently announced our partnership with Little Critter for production of a series based on the books. There is going to be some great talent attached to that, too. It’s not a broad slate, but we will go to market with bigger shows that we will put a lot behind, just fewer of them.

TV KIDS: How does the approach differ when working with known brands, such as Little Critter, versus with new, original concepts?

COMMISSO: Heritage brands like Little Critter, Magic School Bus, Barney and Angela Ballerina are obviously attractive because they have an existing and significant brand equity, which creates a point of differentiation when we reintroduce them to buyers and ultimately to the consumer. Each one of those has to be relaunched in a very different way. They were all of different times, of different sources, and they may or may not have things that need to be reprised from the original and things that don’t. That’s a brand-new creative assessment that you have to make, where you help and enhance what’s been done and reintroduce that—but not hurt it. When you’re doing something new, you’re not worried about the “not hurt it” part. [A heritage brand is] a bigger responsibility.

That brand and equity is still alive and is what attracted us to it. Now you have to honor that. You have to reintroduce it to the market in a way that does honor it and makes it of-themoment again.

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TV KIDS: What is the balance in the company’s distribution catalog of 9 Story-produced shows versus third-party acquisitions, and are you looking to tip that in either direction?

COMMISSO: Around 20 percent of our catalog comes from third-party acquisitions and 80 percent can be shows that we own or produce. We know that we’re really good at doing [certain types of shows], but the marketplace has a broader demand for content than just the things that we’re good at. We look for partners who we know are good at doing those other things the marketplace has demand for.

We look at what the optimal strategy is and how we can come up with the best configuration of acquiring shows, producing shows and partnering with others on co-productions or co-ventures for content to optimize what we do operationally.

If we have the strategy right and we [execute] it to the best of our ability, the numbers and growth will follow.

TV KIDS: What are some of the greatest issues the Canadian kids’ programming landscape is facing today?

COMMISSO: Four or five years ago, in the time of cultural sovereignty, Canada created a system that worked for the Canadian consumer and the Canadian marketplace. Technology and globalization have disrupted that sovereign system. The government is aware of it and doesn’t want to tear it down because it has done so many great things for our economy and our culture, but they do want to adjust it for what the new realities are. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Mélanie Joly, launched a national consultation on what [Canadian content’s role is] in a digital world, with an aim to revolutionize the policies born in the analog era. I believe that’s the right endeavor. There is a willingness inside the country, both from the production community and from the regulatory community, to try to make the system better.

What’s really become important is export. Your content works when people around the world consume it. There is a lot of great content being produced around the world, including in the U.S., that works for global audiences. Canada is no exception, but we have to tout that and celebrate it more. If we did that, we would be more successful with what we’re doing on the content side. The quality of Canadian content is really good, and there are a lot of Canadian companies doing great work right now in the kids’ space. Ten or 15 years ago, that wasn’t the case.

We’ve received tremendous support from the system in Canada, but that system has accomplished its goal of creating a very internationally competitive production community.

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