Battling for Screen Time

“Discoverability” is a word that’s cropping up in all of our conversations with children’s media executives these days. Indeed, the sector is facing its own version of peak TV—except it’s not just other TV shows you’re up against.

TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Roblox, Discord and so many other platforms are taking up that little bit of time kids have outside of school and hanging out with friends. How do you begin to make an impact, let alone build a 360-degree brand that will have young ones playing the game, asking for the apparel and a ticket to go see their favorite characters live?

Contents Toon Time

Leading distribution executives weigh in on the styles, tones and narrative techniques needed to make an impact with kids today.

Ricardo Seguin Guise President

Anna Carugati Executive VP

Mansha Daswani

Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

TV Kids

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Evan Shapiro, a veteran media executive who now spends much of his time tracking media usage, has some clear advice for children’s content executives: you need a yes/and strategy. Netflix and YouTube and TikTok and, well, anywhere else children are spending an abundance of their time. “The content still is king, and you have to think like these young consumers if you’re going to get inside their minds, their pockets, their eyeballs,” Shapiro said at the TV Kids

Summer Fes tival this month.

We hear from several distributors about how they are navigating the landscape in this edition. We also showcase TV Kids

Pioneer Award recipient Maud Branly and spotlight the latest developments at Mercury Filmworks. —Mansha Daswani

M6 GROUP’S MAUD BRANLY

For her achievements as children’s acquisitions director and international TV channels children’s programming director at M6 Group, Maud Branly is being honored with the TV Kids Pioneer Award.

Mercury Rising

Mercury Filmworks’ Heath

Kenny on how the studio has evolved over the last 25 years.

9 Story Distribution International A Kind of Spark / That Lion Show / Lu and the Bally Bunch

The live-action series A Kind of Spark follows a bright and sparky autistic girl dreaming of acceptance in a conservative community. That Lion Show, for ages 13-plus, is based on the South Korean emoticon Ryan the maneless lion. “That Lion Show will appeal to teens who love animated comedy,” says Alix Wiseman, senior VP of distribution and acquisitions at 9 Story Distribution International. “Music is another draw, with its main character trying to make it as a K- pop star in Seoul.” There’s also the animated preschool dramedy Lu and the Bally Bunch.

BBC Studios Kids & Family

Supertato / Hey Duggee / JoJo & Gran Gran

The preschool animation Supertato is based on the books by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet. It has been a top show on CBeebies. Also a top performer on the channel, Hey Duggee is now in its fourth season. A third season of JoJo & Gran Gran is rolling out from now until December. Viewers “love the quietly groundbreaking portrayal of family and community in JoJo & Gran Gran, the hilarious heroics of Supertato and the warmhearted, inspirational activity club of Hey Duggee,” says Cecilia Persson, managing director of BBC Studios Kids & Family.

A Kind of Spark

Boat Rocker

Dino Ranch / Trulli Tales / The Next Step

Set in the Wild West, Boat Rocker’s Dino Ranch features the themes of teamwork, friendship and the great outdoors. The series “perfectly blends two longtime international preschool favorites— cowboys and dinosaurs—in their own unique universe,” says Gia DeLaney, senior VP of global sales for kids and family. Trulli Tales blends the ancient art of magic and cooking as four young children are chosen to protect their kingdom’s most prized possession: the Enchanted Cookbook. Also on offer from Boat Rocker, the tween dance drama The Next Step is in its eighth season.

Cookbook Media

Monkey Sing Monkey Do / The Great Wolf Pack / Snow Bunny Lodge Extreme

Cookbook Media has a busy June: it’s bringing new shows for commissioning and distribution to Annecy, embarking on projects with a few new partners and attending Licensing Expo to secure deals for properties it represents. “We have three exciting new projects across different age demos,” notes Claudia Scott-Hansen, partner. In the preschool space, there’s the dance- and musicdriven, social-emotional learning show Monkey Sing Monkey Do. For the bridge demo, there’s The Great Wolf Pack. For kids 6 to 11, there’s the slapstick comedy Snow Bunny Lodge Extreme.

Dandelooo

Billy the Cowboy Hamster / The Upside Down River / Royals Next Door

Dandelooo’s partner studio, Ooolala, is in full production on the preschool animation Billy the Cowboy Hamster for France Télévisions and the serialized series The Upside Down River for Canal+. “Both of these productions are adapted from cult children’s books that sold millions of copies, thanks to their intelligence and charm,” says Emmanuèle Pétry-Sirvin, producer and head of international at Dandelooo. The company also highlights Royals Next Door , a fishout-of-water comedy produced by Pikkukala that is based on the real experiences of its creator.

Hari

Billy the Cowboy Hamster

Mystery Lane / The Weasy Family / Grizzy & the Lemmings World Tour

Leading HARI’s slate, Mystery Lane follows as two hamsters investigate and solve cases that Scotland Yard cannot. Sophie “Kido” Prigent, head of sales, describes the series as “Scooby-Doo meets Sherlock Holmes.” The Weasy Family, a 78-part series with 7-minute episodes set to deliver in 2025, centers on the father-daughter relationship between a weasel father and two duckling girls. Seasons three and four of Grizzy & the Lemmings, Grizzy & the Lemmings World Tour , follow as the characters land in unexpected places around the globe.

The Weasy Family

“In The Weasy Family, HARI innovates the genre by combining slapstick comedy and a heartwarming narrative.”

—Sophie “Kido” Prigent