TV Kids July 2022

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WWW.TVKIDS.COM

JULY 2022 EDITION

TV Kids Summer Festival Recap / In-Demand: Preschool WorldScreenings Showcases: Superights & Tencent Video

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CONTENTS WARNER BROS.’ AMY FRIEDMAN The head of kids and family programming at Warner Bros. highlighted the success of the Cartoonito block, the expanded live-action slate and the importance of co-viewing.

BBC’S PATRICIA HIDALGO The director of children’s & education at the BBC outlined the pubcaster’s approach to serving British kids across its portfolio.

SUPER RTL’S THORSTEN BRAUN The CEO discussed how the group is maintaining its lead in Germany’s competitive children’s media landscape by evolving from a linear business to a multiplatform one.

PARAMOUNT GLOBAL’S JULES BORKENT The managing director and executive VP of international kids and family brands talked about his programming strategy before being honored with the TV Kids Pioneer Award.

BRUCE W. SMITH The acclaimed animation artist on reviving the hit series The Proud Family for Disney+ and his wide-ranging overall deal with the company.

BUYING SAVVY Paramount’s Layla Lewis, POP Channels’ Francesca Newington, Sensical’s Bethany Boles and De Agostini Editore’s Brenda Maffuchi shared their acquisition wish lists and discussed increasingly complex rights negotiations.

MEETING THE METAVERSE Dubit’s David Kleeman outlined how IP owners can extend their brands into the metaverse before catching up with WildBrain’s Anne Loi on how that indie giant is exploring this new landscape.

NELVANA’S PAM WESTMAN The company’s president on the approach to developing and sourcing content and mining its extensive library of IP. THE JIM HENSON COMPANY’S HALLE STANFORD The president of television discussed the “hope punk” development and production ethos of the company.

WHERE’S THE MONEY? Serious Kids’ Genevieve Dexter, Cyber Group Studios’ Raphaëlle Mathieu, MIAM! animation’s Hanna Mouchez and Monster Entertainment’s Andrew Fitzpatrick shared their perspectives on how financing models are evolving.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Managing Editor Jamie Stalcup Associate Editor David Diehl Production & Design Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Director Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

SESAME WORKSHOP’S ED WELLS & KAY WILSON STALLINGS Ed Wells, executive VP and head of global media and education, and Kay Wilson Stallings, executive VP of creative and production, showcased the organization’s expanding slate and its focus on diversity and inclusion.

GAUMONT’S NICOLAS ATLAN The president of Gaumont U.S. and a longtime animation executive discussed the storied French studio’s approach to crafting kids’ and family titles.

ZDF STUDIOS’ KATHARINA PIETZSCH A director in ZDF Studios’ junior department, Katharina Pietzsch highlighted the strengths of the company’s live-action slate for tweens and teens.

WINDOW WATCHING Jetpack Distribution’s Dominic Gardiner, WildBrain’s Caroline Tyre and Guru Studio’s Jonathan Abraham discussed their approach to crafting distribution strategies that maximize IP across the value chain.

LATIN AMERICAN PLAYGROUND Nickelodeon’s Migdalis Silva and Grupo Globo’s Luiz Filipe Figueira on the competitive kids’ media landscape in Latin America.

SCREENINGS Watch episodes of Gaumont’s Bionic Max, The Jim Henson Company’s Word Party, Guru Studio’s Big Blue and Sesame Workshop’s Sesame Street Mecha Builders, and access sizzle reels from ZDF Studios, Future Today’s HappyKids channel and Dandelooo.

READY TO ROLL Superights’ Nathalie Pinguet highlights the series Go! Go! Cory Carson.

SPARKING CONNECTIONS Tencent Video’s Selina She talks about collaborating with international partners on joint productions.

IN-DEMAND: PRESCHOOL Spotlighting Filmax’s Turu and the Wackies, Superights’ Momolu and Friends, Gaumont’s Do, Re & Mi, APC Kids’ DinoCity, Studio 100 Media’s Vegesaurs and The Jim Henson Company’s Word Party.

GET DAILY NEWS ON KIDS’ PROGRAMMING

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids ©2022 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.com

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Keynote: Warner Bros.’

AMY FRIEDM

Amy Friedman, the head of kids and family programming at Warner Bros., highlighted the success of the Cartoonito block, the expanded live-action slate and the importance of co-viewing.

Read the recap here.

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s.’

DMAN

s., n

There’s an acronym that we use at Warner Bros.

Discovery: HUM. We talk about the history; we have this incredible library. We now have the unity to look at all of this as one ecosystem. And the unique selling proposition is running it through the filter of modernity.

History. Unity. Modernity. It is what we’re banking on to win.

”

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Keynote: BBC’s

PATRICIA HID

Patricia Hidalgo, the director of children’s & education at the BBC, outlined the pubcaster’s approach to serving British kids across its portfolio.

Read the recap here.

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HIDALGO Our role is to entertain, educate and inform. We need to make sure that children can make sense of the world around them and grow into healthy and rounded individuals.

This is why we’re not just delivering one type of content and why we have so many genres and formats. We aim to represent their world and talk about what matters to them.

”

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Keynote: Super RTL’s

THORSTEN B

Thorsten Braun, CEO of Super RTL, discussed how the group is maintaining its lead in Germany’s competitive children’s media landscape by evolving from a linear business to a multiplatform one.

Read the recap here.

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N BRAUN It’s a very competitive market. We have four relevant players in the linear business. Three of them are adfunded, one public player, but there are a lot of other options for kids to be entertained and to consume content. The digital platforms, like YouTube, and all the streaming services are also in Germany.

There’s a lot of competition in the market, which brings us to the point that we had to reframe our strategy from a linear business to a multiplatform business.

”

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TV Kids Pioneer Award:

JULES BORKE

Jules Borkent, managing director and executive VP of international kids and family brands at Paramount Global, talked about his content strategy before being honored with the TV Kids Pioneer Award.

Read the recap here.

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d:

KENT

ent

What I love about what I do is that the content that we create, the shows that we create, still put smiles on kids’ faces. They love our shows.

Despite the proliferation of platforms, they still come to us and watch our shows. I always say change is good. You have to be able to cope with change, and that’s tough sometimes, especially after the two years we’ve had, but that’s where you have to keep looking forward.

”

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Creative Keynote:

BRUCE W. SM

Bruce W. Smith on reviving the hit series The Proud Family for Disney+ and his wide-ranging overall deal with the company.

Read the recap here.

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SMITH Our show was laid out to fundamentally include everyone. That sense of inclusion is what we’re proud of most in this version of the show. We don’t have to necessarily skirt around matters. We didn’t want one character to represent the fullest rainbow of the community. There’s more than one voice that matters on our show. That’s one of the things we really wanted to update, to give you the truest sense of who our characters are.

”

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BUYING

SAVVY

Paramount’s Layla Lewis, POP Channels’ Francesca Newington, Sensical’s Bethany Boles and De Agostini Editore’s Brenda Maffuchi shared their acquisition wish lists and discussed increasingly complex rights negotiations.

Read the recap here.

hi

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Nickelodeon has always stood for the celebration of being a kid and understanding what it means to be a kid.

”

–Layla Lewis

Finding compelling content for the older kids is always important to us. In that older bracket, gaming content is crushing it.

[Acquired shows] have always been super important.

We are trying to do more prebuys where possible so we can broaden our rights.

”

—Francesca Newington

”

–Bethany Boles

Friendship and diversity are two [themes] that we’re constantly looking at.

”

—Brenda Maffuchi

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MEETING THE

METAVERSE

Dubit’s David Kleeman outlined how IP owners can extend their brands into the metaverse before catching up with WildBrain’s Anne Loi on how that indie giant is exploring this new landscape.

Read the recap here.

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E

SE

s ow

This is a generation that considers authenticity and connection with their favorite brands to be important. An immersive space in the metaverse is a really good way to have that two-way exchange with your fans.

”

—David Kleeman

People are still trying to figure out how to tell stories in the metaverse because so much interactivity happens.

There’s always that challenge of, when you hand control over to the player, how do you create the world where they can tell the story their own way?

”

—Anne Loi

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Keynote: Nelvana’s

PAM WESTM

Pam Westman, president of Nelvana, spoke about the company’s approach to developing and sourcing content and mining its extensive library of IP.

Read the recap here.

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TMAN

e

It is becoming harder to place brand-new content in today’s streaming world. If you’re trying to break through with something new, you need that storyline to be compelling and the animation to be unique and attractive. You need that platform that you’re placing it on to reach a global audience. We look for partners that can help us with those areas within a new production.

”

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Keynote:The Jim Henson

HALLE STAN

Halle Stanford, the president of television at The Jim Henson Company, discussed the “hope punk” development and production ethos of the company.

Read the recap here.

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son Company’s

ANFORD

y, f

Hope punk is this roadmap to the type of programming we create. We create inspiring [content]. We want people to feel innovative.

We want them to thrive. We want them to feel really good once they watch our programs.

We want to be super cool, too.

”

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WHERE’S

THE MONEY?

Serious Kids’ Genevieve Dexter, Cyber Group Studios’ Raphaëlle Mathieu, MIAM! animation’s Hanna Mouchez and Monster Entertainment’s Andrew Fitzpatrick shared their perspectives on how financing models are evolving.

Read the recap here.

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EY?

TV KIDS

If people have become very reliant on the Netflix model, and now everything they’re doing is exclusive, that’s quite a dangerous place to be.

”

–Genevieve Dexter

No project looks like the previous one.

It’s a question of momentum, topic or money in the market. You need to be inventive and adapt.

”

—Raphaëlle Mathieu

We’re finding we’re having to get a lot more involved at an early stage in either advising the producers on financing or helping them raise the financing.

”

–Andrew Fitzpatrick

In appearance, we have more clients, but in fact, it’s more tricky to finance our shows.

”

—Hanna Mouchez

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Keynote: Sesame Works

ED WELLS & KAY W

Ed Wells, executive VP and head of global media and education, and Kay Wilson Stallings, executive VP of creative and production, showcased Sesame Workshop’s expanding slate and its focus on diversity and inclusion.

Read the recap here.

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orkshop’s

Y WILSON STALLINGS We have been on a mission to go beyond just Sesame Street and start building a broader catalog of content that can service kids and families wherever they are. We focus quite a bit on making sure that we put things through a local lens.

”

—Ed Wells

With any new content, whether it’s a new series or a new season, we start by assessing children’s critical needs.

Where are the areas in which there’s a need for us to lean in?

”

—Kay Wilson Stallings

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Keynote: Gaumont’s

NICOLAS ATL

Nicolas Atlan, the president of Gaumont U.S. and a longtime animation executive, discussed the storied French studio’s approach to crafting kids’ and family titles.

Read the recap here.

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ATLAN

on g

We work with talent. We spend money on development because we think this is the fuel to make the best show possible, and we come prepared in front of the broadcaster or platform. We spend money on design, scripts, bibles, whatever can help us be able to sell the show or partner with a broadcaster or platform.

”

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Keynote: ZDF Studios’

KATHARINA

Katharina Pietzsch, director in ZDF Studios’ junior department, highlighted the strengths of the company’s live-action slate for tweens and teens.

Read the recap here.

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’

A PIETZSCH We truly believe that the availability of a large number of language versions is a key advantage to getting your content to travel. We can deliver most of our programs in multiple languages. We work with dubbing studios all over the world. Through the investment in the language portfolio, we expand our possibilities of exploiting programming further and for longer.

”

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WINDOW

WATCHING

Jetpack Distribution’s Dominic Gardiner, WildBrain’s Caroline Tyre and Guru Studio’s Jonathan Abraham discussed their approach to crafting distribution strategies that maximize IP across the value chain.

Read the recap here.

G

d

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Windowing structures are not as simple as free and pay or streaming and linear. I think it’s more of a complicated market where the windowing is much more carefully managed than ever before. And it’s more important than ever before.

”

–Dominic Gardiner

The streamers are fantastic, but we can’t necessarily launch toys off that [exposure]. You have to be flexible. We try to be creative on that front and find ways that work, but I think it’s an evolving process right now to get everybody on board and get them motivated financially.

”

–Caroline Tyre

When you go to retailers or even licensees, they want to know: what’s your engagement, who’s watching, what is your rank? That’s why it’s super important to have that YouTube element.

”

–Jonathan Abraham

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LATIN AMERICAN

PLAYGROUN

We put the spotlight on the competitive kids’ media landscape in Latin America in this panel featuring Nickelodeon’s Migdalis Silva and Grupo Globo’s Luiz Filipe Figueira.

Read the recap here.

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CAN

UND

“We look through data. We gain an understanding of the habits of the audience. We need to know if they’re watching the linear channel, apps or YouTube. We can determine what is driving that performance. You need to be top of mind with them and understand their world.

”

–Migdalis Silva

nd

Our audience have become our main competitors today. They want to host their shows. They want to speak up.

It’s fantastic to see. One big challenge for us is that kids are more likely to watch shorter content. And for storytellers, it’s a challenge.

”

—Luiz Filipe Figueira

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Gaumont’s

BIONIC MAX

Max, a malfunctioning bionic guinea pig, and his goldfish buddy, JC, escape from their laboratory into the bustling streets of Woodchuck Woods. Adapting to the urban jungle is no small feat for our pair of intrepid misfits, who try to fit in with the local wildlife while living madcap and clumsy adventures.

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ZDF STUDIOS

A sneak peek at new content from ZDF Studios’ Junior department, which covers every step in the exploitation chain of successful TV productions, from the genesis and content development to production, and from the sales of TV licenses to merchandising rights, online rights and more. Its sales specialists offer successful children’s and youth programs in live-action or animation produced by world-renowned partners.

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The Jim Henson Company’s

WORD PARTY

Two episodes of the wildly popular Word Party, an interactive preschool show that invites viewers to help care for four adorable baby animals as they sing, dance and play their way through their daily routines, learning new and exciting words along the way.

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Guru Studio’s

BIG BLUE

Whenever there’s trouble, Captain Lettie and the Calypso Crew are there to help save the Big Blue and protect its quirky residents. On every mission, there’s always big adventure, plenty of laughs and even an occasional dance party! This fun-loving crew always sticks together, and with the help of a magical ocean fairy named Bacon Berry, they just might unravel the mysterious secrets of their underwater universe.

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Sesame Workshop’s

SESAME STREET MECHA BUILDERS

Mecha Elmo, Mecha Cookie Monster and Mecha Abby are ready to problem-solve the most out-of-this-world situations. Using their robo skills, the Mecha Builders are here to help—it just might take them a few tries before they save the day.

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FUTURE TODAY’S

HAPPYKIDS

A sizzle reel of Future Today’s HappyKids channel, a free, COPPAcompliant streaming app for children, available both linear and on-demand. No subscriptions or accounts are required to access the entire HappyKids library for endless hours of creativity, learning and fun.

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DANDELOOO

A look at new content from Dandelooo, a French award-winning creative company based in Paris dedicated to the development, production and distribution of original and ambitious animated programs.

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Superights’ Go! Go! Cory Carson.

READY TO ROLL Superights’ Nathalie Pinguet highlights the adventure comedy kids’ series Go! Go! Cory Carson. By Chelsea Regan

B

ased on VTech’s line of Go! Go! Smart Wheels toys, the adventure comedy kids’ series Go! Go! Cory Carson follows the titular orange car around Bumperton Hills as he learns to navigate the ups and downs of childhood. Earlier this year, Superights secured a deal with VTech for the international distribution rights to the series, which is produced by Kuku Studios for Netflix and has Superprod on board to handle CGI production.

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“Superights could not be happier to continue this amazing adventure, with Cory getting worldwide second-window rights to reinforce the exposure of the brand,” says Nathalie Pinguet, Superights’ deputy general manager.

“The premium animation style, as well as the originality of the writing and dialogue, have to be highlighted.” —Nathalie Pinguet In addition to being inspired by an established toy line, what gives Go! Go! Cory Carson an extra boost in the market is the talent of the creative team that hails from the likes of Pixar Animation Studios, according to Pinguet, who also notes that the series has thus far earned three Daytime Emmy Awards.

“The premium animation style, as well as the originality of the writing and dialogue, have to be highlighted,” says Pinguet.

“The series stages many daily-life situations that everyone can relate to with a masterful blend of humor and heart, gathering parents and kids around an appealing universe full of colors and good values.”

Superights, which is handling all linear broadcasting rights for Go! Go! Cory Carson worldwide, except for China, aims to broaden the series’ international exposure while supporting VTech’s licensing and merchandising strategy.

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Tencent Video’s Kung Fu Wa!

Sparking Connections Tencent Video’s Selina She talks about collaborating with international partners on joint productions. By Kristin Brzoznowski

T

encent Video has been seeing growth in the kids and family space, both within China and internationally, and it all comes down to one key asset: great content.

“Providing high-quality, original and exclusive content is driving our growth in subscriptions and viewership, while we can also tap into the richness of our IP portfolio to unlock a wealth of opportunities to drive synergies across a variety of media formats, from animation to drama, films

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and entertainment shows,” says Selina She, director of the kids’ IP development and programming center at Tencent Video. “We have also introduced new technologies to create integrated viewing experiences and to produce enriching

“Providing high-quality, original and exclusive content is driving our growth in subscriptions and viewership.” —Selina She short video content that helps to maximize the appeal and reach of our long-form content.”

This strategy has positioned Tencent Video as a leading online streaming platform in China, with more than 124 million subscriptions, and primed it for international gains. “The success of our self-produced content inspired us to expand globally through collaboration with some of the finest international production companies,” adds She. “Together, we are creating highquality fresh and original shows with true global appeal.”

Tencent Video has been collaborating with international partners on joint productions, which “broadens our perspectives and possibilities, enabling us to learn from some of the industry’s best talents and allows us to create outstanding content, with the potential for longevity, that appeals to kids and families worldwide. Our partners benefit from our in-depth insight into the local market, plus our exceptional streaming expertise.”

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In-Demand: Preschool

Turu and the Wackies Produced By: Tandem Films, Turanga Films, La Pampa, Filmax Distributor: All rights available from Filmax.

Description: (Kids 3-8, 26x5.5 min.) Turu has set up a band with his charming friends: the elegant little pig Rhythm and the energetic sheep Tempo. Together, they will share the day-to-day life on the farm, musically discovering the world around them through crazy adventures and hilarious misunderstandings that will help them grow into an awesome band, The Wackies! On the guitar, Rhythm! On the mixer table, Tempo! On the microphone, Turu! Let’s start the show! Producers on the series include Lina Badenes, Cristina Zumarraga, Pablo Bossi, Juan Pablo Buscarini and Carlos Fernandez. Jonathan Cuevas and David Cuevas serve as directors.

Pitch Perfect: Turu and the Wackies is the all-singing, all-dancing series from the great animated movie Turu, the Wacky Hen, which was written by Juan Pablo Buscarini, Pablo Bossi and Eduardo Gondell. Music makes the farm go round!

Slot Winner: Sold to TVE in Spain and Disney Latin America.

Sales Contact: Ivan Diaz.

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Momolu and Friends Commissioners: ITV (U.K.), TVOkids (Canada), Knowledge (Canada), YLE (Finland), SRC (Canada) Produced By: Ferly, Yellow Animation, Digital Graphics Distributor: Superights represents worldwide rights, excluding Canada, Finland, Norway, Benelux and German-speaking territories.

Description: (Preschool edutainment, 78x7 min.) Teaches children to explore and express their creativity.

Pitch Perfect: Momolu, a gentle panda, and his friends have a knack for stumbling into far-fetched situations. Each experience will be solved through creative thinking and collaboration.

Slot Winner: Momolu and Friends is created by design specialist and arts educator Leena Fredriksson. The Momolu brand already includes a Nintendo Switch game, a miniseries that accumulated thousands of views on YouTube, audiobooks and ebooks. A global toy range is under development with United Smile. The series will be fully produced by the end of 2022.

Sales Contacts: Nathalie Pinguet, Jérômine Ader de la Villardière, Pedro Citaristi, Juliette Béchu, Louise de Stael.

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62 TV KIDS

In-Demand: Preschool

Do, Re & Mi Commissioner: Prime Video Produced By: Gaumont Distributor: Gaumont is offering up linear rights worldwide.

Description: (Preschool 2-5 CGI, 52x11 min. & 6 additional shorts) Join birdie friends Do, Re and Mi in the musical world of Beebopsburgh.

Discover the sounds and melodies and see how music helps solve any problem. From the piano keys sidewalk to the beat-notes bushes, music is its own character in this show and it’s everywhere! Do, Re and Mi go on kid-relatable adventures, with each adventure ramping up into an original song.

Pitch Perfect: “Meet Do, Re and Mi in this Prime Video original series from executive producers Kristen Bell (Frozen) and Jackie Tohn (Glow, American Idol). A cheerful show with bright, colorful visuals and lovable characters, introducing music to kids through 52 original songs that the entire family will enjoy!” —Cécilia Rossignol, EVP, International Sales & Development, Gaumont Sales Contact: Cécilia Rossignol.

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64 TV KIDS

In-Demand: Preschool

DinoCity Produced By: Riki Group, Animax Production, APC Kids Distributor: APC Kids with worldwide TV and consumer-products rights, excluding Russia, CIS countries and China.

Description: (Preschool 3-6 comedy, S1: 52x5 min., S2: 52x5 min. in prod.) In a world where dinosaurs live an urban life like ours, Ricky and his elder sister Tyra turn most everyday situations into something quite extraordinary.

Pitch Perfect: This duo of siblings brings comedy as rarely seen in preschool shows, thanks to creative talents such as Animax Production and Lee Walters (Floogals, Pet Squad) as story editor. International master toy partner Gulliver Group is on board.

Slot Winner: Great launches on Tiny Pop in the U.K., DeA Junior Italy and MiniMini+ Poland. Also sold to Frisbee (Italy), Canal+ Kids (France), Ketnet (Flemish Belgium), YLE (Finland), MBC (MENA), TG4 (Ireland), AML (Baltics), ERT (Greece), Menart (Balkans) and Gloobinho (Brazil).

Sales Contact: Lionel Marty.

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In-Demand: Preschool

Vegesaurs Commissioners: ABC Australia, France Télévisions Produced By: Cheeky Little Media Distributor: Studio 100 Media with all rights worldwide, excluding Australia and New Zealand.

Description: (Preschool 4-7 comedy, 20x5 min.) Imagine the juiciest and crunchiest creatures ever to rule the planet: the mighty Vegesaurs!

Vegetable- and fruit-shaped dinosaurs address relatable themes for preschoolers. The young Tricarrotops Ginger lives in the colourful, prehistoric Vegesaur Valley, a little garden of Eden bathed in sunlight with nutrient rich soil, lush vegetation and even temperatures. Each episode is a standalone mini-adventure driven by Ginger and her friends.

Pitch Perfect: Go back through the mists of time to a rich and colorful prehistory you never knew existed. Follow Ginger, the young Tricarrotops, and her three Pea-Rex friends on adventures through the Vegesaur Valley.

Every episode focuses on visual comedy and incredibly unique characters.

Vegetables were never so much fun!

Sales Contact: Dorian Bühr.

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68 TV KIDS

In-Demand: Preschool

Word Party Commissioner: Netflix Produced By: The Jim Henson Company Distributor: The Jim Henson Company is offering worldwide broadcast, FVOD and TVOD. Description: (Preschool 2-4, S1: 26x11 min., S2: 14x11 min., S3: 20x11 min.) Word Party features adorable animal babies who sing, dance and play through their daily routines, learning new and exciting words along the way! The characters include Bailey, a cheetah and the female leader of the group; Franny the elephant; Kip, a wallaby who provides the laughs; and Lulu the panda, the baby of the gang of friends.

Pitch Perfect: Fresh off Netflix broadcast holdbacks, Word Party is available worldwide for free TV, pay TV, FVOD and TVOD. While the show’s focus is on teaching vocabulary, words are presented through imagery without text on-screen, so the series travels very well internationally. And these lovable baby animals will win your heart!

Sales Contacts: Kerry Novick, Stephanie Ogrodnik.

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