TV Kids Licensing Expo & NATPE Budapest Edition 2017

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TVKIDS

WWW.TVKIDS.WS

MAY /JUNE 2017

LICENSING EXPO & NATPE BUDAPEST EDITION

L&M Trends / eOne Family’s Olivier Dumont

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CONTENTS

Character Connections

FEATURE 8 BUZZY BRANDS An investigation into L&M trends and strategies in today’s competitive marketplace.

The play-filled days of summer break will all too quickly give way to that magical (and expensive!) time of year when kids head back to school— adorned with new backpacks, pencil boxes, stationery and the like that proudly display characters from their favorite TV shows and movies.

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 Nathalia Lopez Sales & Marketing Assistant 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

The lines for school buses and tables in lunchrooms are filled with kids donning T-shirts and other gear with the faces of animated pals they watch on television and want to show their fandom for. Often, children make connections with their classmates this way: “Hey, you have a Ben 10 lunchbox too!”

The back-to-school category is, indeed, one of the most important in the licensing and merchandising (L&M) arena.

Apparel also ranks high on the must-have list when building a successful L&M program around a property. Licensees and brand owners rarely understate the value of offering physical toys tied to TV properties as well. Companion apps, e-books and mobile games are all becoming increasingly important extensions for properties to consider, too. These digital developments add even more revenue potential for the brand’s licensor and give kids yet another way to engage with characters and stay immersed in the fantastical worlds they enjoy so much on-screen.

In this issue, we hear from rights owners about their strategies for navigating today’s L&M business and keeping kids connected with properties. TV Kids also speaks with Olivier Dumont, the managing director of Entertainment One (eOne) Family and eOne Licensing, about the company’s stable of successful brands and how they have been rolled out globally across multiple categories.

At the end of the day, the heart of the L&M business rests in these connections. Once a child becomes attached to a property, they look for ways to continue that relationship through multiple touchpoints—be it by physically playing with a plush toy, action figure, doll or video game, or simply by sporting a character on their pj’s as they head off for bedtime.

Most parents can easily recall the TV shows they went gaga over when they were little and begged their moms and dads to buy them toys and T-shirts of. Some may have even kept a few of those pieces for nostalgia’s sake, as the attachments formed in childhood with certain characters and series can stick with you. For content creators and brand owners, having a property that inspires this type of lasting connection is invaluable. —Kristin Brzoznowski

INTERVIEW

12 eOne Family’s Olivier Dumont The managing director of eOne Family and eOne Licensing discusses the company’s strategic approach for maximizing discoverability with its slate of brands and for creating multiple L&M touchpoints.

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“Throughout Licensing Expo, we hope to find new partnership opportunities and strengthen the bonds with existing partners.”

CJ E&M

—Dongsig Shin

Robot Trains / Rainbow Ruby / Pucca Courage and adventure are key elements of the animated series Robot Trains. Production is being managed

by CJ E&M and the company is “looking for more agents and licensees,” says Dongsig Shin, the head of the animation division. He adds that the action-adventure show aimed at kids between the ages of 4 and 7 will “attract fans who love trains and action, as this ‘pre-cool’ animation has dynamic characters who can shift from trains to robots!” Meanwhile, Ruby’s toys come alive in the magical world of Rainbow Village in the original animated series Rainbow Ruby, for which CJ E&M is handling licensing in Asia (excluding China) and Latin America. Shin explains: “CPLG is our agent for the remaining countries.” CJ E&M’s slate also features Pucca. “We’re going to reboot the brand,” he says. “CJ E&M is a fully integrated, broad-based entertainment company in Korea and a global rookie in the creation, production, distribution, licensing and marketing of quality animations,” adds Shin. “In order to be renowned as ‘the most influential animation partner from Asia,’ our division will maintain an ongoing commitment to expand and build the power of our brands’ recognition in the international marketplace through strong and creative production, distribution and licensing programs.”

Rainbow Ruby

Cyber Group Studios

“A lot of licensees are looking for preschool properties.”

—Alexandra Algard-Mikanowski

Zou / Zorro the Chronicles / Gigantosaurus The established animated properties Zou and Zorro the Chronicles are among the brands that are being promoted by Cyber Group Studios at Licensing Expo. The former, which is geared toward young viewers between the ages of 3 and 6, is an edutainment show that follows the daily adventures of a curious and lovable 5-year-old zebra and his extended family; the latter, meant for kids aged 6 to 12, is an action comedy series centered on a teenage Don Diego as he fights for justice alongside his twin sister against a variety of opponents. The company will also be presenting the brand-new animated property Gigantosaurus, which tells the story of four young dinosaurs living in a prehistoric world with the mysterious Gigantosaurus, the biggest, fiercest dinosaur ever seen. France Télévisions and Germany’s Super RTL are on board to air the book-based show, which has also been snapped up by Disney Junior to begin rolling out around the globe—excluding in India and Taiwan—in 2019. “I think for kids’ and preschool properties, the most important category of product is obviously toys, and [then] publishing,” says Alexandra AlgardMikanowski, who serves as the international licensing and marketing director at Cyber Group Studios. “After that, it’s some of the complementary categories.”

Zou

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Mondo TV Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa / YooHoo & Friends / Invention Story Based on the book penned by Johanna Spyri during the late 1800s, Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa sees the titular character move away from her rural home in order to have new adventures in the big city. Mondo TV is showcasing the live-action property, which incorporates comedic and musical elements, in Las Vegas. Another highlight from the company is YooHoo & Friends, an animated co-production from Mondo TV and Aurora World that centers on the inhabitants of a small but vibrant tropical island, where the fruit is starting to rot. “YooHoo & Friends is already a world-class brand that has been on the market for ten years and [is based on] a plush toy that has sold worldwide since 2007,” says Valentina La Macchia, Mondo TV’s director of consumer products.

“With this new 3D series and with the new plush line, there will be a real revival of the brand worldwide.”

There is also Invention Story, a new property for which Mondo TV is seeking master toy and publishing partners.

The animated show is about a freethinking and intelligent rabbit who travels to a low-tech community, where he invents a machine that can turn carrots into a fuel called Carrotsene. “Invention Story is appealing internationally because its genre, slapstick comedy, is of great [interest],” says La Macchia.

“One of our goals is the international development of Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa’s L&M program, starting with Latin America.”

—Valentina La Macchia

Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa

ZDF Enterprises Inui / Scream Street / King Laurin Fun, friendship, imagination and snow take center stage in Inui, an animated show that is part of ZDF Enterprises’ (ZDFE) kids’ content catalog. “Inui, a little Inuit girl, lives somewhere in the Arctic Circle,” says Peter Lang, the VP of ZDFE.junior. “This is a series about a child’s world, and its stories reflect a child’s imagination of the polar region and the sort of fun you might have there. The emphasis is on visual gags and, at the same time, the main characters have very distinct and warm personalities.” The company’s portfolio also includes Scream Street, a stop-motion animated comedy that Lang describes as “a fast-paced, stylish, comedy/horror extravaganza—based on the hit book series—following the adventures of Luke Watson, who turns into a werewolf when he gets angry.” The show takes place in a wacky, monster-filled neighborhood, where being a freak is considered perfectly normal. Then there is King Laurin, the first-ever feature film inspired by the famous legend of the eponymous dwarf king. “It is shot in the authentic Middle Age world of the beautiful mountains in South Tyrol, Italy,” says Lang. He adds: “We have a particular expertise in live action and thus are very proud of our German/Dutch co-pro Mister Twister, suitable for children aged 6-plus and family viewing.”

“ZDFE.junior is always looking for partners in the production, co-production, distribution and L&M of big brands, long-running series in animation and live action, for preschoolers and children aged 6-plus.”

—Peter Lang

Inui

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Studio 100’s Maya the Bee.

Ahead of Licensing Expo, Joanna Padovano Tong investigates L&M trends and strategies in today’s competitive marketplace. oy sales in the U.S. bumped up 5 percent last year, to $20.4 billion, according to The NPD Group. Among the growth drivers for the industry were collectibles—which was a top contributor— followed by outdoor and sports toys and the games/puzzles category. A number of brands helped strengthen the segment, with Pokémon being the number one growth property of 2016 in toys, coinciding with the release of the explosively popular Pokémon GO augmented-reality game that saw players wandering the streets trying to “catch ’em all.”

Yoohoo & Friends, The fact that Pokémon, which has been around for two distribuida por Mondo TV. decades, was the year’s leading growth property in toys is

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representative of the ongoing trend that retailers oftentimes still prefer to stock their shelves with established brands.

“It’s very hard, sometimes, to launch new brands and original ideas, because [retailers] are looking for sustainable business with many well-known key brands,” says Hans Ulrich Stoef, who heads up m4e and Studio 100 Media. “But luckily enough, after Studio 100 bought the majority of m4e, we also have classic [properties] in our portfolio, like Maya the Bee or Vic the Viking, for example, which makes it a little easier because the products already have shelf space.” Newer key properties for licensing and merchandising (L&M) in the combined m4e/Studio 100 portfolio include Mia and me and Wissper, as well as the indevelopment The Beatrix Girls, which will be more of a focus next year.

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According to Alexandra Algard-Mikanowski, the international licensing and marketing director at Cyber Group Studios, retailers “want to take the least risk possible and to secure a level of turnover, so it’s very difficult to reach their expectations. And you need to have very good TV programming with good channels and come with a whole category of product in order to be successful.”

The company’s L&M highlights include such established brands as Zou and Zorro the Chronicles, as well as the upcoming Gigantosaurus, an animated show slated for broadcast on France Télévisions, Germany’s Super RTL and Disney Junior channels around the globe.

“Retailers are looking for brands and products that resonate with consumers both through brand recognition and also—more than ever, especially as it relates to kids—the message the brand delivers to its audience,” says Frederic Soulié, the executive VP of global distribution and consumer products at Saban Brands. “Power Rangers’ core messages of teamwork, diversity and fun are a great example of this, which has helped the brand stand the test of time and continue to be a staple among retailers for nearly 25 years.”

Mondo TV is taking advantage of retailers’ desire for known brands with its first live-action series, Heidi, Bienvenida a Casa, which was inspired by Johanna Spyri’s classic children’s novel from the late 1800s. “It’s going to be a long-term project based on a total of 180x45-minute episodes,” says Valentina La Macchia, the company’s director of consumer products.

“This is very important because we are able to secure a longlasting program based on the merchandising.” Mondo TV’s L&M slate also includes the animated properties YooHoo & Friends, Invention Story and Robot Trains, the latter of which is a collaboration with CJ E&M.

ANIME MANIA 4K Media, a subsidiary of Konami Digital Entertainment, has been enjoying success with the long-running Japanese property Yu-Gi-Oh!, for which it manages the licensing and marketing outside of Asia. According to Jennifer Coleman, the company’s VP of licensing and marketing, Yu-Gi-Oh! has been a hit in the L&M arena due to “the timeless appeal of anime and boys’ action/hero adventure.” 4K Media also represents the girl-skewing brand Rebecca Bonbon.

Another company with anime is Toei Animation, whose L&M catalog includes Sailor Moon, the Digimon franchise, One Piece and Dragon Ball. “These properties are well known by many anime fans and most of our properties were first broadcast in the late ’90s and early 2000s in the U.S.,” says Jennifer Yang, Toei’s senior licensing manager. “Kids who grew up watching this anime are now young adults, and they are the main target for Japanese anime in L&M nowadays.”

The Dragon Ball franchise celebrated its 30th anniversary last year in Japan. “Our Dragon Ball Z merchandising efforts are still very strong among teens and young adults after so many years, but we are hoping to gain more interest in children’s categories for Dragon Ball Super,” notes Lisa Yamatoya, Toei’s senior manager of film and merchandising.

There is also anime and manga specialist VIZ Media, which is owned by Shueisha and Shogakukan. At this year’s Licensing Expo, the company’s central focus is the older-skewing Death Note, with additional highlights including One-Punch Man, Naruto, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Bleach. “Our audience is what I like to consider the next generation of fanboys,” says Brad Woods, the chief marketing officer at VIZ Media. “You’ve got guys like myself, who grew up with the world of DC and Marvel and what have you—still very valid and amazing properties— but then you’ve got this whole new generation and this groundswell of kids that started out between 8 and 12 a few years back, who have grown up into the teen and young-adult space and are all about anime. And so anime has kind of taken over that next generation of fandom.”

PERFECT TIMING There is really no definitive answer as to when is the best time for companies to begin thinking about licensing and merchandising. Some like to start right away, while others wait until a brand has reached a certain level of maturity in the marketplace.

“It depends on the property,” says Cyber Group’s AlgardMikanowski. “When you have a good broadcasting [reach] with huge TV channels, it’s better to start directly—that’s the case with Gigantosaurus. And for some other properties, it would be best to wait a little bit because if you have [a smaller] channel, it is better to have some ratings on television before launching a licensing program.”

“Whenever we produce a new show, of course the content comes first,” says m4e and Studio 100’s Stoef. “The entertainment values of a concept come first. So we are not really in the arena of just producing a commercial for the toy only.”

Collectible coins are among the many products on offer for the 4K Mediarepped brand Yu-Gi-Oh!

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Mondo TV handles the licensing rights for Robot Trains in a number of territories across Europe and the Middle East.

Soulié notes that Saban Brands approaches every property “with a 360-degree lens and a vision of both what the show and L&M possibilities can be.” The company is executing this strategy with the new animated Netflix series Cirque du Soleil Junior—Luna Petunia.

“We usually start thinking about licensing and merchandising right away because we are a production studio, so we are always involved in the co-production of the TV show,” adds Mondo TV’s La Macchia. “We don’t wait until the property has reached a certain level in the market because then it will be too late for us to develop a long-term licensing program. We always start at least a year and a half before the time to market, especially when we have to place the master toy deal. We know that the licensee needs the right time to develop the products.”

FIERCE COMPETITION As in any business, the ability to keep up with competitors in the L&M industry is crucial in order for a brand to stay alive. Survival of the fittest is a phrase that applies to more than just the natural world.

Regarding challenges that are currently facing the segment, 4K Media’s Coleman says, “Well, one of them starts with a D and ends with a Y. So there’s that factor. And then there’s still that retail consolidation.”

“I think the most important [challenge] is the number of properties already on the market and launched by big companies, like Disney for example,” says Cyber Group’s Algard-Mikanowski. “It’s always very difficult to compete with this kind of a big company. You need to spend a lot of money on marketing and [put in] a lot of effort with retailers.”

m4e and Studio 100’s Stoef agrees that it is very hard for independents to compete with the majors these days, although it does help raise the bar on quality. “Creativity does come from the one who is having to pick his pocket; that encourages us to come up with new content and deliver more creativity. The biggest challenge is, how can you produce a sustainable business when you have to invest millions and millions of euros into a new production?

And how can you make sure that you reach enough kids, and what can you do to convince retailers to put your product on shelves? It requires really big funds to do so. And not all companies are able to deliver that.”

Saban’s Soulié adds: “Innovation is key in an extremely competitive market, and retailers are evolving to speak to the current consumer, which means brands need to continue to innovate and evolve as well.”

Much like piracy is a major headache for the television, film and music industries, bootlegging is among the issues that L&M players continue to contend with. “We are facing a lot of bootleg items and/or ridiculously cheap parallel items imported unofficially to our territories,” says Toei’s Yang. “These affect a lot of our official products. I’m sure this is a problem for everybody in this industry.”

4K Media is trying to reduce the amount of unlicensed Yu-Gi-Oh! consumer goods on the market by launching an online shop that sells official branded merchandise. “We’re hopeful that with that happening, with our ability to provide this product for our customers, they won’t necessarily be making their own T-shirts and putting them up on [an online marketplace like] Redbubble,” says Coleman. “Obviously that’s going to benefit us because we’ll be getting the royalty payment, but it’s also going to hopefully strengthen

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[our licensees’] resolve in the brand and help show them that it still has legs and is still a money-maker.”

A challenge for VIZ Media is “weighing the appropriate size of the opportunity, and making sure that we’re working with our retailers to create clean programs,” says Woods. “Often you find our licensing and retail partners trying to create too big of a program, or create a bigger statement than it really merits or than the market will support. That, to me, is how you kill a trend. It’s one of these things where our content’s certainly on fire, but it’s still very niche in its appeal. And so I want to make sure that we’re meeting the customer demand, but also leaving those retailers with a clean shelf at the end of the day so that they come back and do it again.”

One way that 4K Media stays relevant in today’s extremely competitive L&M environment is with experiential offerings. “We’re trying to take more advantage of some experiential marketing to really touch and feel our consumers and help engage them in the brand,” says Coleman. “And we’re looking to expand that even more with some of the live events that we do.”

KEYS TO SUCCESS Over at Cyber Group, Algard-Mikanowski says the strategy is to use “a global approach” for some products, while it is better “to deal territory by territory,” with others. “As we are a licensor, it’s possible to mix between global and local.”

La Macchia notes that Mondo TV always aims to work on a long-term basis. “Long-term is a must nowadays to compete in the market. It’s very important to grant to the licensees at least 52x26-minutes of a TV show because a license agreement is usually based on a two-year-term period, so we cannot work with very short TV series. We have to be able to assure from the beginning that we will help our licensees to grow their business and together increase the awareness of the property in the market.”

For Saban, maintaining the “core brand DNA” in both series content and L&M is key.

“For example with Power Rangers, knowing its wide, global audience spanning kids to adults, we look to provide experiences that directly speak to them,” says Soulié.

As the world becomes more and more computerized, digital opportunities are increasingly important in the L&M arena.

“We are investing a lot to grow our digital business,” says Mondo TV’s La Macchia. “We are now working to develop a new application based on our characters. So we have big plans to grow the digital business here. And we do believe it’s really the main segment emerging so far.” m4e and Studio 100’s Stoef notes that digital is a good way

to test out new properties with small budgets on viral platforms. “You can pre-approve certain concepts via the internet, social media and AVOD platforms, and then spend money later on in a deeper way.”

“I think the opportunities lie in how you can disperse the brand appeal and the information in a more concise, bite-sized way,” says VIZ Media’s Woods. “Brands are coming out of the woodwork having been built on nothing but that. You look at the AwesomenessTVs of the world and a lot of the web-space influencers—these are people who built their entire awareness on 10-minute, 5-minute shorts. So for us, if we don’t stay abreast of that and shift our marketing in that direction, [we could] get lost and left behind pretty easily.”

Adapting to change has always been an essential business mantra, and as the way children consume content continues to evolve, it is one that companies should keep top of mind to stay ahead in the L&M game.

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VIZ Media has seen L&M success with the anime/manga hit One-Punch Man.

Cyber Group Studios’ Zorro the Chronicles benefits from built-in brand recognition.

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That being said, what we have found is that the power of digital is growing tremendously. It is much harder to get a brand discovered solely on digital, but digital acts as a catch-up system, or a brand can be discovered purely on digital if you have a friend or someone else who draws your attention to it. Nowadays, if you’ve heard about, let’s say PJ Masks, through a parent or friend, you can get a taste of the brand very easily by going on a tablet or mobile phone.

The brand is, in essence, in everyone’s pocket. But you still need that spark [for discoverability], and this is why broadcast exposure is still very important for preschool brands.

TV KIDS: What are some of the lessons learned from the successful rollout of Peppa Pig that you’ve applied to other eOne Family brands?

DUMONT: What we learned on Peppa Pig is that the show becomes way more successful when you get a broadcaster to schedule a few episodes back-to-back—anywhere between three to four episodes is when we see the brand pick up very quickly in terms of desirability. When we open up a new market on Peppa Pig, it normally takes up to one year of exposure before the brand really takes off in licensing—before kids and parents start looking it up online or wanting the products.

We applied that formula somewhat on PJ Masks. The show is very aspirational, and as a result [the response] was way more immediate. We saw demand grow almost instantly after the show came out on Disney Junior in the U.S. It went on air in September 2015, and by October 2015, for Halloween, there were already lots of parents making

OLIVIER DUMONT

ENTERTAINMENT ONE FAMILY

By Kristin Brzoznowski

The adventures of a cheeky little piggy named Peppa have captivated young viewers (and parents alike) the world over. Indeed, the Peppa Pig brand has become a bona fide phenomenon in the preschool space, with its global success translating into big business for Entertainment One (eOne) Family and eOne Licensing. The company’s portfolio also boasts the action-infused PJ Masks and co-viewing hit Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, among other properties, which kids are connecting with on-screen and through a myriad of L&M touchpoints, including in the digital arena. Olivier Dumont, the managing director of eOne Family and eOne Licensing, tells TV Kids about some of the strategies for successfully rolling out brands.

TV KIDS: What is your strategic approach for maximizing discoverability with the eOne Family brands?

DUMONT: For preschool properties, broadcast is still the spark that gets the brand going. Ratings have fallen a lot more for older-skewing networks than they have for preschool channels because parents still need a safe place that they can expose their preschoolers to. Also, preschoolers are happier than older kids to allow mom and dad to decide what they should be watching. As a result, the power of preschool networks and blocks is still pretty high as compared to those for an older demo.

their own PJ Masks costumes and posting about them on social media. That was something we hadn’t seen happen for Peppa in terms of how fast the program developed. That speaks to the fact that PJ Masks is a cross between a traditional preschool brand and an action-adventure show.

So, we haven’t really been able to apply that many of the [lessons] from one to the other. If anything, it shows that you need to treat each brand individually as opposed to applying the same recipe systematically. The overall strategy, though, is to build your brand exposure and make sure that kids and parents can find it, maybe even on a digital service, so that they can engage with it in as many ways as possible. As part of this, we’ve created a lot of [digital] experiences, with free apps and games online to make sure that kids and parents can connect with the show instantly, either when it’s not on the air or when they want more than just a purely linear experience. That’s something that we learned on Peppa that we applied to PJ Masks.

TV KIDS: At this point, are digital extensions more about the added brand connection and exposure than the potential for additional revenues?

DUMONT: We are trying to accomplish both. The app market for preschoolers is a challenging one. For older kids, while

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eOne Family’s Peppa Pig has been a hit on TV around the world and the brand has a slew of consumerproduct extensions.

the paid-for market has gone down for apps in general given the amount of content available for free, the ad-supported system is working decently. You can’t advertise to preschoolers, so it’s much more challenging to monetize. With our hits like Peppa and PJ Masks, we still have a decent amount of sales on our apps, but it’s not as lucrative as it once was. You want to make sure that kids and parents have the possibility to engage with your brand via gaming and apps regardless of revenues, so you do need a certain number of free experiences to provide the audience. It’s about striking the right balance in terms of the number of brands that are available for free for exposure, and extensions and paid-for experiences that are a bit more sophisticated.

On Peppa Pig we have started exploring a subscriptionbased model. We created Peppa Pig World, which allows you to watch linear content, play games, read e-books, all in the same environment. We’ve done a soft launch of the app in two markets so far, and we are taking in the [lessons] from that and will probably do a global rollout later this year. That’s going to be an interesting new model. So far we’ve done straightforward sales or free apps, but this would be subscription-based, allowing kids and parents to have a much deeper experience with the brand as a result, with content that is refreshed every month.

TV KIDS: What’s currently on the development slate?

DUMONT: We have been looking for new shows to develop in different areas, and for a while, we didn’t find anything that we truly loved. Over the past six months, we have picked up at least four shows. Two of them are in a slightly older [age demographic], 6 to 9, and more girlskewed but boy-inclusive. There are also two new properties in the preschool space, one of which is slightly more boy-skewed and the other more girl-skewed. Both are targeted for upper-preschool, more than the younger side of preschool, which we’re not as interested in exploring—we already have Peppa, which is uber-successful in that space.

TV KIDS: What are the core L&M propositions on a brand like Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom? And why has the liveevent space, in particular, been a successful one to explore with this property?

DUMONT: The brand is extremely popular as a linear proposition for kids and parents, and the humor in the show is key. There’s a love of the brand in all the markets where it has launched, but it doesn’t necessarily translate into all of the licensing categories. Definitely, though, a live experience that both parents and kids can enjoy together is very much in keeping with the ethos of the brand. It is a family show; the presence of adults is an important part of the series. The amount of co-viewing on Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom is very high. There are a few preschool shows that kids really love but their parents not so much; parents might recognize that it’s a great show for their kids, perhaps it’s even educational, but they don’t feel particularly compelled to watch it with them. Parents enjoy watching Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom because of the humor in the show; therefore, the entire family going to the stage show together is an appealing proposition.

TV KIDS: What are your priorities for eOne Family and eOne Licensing in the year ahead?

DUMONT: A priority is to expand PJ Masks everywhere in the world. With regard to Peppa Pig, we’d love to be able to launch the brand in Japan. We’re doing our best to try to find good exposure for the brand there; we’re taking lots of trips to that market and meeting with a lot of potential partners. We’re also launching a new preschool brand next year; we are just entering production on that one. It will be slightly more boy-skewing. It will go on the air in spring 2019 probably, but the first episodes will be available in spring 2018. The team is currently working on the key visuals and the look and feel of that brand.

We’re also in production right now on a series called Cupcake and Dinosaur. It is a co-production with a Brazilian company, Birdo Studio. It is the first time we are doing a coproduction between Canada and Brazil. The series is created

by Pedro Eboli, who has been noticed by quite a few broadcasters and the industry. We’re doing his first international show and are very excited about that.

TV KIDS: Is there anything you’re looking for in particular to add to the catalog?

DUMONT: We’re pretty set in preschool, and we’re now [targeting] older girls, but we’d love something in the action-adventure genre for boys—something that can compete in that space with a Ben 10 or a Ninja Turtles. It’s very, very hard to do; it’s uber-competitive! We have given a lot of thought about what can work and how, but we really need to find the right [property]. We’re open to pitches in that space.

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