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TV KIDS
Commissions from French companies, such as Cyber Group’s Mia for TiJi, play a key role in Lagardère Active’s programming strategy.
TV KIDS: Canal J turns 30 this year. How has the channel evolved over the last three decades? COCHAUX: As the first youth channel in France, Canal J has had a very important impact upon families, upon everyone’s collective memory. The children of the ’80s, who are parents today, loved Canal J because it was the first time that a network was 100 percent devoted to them. The channel evolved with the TV industry in France. At first, the American networks—Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Disney Channel—did not exist except as blocks on traditional free TV, but with the arrival of satellite TV, they launched as full channels. At that time, Canal J was for children [of all ages, but with more channels in the market] each one had to find its own target. Canal J was able to compete with the arrival of the American channels by targeting children between 8 and 12, 8 and 14. Our [brand values] are silly, funny, loony. We’re always a little bit subversive, but in a good way. Canal J is absolutely dedicated to children between 8 and 13. This is the age when you become your own master. You get a little bit of distance from your parents. You discover that you have your own personality and that you can do things by yourself. You can do things you were not allowed to do before. This is also the time when you go from primary school to junior high or secondary school. This is a very big moment in children’s lives: at a certain point you are no longer just someone’s child, you are an individual. Canal J is in this in-between period.
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TV KIDS: Does Canal J have a fairly even boy/girl split? COCHAUX: It was 60-40 boys to girls, now it’s 55-45. We’ve found that girls very much like the boyish spirit [of the channel]. There is a kind of freedom in what the boys imagine they can do. So we do have more girls than before. But still, it’s more of a boys’ channel than a girls’ channel in terms of the audience. TV KIDS: Tell us about the strengths of the Canal J schedule. COCHAUX: On all the other channels for children, it’s cartoons or stories that are about adventures. In a way, Canal J is a step ahead of this. [Our viewers] think like big boys and big girls. This year we have launched a few animated series, like SheZow, Sprout a craqué son slip (Zack & Deuce) and Grojband [that reflect our brand]. We also have Linkers and Sonic Boom. So it’s a mix of video games, a sassy [perspective], humor, and being a bit of a Jackass kid—of course, without danger! When the character Zack speaks to his bottom all day long, there’s something so surreal about the idea. When the kid in SheZow has to be transformed into a girl to be a superhero, that is so funny. There are no kids who would imagine that being transformed into a girl would make them a superhero. We twist their minds in a way; we’re having fun with them. TV KIDS: How important are French productions for you? Are there quotas you need to fill? COCHAUX: As Canal J is a pay channel, we don’t have the same quotas as we have on Gulli, which is a DTT channel.