World Screen September 2021

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September 2021

WWW.WORLDSCREEN.COM

THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Banijay’s Lars Blomgren / Topic’s Ryan Chanatry / TV Formats Screenings Festival Premiere: Rive Gauche’s In Their Own Words / WorldScreenings: SPI International

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 2021 WORLD VIEW By Mansha Daswani.

IN THE NEWS Banijay’s Lars Blomgren on scripted content trends across EMEA. TV FORMATS SCREENINGS FESTIVAL Spotlighting a raft of new entertainment concepts.

PREMIERE: IN THEIR OWN WORDS Rive Gauche’s Marine Ksadzhikyan talks about the international resonance of this access-driven documentary series.

WORLDSCREENINGS: SPI INTERNATIONAL CMO Haymi Behar on the several lines of business propelling the engine of SPI International, including its digital assets.

SPOTLIGHT Topic’s Ryan Chanatry discusses the SVOD service’s acquisitions remit.

TRENDING ON The most-viewed clips on our video portals for the last 30 days.

Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise Group Editorial Director Anna Carugati Editor Mansha Daswani Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Managing Editor Chelsea Regan Associate Editor Jamie Stalcup Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider Production & Design Director David Diehl Online Director Simon Weaver Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Coordinator Genovick Acevedo

PUBLIC INTEREST Executives from leading kids’ public broadcasters discuss their commissioning and acquisitions needs.

TOONING INTO TOULOUSE Cartoon Forum is back in Toulouse, France, from September 20 to 23.

TV KIDS SCREENINGS FESTIVAL Screen clips of numerous new and returning preschool, kids’ and tween shows across multiple styles and formats.

WORLD SCREEN is a registered trademark of WSN INC., 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207, New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.worldscreen.com ©2021 WSN INC. No part of this publication can be used, reprinted, copied or stored in any medium without the publisher’s authorization. For a free subscription to our newsletters, please visit www.subscriptions.ws.

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Business Affairs Manager Andrea Moreno Contributing Writers Steve Clarke Andy Fry Joanna Stephens Jay Stuart David Wood

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

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WORLD VIEW

BY MANSHA DASWANI

Cancel Culture I have an absolutely terrible time canceling services I’m not using.

There are platforms I subscribe to that I haven’t watched in months. I keep saying, I’ll get around to it, and then I don’t. Usually, it’s because I read a press release from said service and thought, OK, I’ll watch that, so why not hold on for another month?

Now I know there are loads of other people like me, ignoring those credit charges because you think at some point you’ll really need that third/fourth/sixth/seventh (oh dear) streaming platform for that one show you think you’ll watch (but will you?) As it turns out, there are also plenty of people with much more restraint. In the U.S. alone, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ lost a combined $80.2 million in April 2021 due to subscriber churn, according to Wurl Analytics. And for streamers to hit their ambitious targets, they need to attract truly aweinspiring subscriber numbers. For Disney+, Wurl predicts that in order to reach its stated growth target of between 230 million and 260 million global subscribers by the end of 2024, it will need to attract 472.5 million new subscribers. I do not envy the programmers at those services as they navigate differences across markets, budgets and quotas and find ways to become absolutely indispensable to choosy subscribers. But what a time it is to be covering this industry! The early days of my career at the start of the pay-TV boom in Asia (think Richard Li, Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng, because I am that old) were exciting, but nothing quite compares to where the industry is today—and what it might look like tomorrow. So I do have to subscribe to everything, don’t I? 6 WORLD SCREEN 9/21

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UPFRONTS

Elyse

SPI International Elyse / Best Sellers / Nitram SPI International’s highlights include Elyse, starring Anthony Hopkins, for which the company has rights in Eastern Europe, CIS, Benelux, Scandinavia, Israel and Africa. It is also releasing Best Sellers, featuring Michael Caine and Aubrey Plaza, in Eastern Europe. A theatrical release is planned in Israel for Nitram. “SPI is expanding its digital business and becoming a major aggregator for digital platforms such as Amazon, IMDb TV, Pluto TV, Rakuten and more by bringing 20,000plus hours of content through SVOD, TVOD and AVOD models,” adds Berk Uziyel, CEO.

“Our portfolio of titles always includes movies with familiar faces that viewers from all over the world can recognize and enjoy.”

—Berk Uziyel

ZDF Enterprises The Window / Rescued Chimpanzees of the Congo with Jane Goodall / School of Roars A drama thriller, the ZDF Entertainment (ZDFE) fall highlight The Window explores what happens behind the scenes and off the field in the often cutthroat world of football, focusing on the players, agents, club owners, administrators and journalists. In the factual genre, Rescued Chimpanzees of the Congo with Jane Goodall was filmed over the span of 30 years. “The topic itself as well as the achievements of Jane Goodall enjoy worldwide popularity,” notes Fred Burcksen, president and CEO of ZDFE. Kids’ titles in ZDFE’s catalog include School of Roars.

The Window

“We will have a Market Screening for The Window at MIPCOM on Monday, October 11, at 2:15 p.m. in Auditorium A.”

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—Fred Burcksen

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IN THE NEWS

Lars Blomgren Banijay

By Anna Carugati

ars Blomgren has produced many successful dramas, particularly stories made for one market that burst out beyond domestic boundaries and became international hits. One such show is Bron, not only a hit on its own but whose format created other successful series, including The Bridge and The Tunnel.

Today, Blomgren is head of scripted for Banijay. He uses his considerable experience developing and producing as he oversees the group’s drama and comedy production in the U.K., U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

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WS: Tell us about your position, the footprint you oversee and the types of projects you look for.

BLOMGREN: We have more than 120 production companies in the group and more than 50 are producing scripted. In 2020, we delivered more than 100 projects. I encourage collaboration across the group. We also look to move our scripted formats, and since we are such a big group, we share best practices.

As for the type of projects, we encourage everyone to develop ideas; it doesn’t matter if it’s a local show or a global franchise. But as a group, we 10 WORLD SCREEN 9/21

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focus on the high-end projects. We have a long tradition of keeping our promise to deliver quality. That’s important for us. And it works to our advantage. The competition is strong among the streamers, there is a move from focusing on the number of clicks to the completion rate—streamers need subscribers to finish the shows they start watching. We want to make sure that the end of a series we make is as good as the pitch.

I also have a scripted fund, which is an important tool for us because we can step in and support a production company in acquiring expensive IP or maybe an agreement with talent. It’s a very useful tool to elevate a production and begin at a better level.

Because pitching is different in many territories, we also offer support to bring a project to a more evolved phase, for instance, write the pilot script before we pitch it or work more with costs and prepare the package more.

Then They Run is being produced by Kudos with Sky Studios and Germany’s MadeFor. 9/21 WORLD SCREEN 11

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Endemol Shine Banks produces RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service for Seven in Australia.

WS: With the growing demand for scripted, is there enough talent?

BLOMGREN: It’s always a challenge, an enormous challenge. The most important selling point for talent is that if you start working with them, you must actually make the show. If that happens, they will come back. You build relationships with talent. It’s becoming the same with the broadcasters. They have preferred partners, people they know will deliver.

A lot of talent is going into exclusive deals with broadcasters, and that’s a challenge. Personally, I always preferred to work with people who aren’t locked in. They can go wherever they want, but they come to us because we are the ones they want to work with.

WS: The streaming services have introduced audiences to stories they might not have seen if they only watched their domestic broadcasters. Is this opening up opportunities for your storytellers?

BLOMGREN: Absolutely, around 70 percent of our productions are non-English. We’ve managed to be successful with a lot of shows like Valley of Tears from Israel, Beforeigners from Norway 12 WORLD SCREEN 9/21

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or Bron that I did back in the day. From Sweden we have Vinterviken, or JJ+E as it is known in English, coming up for Netflix, and Germinal for France 2. That’s fantastic.

A game-changer happening now is the big discussion about diversity, and there are such fantastic stories to tell. Right now, they are front and center and that’s important.

WS: Have the demand for and volume of scripted programming changed the way series are developed or produced?

BLOMGREN: Execution is becoming increasingly important, especially with the idea of the completion rate. We will stick with being really good at execution, but in every country, the process is so different. In the U.K., the commissioners still want to step into a project really early. In another territory, they want a full package. The biggest challenge right now in the smaller territories is sometimes they’re not used to taking projects to the market. We have so many projects now, and we have to test them and pitch them to more than one broadcaster.

That can create difficulties because some of our regular partners take for granted when we come with a project that they will get it. But there might be someone else that is better positioned for the project.

Caliphate was produced for SVT in Sweden.

That’s a big challenge.

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All3Media International’s The Answer Trap

That’s Entertainment!

It’s game shows and entertainment galore across World Screen’s inaugural TV Formats Screenings Festival. Indeed, as Covid-19 variant concerns dim hopes of a fast return to pre-pandemic normality, audiences are anxious and eager for wholesome family lean-back entertainment—with a little bit of knowledge thrown in for good measure.

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he game shows available to sample during the festival include new and returning hits. One classic seeing renewed life is Lingo, a word-play game that has aired daily for almost three decades in France and the Netherlands, with 500-plus episodes produced in the U.S. “A new U.K. series launched last year and an extended second series will launch later this year, along with new adaptations in 14 WORLD SCREEN 9/21

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WeMake’s The Big Crazy Game Night

Spain and Italy,” says Nick Smith, executive VP of formats at All3Media International. Smith is also showcasing The Answer Trap, a daytime format that is “ideal for playing along at home and the perfect excuse for the whole family to get together and have some fun.”

WeMake is also looking to help broadcasters deliver co-viewing opportunities with its M6 hit The Big Crazy Game Night. “With its high ratings on one of France’s biggest networks, The Big Crazy Game Night proved to have a successful comedy formula that appeals to the whole family,” says Bouchra Rejani, CEO of the French outfit. “This hit format has already

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WeMake’s Split Screen

been sold in six countries, and its second season is currently in production for a 2022 broadcast.” Split Screen, meanwhile, had a strong premiere in the Netherlands and is “perfect for networks in need of an innovative and easy-to-produce game show,” Rejani says.

Red Arrow Studios International has built up a stable of game shows to offer broadcasters in need of compelling daytime, access and primetime entertainment. Stealing the Show! provides a new take on the genre by featuring celebrity contestants who face off for a chance to host the next episode of the production. The concept “turns the traditional

Red Arrow’s Stealing the Show!

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Red Arrow’s Quizness

quiz-show format on its head,” says Tim Gerhartz, the company’s president and managing director. Stealing the Show! has performed well for ProSieben in the key 14-to-49 demo for two seasons. The Opposite Show, commissioned for a second season on SAT.1, also features celebrity contestants, Gerhartz says, while Quizness takes the gameshow format on a comedic spin: “It’s a serious quiz with funny answers,” he says. Rounding out the Red Arrow Studios International selection in the festival is Block Out, a physical game show developed with Nippon TV in Japan.

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Fuji Television Network’s Quiz Pinch Hitter

Japan’s Fuji Television Network has also emerged as a major contender in the global formats space, and one of its newest highlights is the latenight quiz show format Quiz Pinch Hitter, which “brings television and the internet together,” says Ryuji Komiya, head of formats. “You don’t need the knowledge to answer the questions—all you need is your personal connections!”

Of course, broadcasters need much more than game shows to satisfy audiences, and cooking competitions remain staples on schedules worldwide. WeMake is highlighting The Best Family Recipe, featuring

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WeMake’s The Best Family Recipe

home cooks and beloved family recipes. “Easy to produce and costeffective, this format also has strong potential for marketing activation and can easily be made for either daily or weekly slots, access prime time or prime time,” Rejani says. WeMake also has a new twist on the singing competition genre with Morphing Singers, which Rejani says “will change the face of variety shows.” And on the reality competition front, WeMake is showcasing Secret Celebrity, which has already sold in six territories, she notes.

Dori Media is also touting a successful reality competition format, Power Couple, which puts eight couples through a series of challenges

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WeMake’s Morphing Singers

to test how well they really know each other. “Daily and weekly versions have turned Power Couple into a worldwide success in over 13 territories, with over 30 seasons and more than 680 episodes worldwide,” says Carolina Sabbag, VP of sales for Western Europe, the U.S. and Canada.

All3Media International’s festival selections are rounded out by factualentertainment brands that look to bring both fun and food for thought to global audiences. In 100 Things, a family is challenged to live for a month with just 100 items per person. “This new format makes us

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All3Media International’s Eating with Your Enemy

realize how many items we own and to consider what we really need,” Smith says. “Following their thought process and their journey is fascinating and thought-provoking.” Smith also expects Eating with Your Enemy to engender dialogue. “Eating with Your Enemy offers a simple premise that’s easy to adapt, yet the result is powerful television that sparks important conversations—between the participants and viewers at home. At a time when our world can seem so polarized, these honest debates on a variety of subjects offer vital insight into different experiences and perspectives.”

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In Their Own Words

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he documentary series In Their Own Words explores the lives and impact of some of the most transformative figures in modern history, using a fresh and innovative combination of interview, archive and animated content to take viewers on an intimate journey into the lives and minds of some of the world’s most compelling men and women.

“In Their Own Words was introduced to us by Canadian producers Prospero Pictures, which are credited on some amazing series, including Ice Road Truckers,” says Marine Ksadzhikyan, COO and executive VP of sales at Rive Gauche. “In addition to the series profiling major icons, we were even more excited that the series was inspirational and enlightening. The storytelling utilized pivotal moments in the subjects’ lives that defined their 22 WORLD SCREEN 9/21

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TV DRAMA

impact, motivation and legacy. With so much chaos occurring around the world, this series felt very timely. We quickly signed on to become partners on the access-driven project and are extremely excited to share it with the worldwide audience.”

Season one was a resounding success on PBS, as it featured the likes of Muhammad Ali, Queen Elizabeth II and Jim Henson.

With that strong performance and current global environment, Rive Gauche has even higher hopes for season two. In the second season, the icons being profiled include German Chancellor

“In addition to the series profiling major icons, we were even more excited that the series was inspirational and enlightening.” —Marine Ksadzhikyan

Angela Merkel, Pope Francis, Elon Musk, Chuck Berry, President Jimmy Carter and Princess Diana. “Though we are all familiar with these people, the series really shows them in a whole different light,” says Ksadzhikyan. “Some of the most important figures in today’s pop culture and political spheres are also featured in the series.”

The biographies capture the pivotal events of its inspiring subjects’ lives through the eyes of those closest to them and the people most impacted by their actions, with impactful quotes from the innovators themselves.

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Endless Love, available on Dizi.

DIGITAL SPARK Haymi Behar, CMO at SPI International, talks about the company’s rapid digital expansion. By Kristin Brzoznowski

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here are several lines of business propelling the engine of SPI International, and its digital assets have been in growth mode as of late. “The driving force behind SPI’s digital expansion is our commitment to offering premium content on all screens and devices to our audiences around the globe,” says Haymi Behar, CMO. “We are catering to the ever-changing needs of the market and our audiences all over the world through innovative products and content solutions,” he continues. “As more and more viewers are turning to digital platforms to consume content at their leisure, we are working toward adding to our content offering and diversifying the ways in 9/21 WORLD SCREEN 25

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which we deliver our content, such as through SVOD, TVOD and AVOD with targeted marketing.”

SPI works with operators and platforms to enrich their content offering via different methods of content delivery, and the company has also been working on its own stand-alone digital products, namely FilmBox+ and the Dizi app.

“We are catering to the ever-changing needs of the market and our audiences through innovative products and content solutions.” —Haymi Behar

Expanding its digital business and strengthening existing relationships with partners is the top priority for the company in the coming months. “We are focusing on the integration of our new and improved SPI digital products with more operators and platforms worldwide while continuing our content acquisition to make sure that we are always delivering a good curation of content through our products,” says Behar. “I strongly believe that establishing tangible connections with both our partners and viewers is key to gaining insight on market trends and client expectations. At SPI, we incorporate our clients’ needs with data-driven insights regarding viewing trends to create relevant marketing campaigns that will boost viewership and resonate with audiences.”

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WWW.TVKIDS.COM

SEPTEMBER 2021 EDITION

Pubcasters / TV Kids Screenings Festival / Cartoon Forum Preview

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CONTENTS

The New Face of Kids’ TV

PUBLIC INTEREST Executives from leading kids’ pubcasters on their content needs.

You’ll find our inaugural TV Kids Screenings Festival in this edition, and I have to say, of the many virtual events I’ve put together in the last few months, I think this one was my favorite.

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 Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids ©2021 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.com

I don’t have children of my own, so as I screened these properties, I wasn’t thinking, I should put this on in my home. But I did find myself wondering, what if I had shows like this when I was a kid? The diversity in styles, narrative techniques and, critically, characters’ backgrounds and abilities, was aweinspiring. Outside of the Amar Chitra Katha comics I would devour during long, hot summers in Bombay, I never saw stories from my life reflected anywhere. (And yay—those comics are finally being adapted for TV now!) Progress has been hard-fought and we’re not where we should be yet, but I’m thrilled about how far the industry has come. If I’d had that Disney Channel movie about the IndianAmerican girl who wants to be a DJ when I was a confused teen figuring out who I could be, I might have ended up on an entirely different career path! Commissioners and producers, please don’t forget that these stories, in our formative years, do actually make a world of difference. (If you’re reading this and have an amazing DJ name for me, I’m open to suggestions.)

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON KIDS’ PROGRAMMING

TV KIDS SCREENINGS FESTIVAL Screen trailers of 20-plus animated and live-action properties from across the globe.

TOONING INTO TOULOUSE Cartoon Forum returns to Toulouse, France, for a hybrid live and online edition this month.

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Denis and Me Productions Denis and Me Denis and Me Productions (Headspinner Productions) presents the comedy series Denis and Me, which has over 20 million YouTube views on its first ten shorts. A total of 30 shorts is available now, with four 11-minute episodes in production, along with a holiday special for Canada’s Family Channel. The show follows Denis and his cat, Sir Meows A Lot, who only communicates by meowing. “The goal for Denis and Me is to build upon the success and produce a larger series of 11-minute episodes,” says Michelle Melanson, president of Headspinner.

Denis and Me

“The series is a true buddy comedy, celebrating the friendship between a guy and his cat. Who doesn’t love a guy and his cat?”

—Michelle Melanson

Headspinner Productions Happy House of Frightenstein Headspinner Productions’ preschool series Happy House of Frightenstein is based on characters from the ’70s series Hilarious House of Frightenstein.

The monsters are weird, spooky and full of heart. It is available on marbleKids’ YouTube channel and is coming to a Canadian linear channel for a Halloween special. Headspinner has also created a live-action family sitcom based on the original series and is seeking production financing. “We want to continue to make funny, meaningful programs for kids and families,” says Ken Cuperus, chief creative officer and co-creator of the show.

Happy House of Frightenstein

“We are proud of what we have achieved thus far, and the future is very bright for us.”

—Ken Cuperus

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Paddypaws

Toonz Media Group Paddypaws / Kingdom of None / Aliens in My Backpack The Toonz Media Group highlight Paddypaws is co-produced with Keith Chapman, the creator of Bob the Builder and PAW Patrol. The company is also spotlighting this fall Kingdom of None, coproduced with Ferly Studio, and Aliens in My Backpack, created by Rob Lee (Fireman Sam) and co-produced with Jim Driscoll.

“These shows have universal themes that the kids and young people of this age can easily relate to,” says P. Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Media Group.

“Toonz has in its pipeline several exciting projects in partnership with award-winning creators from around the world.”

—P. Jayakumar

ZDF Enterprises School of Roars / Scream Street / The Muscleteers The ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) catalog includes the second season of School of Roars. “Our monsters experience life lessons through their adventures such as caring, sharing, friendship and fun, mirroring the social and emotional behavior and group dynamics of our audience, who are just starting school,” says Fred Burcksen, president and CEO of ZDFE. Also in its second season, Scream Street is a stop-motion animated show based on a book series. The animated series The Muscleteers follows the titular brave protectors of the Harbor district’s rodent residents.

The Muscleteers

“The Muscleteers is all about helping and being there for each other.”

—Fred Burcksen

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PUBLIC INTEREST

Cyber Group’s Tom Sawyer on KiKA.

Diversity initiatives and finding new ways to collaborate are priorities for public broadcasters as they face continued changes in consumption habits and pressures on budgets. By Mansha Daswani

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TV KIDS

t the start of this year, the BBC unveiled the largest-ever educational slate in its history, just as the U.K. was facing another Covid-19induced lockdown. “Ensuring children across the U.K. have the opportunity to continue to follow the appropriate core parts of their nation’s school curriculum has been a key priority for the BBC throughout this past year,” said Director-General Tim Davie in announcing the initiative.

Other public broadcasters across the globe took on that role in children’s lives too, ramping up their educational offerings and serving up content to help young audiences process a world that had been transformed overnight.

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HELPING HAND “The pandemic time is problematic for everybody, but especially for kids,” Sebastian Debertin, KiKA’s head of international content acquisitions, told TV Kids earlier this year.

“Being isolated at home is difficult for them, perhaps even more difficult than for adults.

Kids and parents alike are looking for support in these special times. Families need educational as well as relaxing and entertaining programs more than ever.”

While Covid-19 presented a unique set of circumstances, kids’ pubcasters have long held that being educational and entertaining is a vital part of their programming remits.

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“We have to do programming that has impact,” says Linda Simensky, head of content at PBS KIDS. “It needs to encourage kids; it needs to introduce them to things that they might find interesting but didn’t know about. We say all American kids should see themselves somewhere on our air. We are working hard ZDF Enterprises’ The Worst Witch is a hit CBBC to live up to that. If kids are commission based on the Jill Murphy books. going to see themselves, those characters need to be created by people who know what they are talking about.”

“We’re also driven by having some sort of public-service value in everything we do,” says Niels Lindberg, commissioning editor for DR Ramasjang and DR Minisjang in Denmark.

According to Luca Milano, the executive director of Rai Ragazzi in Italy, pubcasters’ “schedules are not made by algorithms but by the cultural idea of proposing something that the kids would not expect and they will discover with us. Our series are centered on stories; they are not driven just to propose characters that can be replicated in merchandising. It’s important to have stories with an arc and from which you can learn something. Also, public media are more appreciated by the audiences than maybe three or four years ago.”

Sarah Muller, head of commissions and acquisitions for the 7-plus set at BBC Children’s, also stresses the role Covid-19 played in cementing the importance of pubcasters for kids today. “Eighty

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percent of the U.K.’s children spend at least three-quarters of their time with us at some stage in the week,” Muller says. “We’ve all demonstrated our importance to our communities and societies in the last year in a way that we haven’t been offered before.”

So how are pubcasters looking to maintain these valuable ties they’ve forged with audiences?

At Rai Ragazzi, about 25 percent of the budget goes to in-house production, with the balance spent on co-productions, pre-buys or acquisitions. “What we are lacking is intelligent, innovative comedies for kids 8 to 9 in animation,” Milano says.

PBS KIDS does anywhere from one to three new series a year, Simensky explains. “Historically, we did 11-minute pilots.

We’re starting to try things like a whole series of shorts instead of a pilot. We’re trying to use different platforms to figure out what length things should be. A lot of what we’re doing is at the younger end of preschool. [We] focus on that entry into content and making sure that it’s a positive experience for kids and parents and caregivers.”

PBS KIDS’ Molly of Denali features an Alaskan Native girl as its lead.

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The iPlayer is a crucial focus of activity at the BBC, Muller says. “We had 1.7 billion streams of children’s content last year.

So we will be looking for acquisitions for iPlayer. Like Luca, it’s 6 to 9, 2D, character-driven comedy animation that we’ve struggled to find. As a group, we might have to think about how Rai is a partner on Superights’ Pat the Dog. we can invest in something together. I have a wish to find anime suitable for our young audience. We’re always looking for films. Apart from that, we’re looking for the lovely, holistic, unexpected thing that we haven’t made ourselves, we probably wouldn’t make ourselves, but that tells a great story, shows a different way of life, somewhere else in the world.

We’re always looking to be surprised by the unexpected.”

At DR, “the series we buy that we get FVOD rights on or longer VOD rights on have to be funded somehow by a publicservice broadcaster,” Lindberg says. “It is getting harder to secure those early windows of the big animated series. We’re looking a lot into what we can have as a first window and maybe handle exclusively. A lot of the VOD services coming into the Nordics are doing non-exclusive deals on every kids’ brand they can get ahold of. It helps us to focus on big brands.”

Amid a changing macro-environment, evolution is paramount, Muller notes, referencing a recent restructure of the BBC Children’s team, combining commissions and acquisitions and set up around age demo rather than channel brand. “It’s proved easier to break

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down how we approach finding world-class content for our audience across the whole 0 to 12 age group if we start to think about the individual needs of a smaller group of children. Within the 0 to 6 commissioning band, you’ve got 0 to 3 and 4 to 6. Within 7 to 12, you’ve got 7 to 9 and 8 to 12. That makes it easier to microidentify needs in a way we might not have done before. That

“[We] focus on that entry into content and making sure that it’s a positive experience for kids and parents and caregivers.” —Linda Simensky

picks up on the trend for self-scheduling. It also allows us to be realistic about where we’re putting things, how we’re telling different parts of the audience about what we’re doing. We do have to make sure we’re still entertaining and engaging kids within public service—there’s no point in making terribly worthy shows that nobody wants to watch—so we’re hoping this will help us strategize around where the great things we’re already doing will need to land and how to land them. It’s about getting ourselves battle-ready, future-proof.”

Genuinely embracing diversity is also essential for pubcasters, Muller adds. “All of us have worked hard to get on-screen representation front and center. What we’ve identified [that needs

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DR in Denmark acquired the preschool series Dino Ranch from Boat Rocker Studios.

work] is behind the camera and at the managerial level. What writers, creators, directors are we bringing in? How can we reflect their stories? We’ll all be the beneficiaries of widening our net beyond a narrow pool of people we tend to draw from. A very narrow group of people with a very narrow life experience end up creating a lot of our content, so the jokes are the same and the stories are the same and the characters are the same. We as an organization are committed to building on that diversity.”

Inclusion is an increasingly important theme at Rai Ragazzi, which has also used its platform to tackle sensitive subjects for young ones, including sexual abuse and bullying. “You have to give an education that cannot be done by lessons, but should be done by stories,” Milano says.

Milano is also of the opinion that pubcasters should collaborate more given the competition presented by the streamers. The FAANGs “have a global outlook,” BBC’s Muller adds. “When you’re trying to think on that scale, sometimes you miss the emotional beats, the curiosity. I still think they struggle enormously with discoverability. I struggle to find things I want to watch without opinion pieces that might direct me to something. It’s even harder for

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kids. The thing we all have is the ability to reach our linear audience and tell them about the great things we’re doing elsewhere.

[We can] create an ecosystem where everything can support and promote everything else. You have to be able to hold a mirror up to every kid in your audience. It would be a really big mirror if the [global OTTs] had that approach. I absolutely welcome the competition and think it’s made us all think about how we work. We need to work harder to make sure we secure the right titles.”

“We’ll all be the beneficiaries of widening our net beyond a narrow pool of people we tend to draw from.” —Sarah Muller

PBS’s Simensky adds, “The twin problems of discoverability and distribution are the biggest things we’re dealing with. It used to be funding. We’re past that. Funding seems like a quaint problem to solve compared to navigating the world as it’s changing.

We all have to be so nimble.”

“What we’re discussing the most is how to make sure we stay relevant when Disney+ can come in and take a reach of 38 percent of our target demo in one quarter,” says DR’s Lindberg.

“We’re really trying to develop how to stay in touch with schools and maintain our relevance. We will all be fighting for that relevance and that reach through the next many years.”

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Toulouse, France

Tooning into

Toulouse Cartoon Forum is back in Toulouse, France, from September 20 to 23.

By Kristin Brzoznowski

T

he Cartoon Forum pitching and co-pro event for animated TV projects returns to Toulouse this month, crafted with many takeaways from 20202021, according to Annick Maes, general director of the Cartoon event organizer. “We had put all our efforts into bringing an online experience that matched as much as possible the ‘real’ experience,” she says.

“All the professionals dearly missed the human touch that is the DNA of Cartoon events but also because physical markets are crucial to efficiently develop business talks and hasten deals.

However, the digital tools were praised for their easy and smooth approach.”

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The organizers are taking advantage of this new online knowledge to bring an additional element to the on-site event, with a more complete and efficient experience, multiplying the business opportunities. This has led to the

“All the professionals dearly missed the human touch that is the DNA of Cartoon events.”

—Annick Maes

availability of Catch-up Sessions, which allow Cartoon Forum 2021 participants to watch or rewatch a pitch at their own pace after the event (until October 15) and buyers who cannot join on site to have online-only access to projects’ pitches. “This provides extra opportunities to the producers to attract potential partners, investors or distributors,” Maes says.

Shortlisted from 141 submissions, the 84 selected projects have a total budget of €326.1 million, with an average cost per series of €3.9 million—though the cost per minute of animation production has slightly decreased compared to 2020 (€11,887 vs. €12,250). In total, the projects represent 457 hours of animation, while series formats continue to diversify in response to the new demands, both in terms of the number of episodes and running time.

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Sinking Ship’s Alma’s Way

TV Kids Screenings Festival By all accounts, we’re in the midst of a golden age of kids’ programming. Well-funded streamers, pubcasters and commercial networks are pioneering new narrative techniques and funding models—and placing diversity and inclusion front and center. Those themes are clear across World Screen’s inaugural TVKidsScreeningsFestival.com, where you’re sure to find a slot winner, be it a trusted preschool brand, a breakout kids’ comedy or an edgy tween hit. his month saw the official launch of the new Cartoonito preschool block on Cartoon Network and HBO Max, heralding the arrival of yet another player in what is already a thriving and competitive landscape. Reflecting the healthy demand for content for the youngest ones, there’s plenty of preschool fare on offer at this virtual screenings festival.

School of Roars is an animated comedy from ZDF Enterprises that helps kids prepare for starting school. “Now in its second season, our series is full

T

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of monster laughs and teaches the core values of life,” says Peter Lang, VP ZDFE.junior.

Kate Sanagan, head of sales and distribution at Sinking Ship Entertainment, lists the PBS KIDS series Alma’s Way as a highlight in the company’s collection of new series and seasons—all of which deliver inclusive storytelling. Alma’s Way follows the adventures of a Bronx-born, Puerto Rican girl.

The preschool slate on offer from Big Bad Boo Studios also promises diversity front and center. 16 Hudson “not only makes sure to feature a diverse cast, it also celebrates and highlights each character’s heritage,” says Shabnam Rezaei, president of the company and creator of the series. ABC with Kenny G— a second season of which is in production—expands on the 16 Hudson universe.

GoldBee is showcasing The Game Catchers in the festival, following the adventures of five friends on an interstellar

Big Bad Boo Studios’ 16 Hudson

ZDF Enterprises’ School of Roars

GoldBee’s The Game Catchers

Federation’s Let’s Dance

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Melnitsa Animation’s Moonzy

Magic Light’s Pip and Posy

Cisneros Media’s Zumbar

Sinking Ship’s Endlings

journey. “Underneath the fun space adventures filled with laughter, the series is conceived to bring attention back to playground games, promoting an active lifestyle,” says Christophe Goldberger, the company’s managing director.

As kids begin to emerge from pandemic lockdowns, Federation Kids & Family is also showcasing a series that emphasizes physical activity: the dance coaching show Let’s Dance, which is targeted at a broad range of viewers aged 3 to 8. “It’s wonderful to be involved in this series, especially at a time when children worldwide need to be inspired and energized,” says Monica Levy, head of sales.

From Melnitsa Animation Studio, meanwhile, there’s Moonzy, about an alien who makes Earth home. “Moonzy is a very positive, safe show full of love and kindness, which is especially important nowadays,” says Sveta Barabanshchikova,

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director of international business development.

Magic Light Pictures’ 52episode Pip and Posy also delivers warmth and humor, says Muriel Thomas, international distribution director.

“Based on the million-selling book series illustrated by Axel Scheffler, Pip and Posy premiered in the U.K. in March to huge ratings success and is already a social media hit with 5-million-plus views.”

Cisneros Media’s Ailing Zubizarreta, VP of content and creative services, is introducing her clients to the liveaction series Zumbar, in which six children interactively play with a variety of animals. Also promoting knowledge about nature is AnimalFanPedia, billed as a “dynamic, funtaining and educational wildlife program.”

Expanding slightly beyond preschool—targeting those in the 4-to-8 set—Sinking Ship is showcasing the math comedy

Federation’s Presto! School of Magic

Sinking Ship’s Odd Squad

Big Bad Boo Studios’ ABC with Kenny G

Cisneros Media’s AnimalFanPedia

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ZDF Enterprises’ Scream Street

Sinking Ship’s The Demon Headmaster

Global Screen’s 3Hz

D360’s The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker

Odd Squad. ZDF Enterprises, meanwhile, sees audiences 4 to 10 finding interest in Zoom— The White Dolphin.

Comedy becomes the dominant theme among the TV Kids Screenings Festival submissions as we move up into the core kids 6-to-9 demo. Federation is showcasing Presto! School of Magic, about aspiring magicians.

“The timing for such an uplifting, exceptionally crafted production is perfect,” Levy says.

Lang at ZDF Enterprises bills Scream Street as a “fast-paced, stylish, comedy-horror extravaganza packed full of humor and horror, delivered with warmth and heart.” The Muscleteers, meanwhile, delivers “actionfilled tales of intrigue and hilarity,” he says.

Cyber Group Studios is unveiling 50/50 Heroes, which “breaks conventions,” says Raphaelle Mathieu, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media. “This is a completely original show that

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turns the serious superhero genre on its head.”

Big Bad Boo Studios is developing a second season of The Bravest Knight, which Rezaei calls an innovative, funny and entertaining show, and rolling out two seasons of 1001 Nights. Sinking Ship is also targeting the 6-to-9 set with its live-action docuseries My Home, My Life!

Live action dominates the festival entries geared to those 8 and up. Global Screen is delivering the tween and teen series 3Hz, which “has everything that young audiences are looking for today,” says Ulrike Schröder, VP of acquisitions and co-productions. “A cool and edgy look, diverse characters, great music as well as highly topical global issues such as environmental protection, with the added extra of an exciting crime story.”

Distribution360 is highlighting the tween-plus and

Sinking Ship’s My Home, My Life!

Big Bad Boo Studios’ 1001 Nights

Federation’s Kung Fu Wa

ZDF Enterprises’ The Muscleteers

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Big Bad Boo Studios’ The Bravest Knight

ZDF Enterprises’ Zoom—The White Dolphin

Sinking Ship’s Lockdown

Cyber Group’s 50/50 Heroes

family interconnected sitcom The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker, which “offers an original scripted programming option for international channels and platforms targeting older kids and their families,” says Diane Rankin, senior VP of rights and executive producer. “The series is filled with heart and a real authenticity that both entertains and invites conversation, giving it a strong four-quadrant coview appeal.”

The Sinking Ship collection includes the new CBBC mystery series The Demon Headmaster as well as the latest seasons of the sci-fi show Endlings and the Covid-19-inspired Lockdown.

The festival also delivers some animated series for viewers 8 to 12, with Federation Kids & Family highlighting Kung Fu Wa, which Levy says is “brimming with action, adventure and humor, as well as endearing moments.”

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Ryan Chanatry Topic

T

he interest in foreign-language scripted in the U.S. is surging, creating new opportunities for niche SVOD operators like Topic. Owned by First Look Media, the SVOD service has carved out a unique position in a crowded landscape with signature imports like the beloved Danish hit The Killing. Ryan Chanatry, the platform’s general manager, discusses discovering the best global scripted series for its discerning customer base.

WS: Tell us about Topic’s positioning.

CHANATRY: After being in the market for almost 22 months now, we’ve found our space to be bringing the best of undiscovered global storytelling into the U.S. and Canada. We have a By Mansha Daswani focus on thrillers, crime, within the genre spaces that people love, in an elevated and well-produced way. That’s proved to be differentiating for us. While all the services have some element of that type of programming, there’s not anyone focused on overserving the customer who loves to go deep on great detective crime thrillers or political suspense stories. A large number of series and films haven’t been seen in the U.S. or haven’t had significant exposure. We’re excited because we’re still at the very beginning of our journey. We’re eager to continue to figure out the best role we can play in our audiences’ lives.

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Topic has made the classic Danish series The Killing available to its subscribers.

WS: What is the strategy for originals?

CHANATRY: We want to use our original dollars to push our mission forward, which is about representing the creators who are telling unique stories from their parts of the world. We launched an initiative with Statement Films, a call for submissions from women filmmakers across the African continent. That’s a great example of wanting to go to those communities of talent that may not get the ability to be in some of the rooms to pitch their ideas.

We want to hear the stories of suspense, lore and mythology; what you would only know if you grew up in or were exposed to a certain part of a community or a country.

WS: Are there greater opportunities for collaboration—and costsharing—for region-specific streamers rather than the global ones?

CHANATRY: That’s what we do feel like is the opportunity. There is so much support for incredible series, especially in Europe. If those are not globally available rights, services like ours are great partners for the Nordic broadcasters, for the STUDIOCANALs, the 60 WORLD SCREEN 9/21

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ARTEs, the ZDFs and all of the other strong brands and filters that have started to [come into] their own in the last five to ten years.

Those are aesthetically and tonally who we feel like we get along with well. We have many of their series now. It becomes a different approach when you have multiple markets.

WS: Are there any gaps you need to fill? How does your slate look for the year ahead?

“Our mission...is about representing the creators who are telling unique stories from their parts of the world.”

CHANATRY: We don’t want to leave Europe behind by any means, but we want to push into finding projects from South America, Asia, Southeast Asia. Look at what happened in Europe in the last eight years, as Netflix came into the market and everyone had to step up their game. All those markets were so isolated for so many years before they started to collaborate. I’m very excited to see that. Part of the reason we’re working on this African initiative is that we’d like to see similar things in other countries. The ideas are there. It’s not for lack of storytelling or concepts. It’s about getting those ideas noticed and then produced in a way that will resonate with our subscribers in Wyoming, California or Texas. That’s part of expanding someone’s view.

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Trending On The most-viewed clips on our video portals in the last month.

Honour (Drama, S1: 8x45 min., S2: 8x45 min.) Four lawyers who specialize in representing society’s most vulnerable become the target of a sustained threat. Distributor: Eccho Rights

Head to Head (Fact-ent./game-show format, 60 min. eps.) A gamechanging quiz show breaking ratings records in Sweden.

Distributor: All3Media International

Sløborn (Crime/suspense, 4x90 min./8x45 min.) Tells the story of a group of islanders confronted with a fatal virus.

Distributor: ZDF Enterprises

Agatha Christie’s Hjerson (Crime/suspense, 4x88 min./8x44 min.) In Stockholm and the islands of Åland, Sven Hjerson solves mysteries with TV producer Klara Sandberg. Distributor: ZDF Enterprises

Stella Blómkvist (Crime, S2: 3x90 min./6x45 min.) Takes us deeper into the dangerous and sexy world of contemporary Icelandic noir.

Distributor: Red Arrow Studios International 62 WORLD SCREEN 9/21

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