World Screen September 2023

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September 2023

WWW.WORLDSCREEN.COM

THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

ViX’s Pierluigi Gazzolo / Premiere: All3Media International’s Far North Event Preview: MIA

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Taking place from October 3 to 5, 2023, the secon

the TV DRAMA FESTIVAL will feature keynotes and

executives and creatives discussing the major trend

of scripted series today. It will be streamed live an on-demand on TVDramaFestival.com.

You can sign up for your free registration here.

For sponsorship opportunities please go here.

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e second edition of

otes and panels with leading

or trends in the business

d live and available

e.

e.

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 2023 WORLD VIEW By Mansha Daswani.

VIX’S PIERLUIGI GAZZOLO The CEO of the streaming service owned by TelevisaUnivision discusses its AVOD and SVOD propositions and how it is catering to Spanish-language audiences in multiple markets.

PREMIERE: ALL3MEDIA INTERNATIONAL’S FAR NORTH Watch the first episode of this New Zealand-set drama from South Pacific Pictures and hear from key cast members and creatives about the appeal of the crime dramedy, which stars Temuera Morrison and Robyn Malcolm.

RETURN TO ROME Gaia Tridente previews the ninth edition of MIA, which is slated for October 9 to 13 in Rome, Italy.

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

Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise Editor-in-Chief Mansha Daswani Editor-at-Large Anna Carugati Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Associate Editors Jamie Stalcup Alexa Alfano Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari Production & Design Director David Diehl Online Director Simon Weaver Sales & Marketing Director Dana Mattison

KIDS GO FAST Leading distributors and channel operators offer perspectives on the nascent yet rapidly developing FAST ecosystem for kids.

Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Bookkeeper Daphne Menard

TOON INTO TOULOUSE Cartoon Forum is returning to Toulouse for its 34th edition from September 18 to 21.

EVAN SHAPIRO Hear insights on Generation Alpha from the respected producer, thought leader and media cartographer.

TIM FEDERLE Watch a video interview with the creator of Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

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 ©2023 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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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

Chasing Content Audiences are tired; frustrated with rising monthly SVOD fees and how much time is being wasted trawling through poster after poster. The ongoing Hollywood strikes that are delaying fans’ access to their favorite shows aren’t helping the overall malaise that seems to have settled over the media ecosystem as of late.

Streamers, which have been the driving force behind so much high-end content creation over the last few years, are under significant pressure, Deloitte noted in its latest Digital Media Trends report. Almost half of consumers believe they are paying too much for SVOD services, and a third intend to reduce the number of services they subscribe to. With the proliferation of services, consumers are increasingly frustrated with “chasing content” across multiple services. The expense is also a concern; 47 percent say they have changed their entertainment subscriptions by canceling a service, switching to an ad-supported tier or opting for a bundle. Millennials, who helped drive the SVOD boom, are the demo analysts are watching when it comes to subscription fatigue and cost-sensitivity. They spend more money than any other age group on streaming video—about $54 a month—but churn at higher rates and are most likely to cancel services.

“People, creators and content move between TV, movies, usergenerated video streams and video games,” Deloitte says. “M&E companies should as well. Content executives should consider how best—and at which scale—they should be participating across this tapestry. M&E companies don’t need to be everywhere all at once, but they should think strategically about how to add value to audiences increasingly moving across these digital media.”

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UPFRONTS

Eccho Rights Golden Boy / Fallen / Forevermore There’s a lineup of English-language and Turkish series on offer from Eccho Rights this fall. In the way of returning Turkish hits, there are new seasons of Golden Boy, Ömer, Legacy and Redemption. As for a new launch, Forevermore is making its debut in October.

“On the Western drama side, we are very proud to launch the big new project Fallen from our parent company Night Train Media and Silver Reel,” says Fredrik af Malmborg, Eccho Rights’ CEO. “This is a big-budget series from The Handmaid’s Tale’s Matt Hastings.”

Golden Boy

“Turkish dramas are continuously in high demand.”

—Fredrik af Malmborg

GMA Network Love Before Sunrise / Love the Way You Are / The Missing Husband On offer from GMA Network, Love Before Sunrise is a story of ex-lovers who accidentally meet again, faced with the regret of being trapped in their unhappy marriages. More titles include Love the Way You Are, about an heiress who disguises herself as a man to escape certain doom, and The Missing Husband, following a man who falls victim to a scam and disappears.

“The dramas combine elements that transcend cultural boundaries with respect for diversity,” says Roxanne J. Barcelona, VP and consultant for the worldwide division.

The Missing Husband

“We are excited to connect with buyers and partners as we remain committed to delivering high-quality Filipino content worldwide.”

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—Roxanne J. Barcelona

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Inter Medya Blue Cage / Deception / Tuzak Inter Medya is showcasing Blue Cage, which sees Ali relocate his family to live with his father-inlaw, the owner of a boutique hotel, upon learning of his wife’s fatal illness. When tragedy strikes, the family is grief-stricken. Days of irreversible events, passionate love and the unraveling of family ties unfold. Additional titles include Deception, featuring a seemingly picture-perfect family whose buried secrets come to light, and Tuzak, the story of three siblings who come together to find that they do not have the bond they thought they had.

Tuzak

ZDF Studios The Swarm / Theodosia / Ancient Apocalypse On offer from ZDF Studios, The Swarm sees scientists rush to discover what is causing strange occurrences in the Earth’s oceans. Theodosia’s second season continues to follow the titular daughter of Egyptologists as she stumbles on a hidden tomb and unlocks the power of magic.

Ancient Apocalypse explores the stories of lost civilizations such as the Mexican Aztecs and “reminds us of the transitoriness of our existence, something that is relevant to all of us and that we see in the news every day,” says Dr. Markus Schäfer, president and CEO.

Ancient Apocalypse

“All three productions are excellent examples of the great quality that can be achieved when experts and talents from different countries join forces.”

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—Dr. Markus Schäfer

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CREENINGS.COM The only video portal for the global TV drama community.

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Pierluigi Gazzolo ViX n March of last year, TelevisaUnivision rolled out ViX, its free AVOD service, primarily consisting of Televisa’s extensive library, in the U.S., Mexico and select Latin American countries. It has since introduced ViX’s premium SVOD tier—which offers original productions, sports content and more— and acquired Pantaya, a leading streaming platform for Spanish-language movies and series. Pierluigi Gazzolo, CEO of ViX, talks to World Screen about the streaming service.

I

By Elizabeth WS: How has ViX performed since launch?

BowenGAZZOLO: Our company has experienced significant growth, Tombari with increased sales playing a major role in our expansion.

We have achieved considerable scale, attracting over 20 million users across various platforms. This user base continues to grow steadily.

The growth can be attributed to different factors, namely the experiences offered by both the free and paid versions of ViX. The exclusive content available from TelevisaUnivision’s extensive library has been a significant attraction for a wide audience.

We stand out as the platform that possesses most of the exclusive Spanish-language content, which has played a crucial role in attracting and retaining users to our platform.

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Another differentiating factor is our production of original content exclusively for ViX. We have introduced a 24-hour news channel, specifically created for the platform. When combined, our original content and the news channel account for 78 percent of ViX’s total consumption. While we do purchase content, our own productions have shown a higher level of audience engagement.

“Original productions have played a vital role in driving subscription growth.”

In the case of the ViX premium tier, our original productions have garnered significant interest from viewers. As a new platform, it was challenging to predict how users would respond to our content, so I am particularly thrilled with the positive reception. Original productions have played a vital role in driving subscription growth.

In addition to our original content, we have secured exclusive rights to matches from the Mexican soccer league. This offering has further contributed to subscriber retention, as viewers value the opportunity to watch these matches exclusively on our platform.

WS: How do the paid and free services complement each other?

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offer a total of 40,000 hours of content, and the premium level adds an additional 10,000 hours. This includes exclusive original content and an additional 7,000 hours of exclusive soccer matches.

WS: How important is offering live sports on a streaming service?

GAZZOLO: Sports content plays a crucial role in driving Sports rights, including those for the Mexican soccer subscriptions, accounting for league, have become a key driver for ViX subscriptions. a significant percentage of our user base. In Mexico, for example, we offered exclusive streaming of the World Cup, which resulted in a significant influx of new users. Many people initially subscribed to the free service and eventually upgraded to the paid service. This particular month marked the highest number of registrations since the platform’s launch.

It’s important to note that accessing team-specific content may require transitioning to streaming platforms.

While some games may still be available on free TV, we are actively working to educate and encourage fans to seek out their favorite team’s content on streaming platforms.

By raising awareness and providing a seamless streaming experience, we aim to help fans adapt to this evolving media landscape and find their desired sports content through our platform.

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Far North

By Kristin Brzoznowski

F

rom South Pacific Pictures, All3Media’s New Zealand production hub, Far North is based on a strangerthan-fiction true story. Temuera Morrison (Star Wars, Once Were Warriors) and Robyn Malcolm (Top of the Lake) star as an everyday couple from the Ahipara community who foil an international crime ring’s largest-ever deal in the Pacific. The series recently launched to positive reception and strong viewing figures locally, and All3Media International is taking the show out globally.

David White, writer and director, describes the series as “a crime comedy, based on the unbelievable true story of a 70year-old diesel mechanic and his aqua-aerobics-instructor 24 WORLD SCREEN 9/23

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wife who thwarted a drug syndicate trying to import half a billion dollars’ worth of drugs into New Zealand.”

Malcolm adds that it’s “a story about New Zealand’s most famous meth bust in Northland and these two people who unwittingly assisted the people who were bringing the drugs in.”

“It’s a great story, full of color and surprises.” —Temuera Morrison

“It’s a great story, full of color and surprises,” says Morrison, who plays the role of Ed. White came across the story after reading about the case in local newspapers. “The police didn’t seem to know much about the gang or what had happened,” he says. “I did a little bit of documentary-sleuthing and found the 70-year-old diesel mechanic and aqua-aerobics-instructor wife. I drove to their house, sat down with the real-life Ed and asked him to tell me his story. It was so amazing, enthralling, funny and scary in some parts, I bought his life rights on the spot.”

Casting, White says, is one of the most important elements in a story like this: “I spent so much time with the real-life Ed and Heather, I needed to do their characters justice. Robyn and Tem were perfect. Robyn has a range as an actor that’s next to none. I knew that she would be able to do the real-life Heather justice.

Tem’s cheekiness, charm and ability to tell a story is so similar in a way to the real-life Ed, I knew I had found my guy.”

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Rome, Italy

Return to Rome The ninth edition of MIA is slated for October 9 to 13 in Rome, Italy.

By Kristin Brzoznowski

T

he upcoming MIA—International Audiovisual Market, is promising to be a hotbed for discussion, debate and networking among international executives.

Created in 2015 by ANICA (Italy’s National Association of Film, Audiovisual and Digital Industries) and APA (Italian Audiovisual Producers Association), MIA was conceived as a curated market with physical and digital spaces for featurelength films (fiction, animation and documentary), series (drama, documentary and animation) and factual entertainment. Today, it has solidified its place as a destination for the global audiovisual communities.

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The event has “fully entered the international agenda thanks to its lineup of panels and events focusing on co-production, financing strategies and models, the sale and distribution of finished works, content showcases, talent and project circulation,” says Gaia Tridente, director of MIA.

“Last year, we started a new path for MIA, really bringing content at the heart of business.”

—Gaia Tridente

“Last year, we started a new path for MIA, really bringing content at the heart of business,” she adds. “Our purpose is to give the right visibility and opportunities to all audiovisual works— presented at MIA in all genres and formats and different stages of development and production—of great artistic value, supporting the freedom of artistic expression and representing cultural diversity and cooperation. In particular, the most wide-ranging ones are those most suitable for co-production, aiming to represent as many independent and plural views as possible.”

Since its launch, MIA has continued to build up interest—from top decision-makers at networks and platforms, producers and distributors from Europe and beyond—as a place to discuss the opportunities and challenges of audiovisual production and distribution in today’s international content paradigm. The upcoming edition will ring true to this as well.

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

Stories to Stay Awake This thrilling science-fiction reboot of the original Spanish television sensation from the 1960s has one goal: to leave you sleepless at night. Distributor: ZDF Studios

Memories of Love Following a traumatic experience as a war soldier, Ivan insists and believes that he is Joseph, his comrade and Andrea’s boyfriend. Distributor: GMA Network

Living with Dad Dive into the unpredictable and hilarious daily life of this unconventional family. Distributor: Mediatoon Distribution

50/50 Heroes Mo and Sam are half-siblings and have powers—well, halfpowers. Managing their abilities isn’t easy when they need to do everything together. Distributor: Cyber Group Studios

My Eternal For family. For revenge. Can he forsake the woman he loves? Distributor: ABS-CBN Corporation 30 WORLD SCREEN 9/23

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WWW.TVKIDS.COM

SEPTEMBER 2023 EDITION

FAST Channel Trends / Cartoon Forum Preview Evan Shapiro / High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Tim Federle

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Meet us at MIPCOM stand no.

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CONTENTS

Screen Stress The well-known brands in the kids’ linear space have historically been very good at easing parents’ concerns. Real people do actual vetting, with education specialists on hand to provide guidance on embedding nutrition into kids’ entertainment.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Mansha Daswani Editor-in-Chief Anna Carugati Editor-at-Large Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Jamie Stalcup Alexa Alfano Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Director Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Manager Daphne Menard Bookkeeper

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids ©2023 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.com

Dedicated blocks on broadcasters to match children’s day patterns were handy, too, for limiting how much time they spent in front of a screen.

Today, screen time is constant.

Whether a phone, a tablet, a gaming console or a smart TV, kids are always connected, and parents are worried. BBC Children’s and Education surveyed U.K. parents recently and found that 67 percent are concerned about what their child is watching. And you can understand why. YouTube is the primary destination for kids today. While that platform has both human and mechanical systems for keeping inappropriate content off the site, the digital content ecosystem still has a bit of a Wild West feel when it comes to what young ones are accessing.

Safety concerns have hampered the FAST channel ecosystem for kids, according to Common Sense Networks’ Eric Berger, so those angling for a piece of that growing pie are emphasizing human curation and vetting to boost engagement on these new services. We do a deep dive into the FAST business for kids in this edition of TV Kids.

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON KIDS’ PROGRAMMING

KIDS GO FAST Leading distributors and channel operators offer perspectives on the nascent yet rapidly developing FAST ecosystem for kids.

TOON INTO TOULOUSE Cartoon Forum is returning to Toulouse for its 34th edition from September 18 to 21.

EVAN SHAPIRO Hear insights on Generation Alpha from the respected producer, thought leader and media cartographer.

TIM FEDERLE Watch a video interview with the creator of Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

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Superights

Sullivan Sails

Tara Duncan / Sullivan Sails / Clay Time Superights has on offer Tara Duncan, a fantasy series based on the French books. It follows a strong heroine learning to control her new powers.

For ages 3 to 5, Sullivan Sails centers on a young hero who aspires to become a cartographer and “teaches children important knowledge about our natural world” while encouraging adventure, exploration and tolerance, says Nathalie Pinguet, deputy managing director of sales and acquisitions. Also aimed at kids 3 to 5, Clay Time’s third season presents 30 original characters and 30 new DIY tutorials.

ZDF Studios

“Sullivan Sails encourages a love of adventure, exploration and imagination.”

—Nathalie Pinguet

#LikeMe

Theodosia / #LikeMe / Slava the Dog ZDF Studios’ kids’ catalog features a second season of Theodosia, taking place in 1905 and following the daughter of Egyptologists. “Full of fun, thrills and heart, Theo’s adventures will see her making new friends and discovering new powers,” says Peter Lang, VP Junior. The slate also includes a fourth season of the musical series #LikeMe. Slava the Dog centers on a Ukrainian family who flee to Hamburg when their home is destroyed. In the chaos of Central Station, they lose their dog, but the whole city joins the search for her.

“We invest in captivating stories with international appeal.”

—Peter Lang

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K ids Go F pocket.watch’s Ryan’s Mystery Playdate.

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TV KIDS

ids may be early adopters for virtually every new viewing trend, but by all accounts, they have been relatively underserved in the FAST space—until now. If this year is a watershed for FAST in general, with the volume of channels booming across the U.S., Europe and Latin America, it is also marking a bit of a turning point for the children’s media sector, with a slew of IP owners and platforms eyeing FAST services as a critical way to boost engagement, enhance L&M sales and even drive traffic to SVOD options.

Take, for example, pocket.watch, a company that emerged for and from the on-demand era, building a thriving business on curating a slate of content from the creator economy— namely YouTube—amplifying it across platforms and building those made-for-the-web shows into 360-degree brands.

“When I started the company, if you said, ‘Hey, you’re going to have two linear channels,’ I would have said, ‘You’re crazy,’” quips Chris M. Williams, founder and CEO of pocket.watch. “VOD was taking over at that point. It took me by surprise how quickly these

K

o FAST

Leading distributors and channel operators offer perspectives on the nascent yet rapidly developing FAST ecosystem for kids. By Mansha Daswani

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new FAST services came on. When we started seeing ser vices like Samsung TV Plus and Pluto TV growing, we said, we should be there. We also like that these are walled gardens. When extending popular creators’ IP into other HappyKids, an AVOD app featuring shows like Mattel’s Barbie areas, we don’t focus Vlogger, has expanded its offering with a slate of FAST channels. on the open platforms like Facebook or Snapchat. We focus on walled gardens because we know there will be limited options, and you want to be curated into those services. FAST was providing a new way of doing that.”

The company’s early entry has paid off, with its two services, pocket.watch and Ryan and Friends, now among the FAST ecosystem’s most distributed kids’ channels.

“FAST is increasing tremendously, but the kids’ sector is lagging in terms of monetization,” observes Eric Berger, co-founder and CEO of Common Sense Networks. “Brands are concerned about trust, privacy issues and a lack of standards. We believe that we offer solutions that work not only for kids and families but also for brands and platforms.”

Common Sense Networks began its journey to cater to kids and families with Sensical, an AVOD service built around the values of Common Sense Media. “As we partner with platforms like TikTok and YouTube to help them elevate the quality of children’s digital

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TV KIDS

media, we see a way to bring world-class content vetting and curation to the FAST space.”

The team at Common Sense Networks has spent the last few years identifying “well-produced, safe, digital-first content that’s widely appealing to kids and families” to curate three thematic channels: Sensical Jr., Sensical Gaming and Sensical Makers.

“FAST is increasing tremendously, but the kids’ sector is lagging in terms of monetization.”

—Eric Berger

“The FAST sector is narrow when it comes to the kids’ space,” Berger explains. “It’s missing the bridge age—kids 6 to tween. Most of the content that you’ll see in the kids’ space is focused on preschool animation. We’re missing out on a lot of the content that the young kids love—shows from digital-first creators that focus on a wide range of topics of interest. It’s difficult to find digital-first content that is appropriate, and it takes a lot of trial and error.”

Common Sense Networks and pocket.watch are both using FAST channels as part of their holistic efforts to reach kids everywhere they are, a move that is being deployed by a range of streaming and linear channel operators.

Future Today brought a FAST experience into its HappyKids AVOD app. “The channels we’re launching are around specific brands,” says David Di Lorenzo, senior VP of kids and family.

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“Our audience is gravitating toward that viewing experience.”

AVOD platform Kidoodle.TV has also expanded into FAST. “We’re looking back at traditional models of television programming,” says Brenda Bisner, chief content officer. “How can we update it? We’re looking at dayparting. What WildBrain has rolled out a dedicated FAST channel for can we bring to an audithe beloved Teletubbies brand. ence in the morning, afternoon, evening and then on the weekend to make it special?

We’re exploring how we can show up in a way that is more eventized and leads to some social cross-promotion.”

In the U.K., Narrative Entertainment, which operates the successful portfolio of POP-branded linear channels, has also entered into FAST, rolling out POP and Tiny Pop on several platforms.

That linear broadcasters are now seeking additional FAST channel rights is a new complication for IP owners figuring out the best way to approach this segment. Some have launched their own FAST channels, including I.M.P.S. with a service for The Smurfs and Guru Studio with one for True and the Rainbow Kingdom.

WildBrain, with its extensive library, has a curated offer of some 60 FAST channels across the U.S. and Europe, focusing on single IP brands while also distributing its shows to linear and streaming platforms across the globe. “We have a healthy dynamic with our

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distribution arm,” says Lara Ilie, VP of revenue share and transactional. “You’ll have a hard time finding a traditional broadcaster willing to buy 365 episodes of Teletubbies and air all those episodes. That left us with a lot of our beloved franchises that have found a new home in the FAST world.”

“A lot of our beloved franchises have found a new home in the FAST world.” —Lara Ilie For distributors like WildBrain, various business models exist to tap into across inventory share, revenue share and license fees.

“We also have our own ad-sales team that has been focused on selling our YouTube content and now are looking into selling CTV ads from our FAST channels,” Ilie explains.

Inventory share is the preferred route for pocket.watch, Williams says. “There are typically two ways you engage with a FAST platform. One is that you take half the ad inventory and monetize that yourself through direct sales and programming any ad waterfalls associated with that inventory. Or you do some sort of rev-share where the platform sells the ads and then shares the revenue with you. We’re one of only a handful of companies that Google has granted ad-sales rights to for selling YouTube Kids’ ad inventory. We can package that along with our FAST channel, AVOD apps, gaming downloads and custom content from the biggest kids creators in the world.”

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For multi-genre services, which form a large part of the kids’ FAST sector, success with viewers and advertisers comes down to curation, with safety being a key consideration.

“On the source side, it’s really about understandThe Sensical Gaming FAST channel features content ing the audience deeply,” from YouTuber StacyPlays. says Berger at Common Sense Networks. “We look at thousands of series and find content that is ‘good TV’ for FAST. There’s a lot of content that works well on-demand. The secret sauce is the vetting side. We’re the only ones with child development experts watching every video frame. Vigilance is our filter, and consistency is our goal. We create an inordinate amount of metadata that helps us with the programming, content classification and advertising.”

Williams at pocket.watch also stresses the importance of curation and safety: “We are curating, enriching and packaging content to be distributed more broadly onto premium platforms. We give a lot of confidence to business partners like FAST platforms and to parents that this is now a safe environment to give kids what they crave. We take that YouTube content and package it as 22-minute episodes. We’re doing best-ofs.

We’re doing promotional episodes for new series. We’re doing event-driven stunts, not unlike what traditional TV has always done. Data informs what’s working and gives us roadmaps to curate and program our channels.”

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Berger adds: “TV networks spend a lot of time on dayparts.

We’re focusing on day patterns. We need to figure out how these kids of different ages watch FAST. We then refine the programming across each half-hour to improve the engagement and the flow from one show to the next, decreasing channel changing.”

While startup costs are not what they are for a cable channel, navigating the FAST ecosystem is not easy, especially given the lack of standard metrics and varying needs in terms of deliverables at the platforms. Growth projections, however, are rosy.

“Data informs what’s working and gives us roadmaps to curate and program our channels.”

—Chris M. Williams

“It will fundamentally replace traditional free TV and be an important piece of a cross-platform flywheel for content owners and brands,” Berger predicts.

There are lots of reasons to feel optimistic for the future of FAST, Ilie adds. “In the U.S. alone, there are still a lot of people who are not aware that the option exists to begin with.

There are still smart TVs to be sold. The quality of the shows being made available on FAST will improve, so people will spend more time watching on FAST. That will come hand-inhand with the monetization.”

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Toon into Toulouse

Toulouse, France

Cartoon Forum is returning to Toulouse for its 34th edition from September 18 to 21. By Jamie Stalcup

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he return of Cartoon Forum gives producers the opportunity to pitch their animation projects to broadcasters, investors and other potential partners from around the world looking for European coproduction opportunities.

“European animation is a wide patchwork with a great variety of patterns, textures and colors, making a wonderful canvas with its contrasts, harmonies and dissonances,” says Annick Maes, general director of Cartoon. “It’s with great joy that we offer a frame for that magnificent canvas.”

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This year, 77 projects representing 16 countries are included in the lineup, encompassing 479 hours of content. The selected projects have a total budget of €398 million ($426.2 million), with an average cost per project of €5.1 million ($5.5 million), an

“European animation is a wide patchwork with a great variety of patterns, textures and colors.”

—Annick Maes increase from last year’s average of €4.5 million ($4.8 million). The average cost per minute of animation production reached €13,848 ($14,829), up from last year’s €12,815 ($13,723).

In addition to the official program of pitching sessions, a special initiative titled “Animated UK Meets Europe” will encourage coproductions between European territories and the U.K. A total of five new projects will be pitched in partnership with U.K. broadcast partners BBC, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Sky. “Our mission is, more than ever, to gather in order to go forward,” Maes says. “The most difficult challenges to come— preserving our natural habitat, living respectfully with all human beings—won’t be solved without everyone involved.

Cartoon Forum is a place that we wish to be representative of this involvement and shared responsibility. That’s why we have started the process to obtain a sustainability certification. We want Cartoon Forum to have an impact in a better and more responsible industry.”

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Evan Shapiro

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hought leader and media cartographer Evan Shapiro has unique perspectives on cutting through a crowded children’s media landscape. In terms of what’s popular now, Shapiro points to the crucial role of gaming and social video in kids’ media diets.

“The thing that catches my curiosity on a regular basis is the evolution of our media ecosystem in all four sectors: video, audio, social and gaming,” Shapiro said. Those sectors are converging “into what I consider a personal bundle that most consumers manage on their own, in their pocket, on their phones or on their screens via their remote controls. Watching control move even further into the hands of the consumers is really what I track on a daily basis.”

Discussing Generation Alpha, Shapiro cited a “downturn in media consumption” over the last several years as

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kids, with pent-up demand post-Covid, look to spend more time doing things outside and with friends. “But apart from that, the one thing that Generation Alpha says that they do every day is game. Seventy percent of kids between the ages of 8 and 15 say they game every single day. It’s not just gameplay.

“The one thing that Generation Alpha says that they do every day is game.”

A tremendous amount of the time is social. There is a metaverse that’s taking place on Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and PUBG. That is part gameplay, but a good deal of this is a new version of social media. If you want to see where Web 2.5 is taking shape, it’s in these fully functional, always-on platforms— with their own economies—that we call games but are much more than that.”

He continued: “When you look at where they spend their video time, increasingly there’s this ‘yes/and’ point of view among all consumers, but especially among those under the age of 20. YouTube is one of the first places that they’ll go for video content. Netflix is the second place. Twitch is a place where they spend a tremendous amount of time, but then also Disney+.

There’s this real acceptance of the idea that I’m going to jump from free media on social video to premium video on a subscription platform and back and forth.”

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Tim Federle High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

By Jamie Stalcup

he fourth and final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series bowed on Disney+ in August, with eight episodes that feature the series’ main cast and some familiar faces from the original film franchise. It follows as the high schoolers prepare a stage adaptation of High School Musical 3: Senior Year and participate in the fictionalized film High School Musical 4: The Reunion.

Tim Federle, creator, showrunner and executive producer of the series, says the last season serves as “our tribute to the fans for sticking with us for four amazing seasons. Longtime viewers get some answers on big emotional things.”

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