September 2025
WWW.WORLDSCREEN.COM
THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
K-Drama Gains / Spotlight: The Inheritance Animation Distribution Trends
contents
SEPTEMBER 2025 WORLD VIEW By Mansha Daswani. K-DRAMA WINS Jee In Chung, director of Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born, and Jay Sohn, chief producer of Marry My Husband, weigh in on the creative process behind these two CJ ENM hits. SPOTLIGHT: THE INHERITANCE A look at the new Studio Lambert reality competition format, on offer from All3Media International. A WORLD OF DRAMA GMA Network’s Rochella Ann Salvador on how Filipino storytelling is reaching new markets.. TRENDING ON The most-viewed clips on our video portals for the last 30 days.
Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise Editor-in-Chief Mansha Daswani Managing Editor Jamie Stalcup Associate Editor Kloudia Sakowski Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari Production & Design Director David Diehl Online Director Simon Weaver
BOUTIQUE BENEFITS Amid game-changing transformations in the business of selling children’s IP today, we hear from several leading independents about making sense of the new landscape. LITTLE HEROES Harrison Wilcox and Sean Coyle, executive producers of Iron Man and his Awesome Friends, discuss aging down beloved Marvel heroes for a preschool audience. TOONING INTO TOULOUSE CARTOON’s Annick Maes showcases some of the highlights of this year’s Cartoon Forum.
Sales & Marketing Director Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Bookkeeper Ute Schwemmer
Ricardo Seguin Guise President Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP, Strategic Development WORLD SCREEN is a registered trademark of WSN INC., 401 Park Avenue South, Suite 1041, New York, NY 10016, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Website: www.worldscreen.com ©2025 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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world view
BY MANSHA DASWANI
Minding the Gap YouTube’s rising dominance on the living room television has been one of the defining themes of this year, and its edge over “traditional” media appears to be growing. YouTube scored a 13.4 percent share of U.S. watch time in July, widening its lead over Disney, which had a 9.4 percent share, according to Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge rankings. That is the largest lead by a media company to date since Nielsen began the Media Distributor Gauge chart in November 2023. Another free player that had a very good summer was The Roku Channel, which drove its share to 2.8 percent, the largest monthly usage increase across all streaming platforms. (Roku is also getting into the subscription game, unveiling a lowcost ad-free SVOD platform for classic content called Howdy.) Meanwhile, linear TV continues to see erosion. New WARC data indicates that linear television will account for just 12.4 percent of global ad expenditure this year, while CTV is on the rise globally, led by the U.S. “There’s no doubt that linear TV’s role is slowly waning, both in viewing and ad spend, as audiences shift to the expanding ecosystem of CTV,” said Alex Brownsell, head of content at WARC Media, on trends identified in the Global Ad Trends report. “However, new players such as Big Tech and retail media sellers hope TV can help them win brand dollars, and smart TV makers are creating their own ad-funded TV channels. As consumers move seamlessly from one form of video to the next, advertisers are being challenged to reappraise how they define TV—be it a specific type of video ad format, a media owner or simply the largest screen in the home—with important implications for planning and buying, frequency management and measurement.” 6 WORLD SCREEN 9/25
CJ ENM’s Marry My Husband
K-Drama Wins C
J ENM convened representatives from major streaming partners for a showcase of its production expertise and IP portfolio in Korea this summer. At the event, Jee In Chung, director of Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born, and Jay Sohn, chief producer of Marry My Husband, weighed in on narrative techniques and next-generation IP development. WS: What makes for a drama series that will resonate globally? CHUNG: For Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born, I tried to capture the universal emotions of domestic viewers, but in the end, the themes of family, women and personal growth seemed to resonate not just with Korean audiences, but with viewers from other countries as well. SOHN: The title Marry My Husband itself is very catchy. The actors delivered outstanding performances and the story skillfully weaves in universally relatable themes like love, friendship, betrayal and jealousy. We aimed to present these elements in a simple, thrilling and fast-paced way that connects with viewers directly, and I believe that’s what sparked such strong resonance. 8 WORLD SCREEN 9/25
WS: Tell us about the planning and production of the Japanese adaptation of Marry My Husband for Prime Video. SOHN: Usually, when Korean dramas gain popularity and the rights are sold overseas, the local production teams handle the remake. However, the Japanese version of Marry My Husband is different in that our production team began planning it simultaneously, even before filming the original Korean version.
“I realize the need to consider the preferences of overseas audiences going forward while still focusing on the domestic viewers.” —Jee In Chung So, rather than being just a remake, it was able to come out as a completely new drama version for Japan. Since the original web novel was already very popular in Japan, the idea to create a Japanese version came up during the production of the Korean version. CJ ENM and Studio Dragon collaborated on the planning, while Japan’s Shochiku and Jayuro Pictures handled the local production. The script was written by Satomi Oshima, and the Korean director Ahn Gil-ho took charge of directing. All the actors and on-site staff were Japanese, and only a small team of five—including myself, the assistant director and the producer—stayed in Japan for about four months to carry out the filming. As for the postproduction, the entire process was carried out in Korea with Korean staff. Since this kind of project was a first-of-its-kind attempt for us, there were definitely many challenges along the way. But it was a truly meaningful experience, as it allowed us to see the potential of a new market. WS: How did you bridge cultural differences between Korea and Japan? SOHN: During script meetings with the writer and director, we discussed how Japanese audiences emotionally respond to themes like infidelity. The writer showed us a scene from a Japanese drama where the wife finds out her husband is having an affair. She storms into the mistress’s house—but in the next 9/25 WORLD SCREEN 9
scene, the three of them are calmly sitting around a table, having a quiet conversation. It was a culture shock for me. In Japan, emotional expression is much more restrained. So, when we were deciding on the tone of the series, we moved away from the sharp, fiery, spicy part of the Korean version and instead focused more on the characters’ relationships and psychology. On the other hand, there were some parts in the Japanese version when I wondered, “Can the main character really go this far?” Exploring those made the process both challenging and enjoyable.
CJ ENM’s Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born is set in the world of gukgeuk, a Korean theatrical art form.
WS: In Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born, you explore female gukgeuk, a traditional Korean theatrical form. What aspects did you focus on to turn such an unfamiliar subject into a drama with mainstream appeal? CHUNG: I hadn’t personally seen much of female gukgeuk myself, and it was an unfamiliar subject even to viewers my age and those watching the drama. However, to make it more relatable, we put a lot of effort into grounding the story in universal themes. We focused on keywords like family, women and growth while portraying gukgeuk. We also held many meetings with the stage team to make sure the performances, dancing and singing were enjoyable for today’s viewers, putting a lot of thought into delivering them in a fun way. WS: Why do you think it has captured international acclaim? CHUNG: Since the subject was so fresh, I wondered whether overseas audiences would actually watch it. Jang Young-kyu, the director who was in charge of the music, has been active internationally with the band LEENALCHI, working with projects that blend traditional Korean music with modern styles. When he performed abroad, he realized that Korea’s unique rhythms and melodies are more universally accessible than expected. Honestly, I was skeptical before 10 WORLD SCREEN 9/25
the series’ release, but after receiving such feedback and seeing the media coverage and nomination announcements, I realized that overseas audiences do appreciate these aspects of Korean gukgeuk. So, looking back, I think we could have been even bolder in emphasizing those elements.
“Through collaborations with overseas partners, we’ll see a greater variety of K-content and a broader scope for its influence.” —Jay Sohn WS: What are your thoughts on how K-content can continue to expand and what lessons have been learned from working on these projects? SOHN: Working on the Japanese version of Marry My Husband, we created a unique feel that blends the vibes of both Korea and Japan. By combining the strengths of both countries, we generated a synergy that brought out elements different from the Korean original, making it truly distinctive. Moving forward, I think that through more collaborations with overseas partners—where Korean culture mixes with each country’s unique traditions and sentiments—we’ll see a greater variety of K-content and a broader scope for its influence. CHUNG: I have been creating works based primarily on Korean sensibilities, and I still believe that the standards of domestic viewers remain impor tant. While meeting the high expectations of Korean audiences, I’m also thinking about what global standards we should keep in mind—something we haven’t really considered before. Especially with Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born, which was the first of my works to fully engage with global OTT platforms, I could clearly see which areas require my attention with global audiences. So, I now realize the need to consider the preferences of overseas audiences going forward, while still focusing on the domestic viewers as well. 9/25 WORLD SCREEN 11
The Inheritance
Synopsis: A group of strangers gather at a grand country estate to inherit a chunk of a vast fortune that belonged to a benefactor known as The Deceased. To release the money, players must work as a team to complete a series of challenges. To win, they must persuade all others that only they should be entrusted with the money. Genre: Entertainment/game-show format Format: 12x60 min. (Finished tape & format available) Producers: Studio Lambert, GroupM Motion Entertainment for Channel 4 (U.K.) Distributor: All3Media International Unique Selling Points The high-stakes, strategic gameplay of The Inheritance is both original and addictive. It is not about who deserves the money, but about who can outplay, out-charm and outscheme the rest to claim it. Players must first work together to grow a fortune through spectacular challenges before ultimately turning on one another in a ruthless battle of persuasion. Set against the cinematic backdrop of a grand country estate, the format delivers a compelling exploration of wit, willpower and betrayal. Pitch Perfect “Addictive, insightful and entertaining, Studio Lambert’s reality competition explores entitlement, trust, greed, fairness and persuasion,” says Nick Smith, the executive VP for formats and licensing at All3Media International. “It is a bold, distinctive format with the power to draw in A-list talent such as Elizabeth Hurley and captivate audiences worldwide.” 12 WORLD SCREEN 9/25
GMA Network’s Sang’gre
A World of Drama
GMA Network’s Rochella Ann Salvador on how Filipino storytelling is reaching new markets.
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trong female leads and universal values underpin GMA Network’s new slate for international buyers, Rochella Ann Salvador, assistant VP of the worldwide division at GMA Network, tells World Screen. The Filipino broadcaster’s international distribution arm arrives in Cannes with two contemporary dramas, Her Name Was Carolina and Hearts on the Badge, as well as the fantasy epic Sang’gre, from the popular Encantadia franchise. “All three titles feature strong female leads at the heart of the story and deliver universal themes such as betrayal, justice, love, revenge and destiny, all resonating across cultures,” Salvador says. “The cinematic storytelling and adaptable narratives make them well-suited for global distribution, remakes and cross-platform opportunities.” Meetings in Cannes will be focused on expanding the presence of Filipino content worldwide, Salvador says. “We’re showcasing our newest programs to highlight the creativity and diversity of our slate. We’re reconnecting with long-time partners to strengthen existing relationships, engaging with new prospects to explore untapped opportunities and, most importantly, securing content deals for 2026.” 14 WORLD SCREEN 9/25
Trending On The most-viewed clips on our video portals in the last month.
The Inheritance In this new reality competition format from Studio Lambert, a group of strangers gather at a grand country estate. (All3Media International)
Into the Universe This series explores the mysteries of the cosmos and poses questions such as whether the universe had a beginning and if it is infinite. (ZDF Studios)
El Reino Infantil The El Reino Infantil channel is the most-viewed Spanish kids’ channel worldwide, with over 250 million subscribers on YouTube. (El Reino Infantil)
The Librarians: The Next Chapter The new series centers on a “Librarian” stuck in the present who inadvertently releases magic across the continent. (Electric Entertainment)
Love and Pride The Köksoys plot to have one of their three daughters marry Tolga, the heir to a wealthy and established family. (Inter Medya) 16 WORLD SCREEN 9/25
WWW.TVKIDS.COM
SEPTEMBER 2025 EDITION
Boutique Distributors / Cartoon Forum Preview / Inside Iron Man and his Awesome Friends
EXTENDED DEADLINES Space Reservations: September 15 Ad Materials: September 18
at MIPCOM & MIPJunior Please click here for more information or contact Ricardo Guise at rguise@worldscreen.com, Dana Mattison at dmattison@worldscreen.com or Genovick Acevedo at gacevedo@worldscreen.com.
TV KIDS
CONTENTS
Game Change If there was one overarching piece of advice to emerge from our recent TV Kids Summer Festival, it was that standing still—doing things the way you always used to do them— is not an option.
Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Mansha Daswani Editor-in-Chief Jamie Stalcup Managing Editor Kloudia Sakowski Associate Editor David Diehl Production & Design Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Director Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Manager Ute Schwemmer Bookkeeper
Ricardo Seguin Guise President Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP, Strategic Development TV Kids ©2025 WSN INC. 401 Park Avenue South, Suite 1041, New York, NY 10016, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Website: www.tvkids.com
Whether you’re a producer trying to complete the financing of a show, a distributor looking to maintain revenues from a challenged market or a trusted channel finding ways to make sense of being on YouTube, pivoting and adapting are paramount. And you have to be on YouTube, in one way or another. Indeed, with kids spending so much time on YouTube and other digital platforms, the landscape of “traditional” freeto-air linear channels is being entirely reshaped. The latest to announce a closure was WildBrain, which is exiting the broadcast channels segment. Meanwhile, outside of Europe’s public-broadcasting ecosystem, commissions have taken a hit. Dealing a blow to the U.K. kids’ sector, Sky Kids says it is no longer commissioning. So, what’s an indie producer-distributor to do? We surveyed several for our main feature in this edition of TV Kids. The key takeaway: it’s rough out there, but the need to deliver high-quality, enriching content for kids is as present as ever, and it’s going to take some ingenuity and creative solutions to make sure young audiences are getting the media diet they both —Mansha Daswani need and want.
BOUTIQUE BENEFITS Amid game-changing transformations in the business of selling children’s IP today, we hear from several leading independents about making sense of the new landscape.
LITTLE HEROES Harrison Wilcox and Sean Coyle, executive producers of Iron Man and his Awesome Friends, discuss aging down beloved Marvel heroes for a preschool audience.
TOONING INTO TOULOUSE CARTOON’s Annick Maes showcases some of the highlights of this year’s Cartoon Forum.
TV KIDS
producers to jointly raise co-production funding. Let’s convert a presale into a part-MG and part-contribution to the budget and see where we can assume risk and where we would rather that money go directly to the production, and then we are taking an EP fee, as it were. Rather than having a straight distribution deal or a co-production deal, we try to go out together to investigate the market before we decide how to split those revenues and how they can be used best for the production.”
PRODUCTION INNOVATION The industry needs producer creativity, notes Helga Árnadóttir, CEO and co-founder of Tulipop Studios, which was founded to scale the Tulipop IP. The Tulipop team has been working on “finding investors that believe in our long-term strategy and are willing to invest in the company and in the IP, both angel investors and VC funds. Then it’s setting up productions in other countries as well. We are in Iceland, where we have a tax rebate system. We’ve also established a production company in the U.K.; we’re doing part of our productions in Scotland, benefiting from the U.K. environment and tax rebates as well. It’s a challenging puzzle.” “We have to consider things on a longer term,” adds Emmanuèle Pétry, producer and partner at Dandelooo. “Some distributors think it’s a hit and run, grabbing over one year all the big fees and going to the next IP and making another big hit. We’ve never done that, but even more now, it’s looking under each stone and getting some revenue. Usually broadcasters have spent for this year and the next year and even the next year, so it’s being patient and persevering. It’s being careful about how you make things in a beautiful way and believing in your property for the generations to come.” Engaging audiences between seasons is also crucial, says Hanna Mouchez, founder and CEO of MIAM! animation. “We’re using real time to reuse our premium assets that we’ve produced and budgeted in one season and trying to produce additional content,” including podcasts and video games. “You’re reducing the global carbon footprint of your IP, and at the same time, you’re boosting it. With all this additional content, we are also able to sell internationally to make the link between season one and season two.” Dexter agrees with Mouchez’s point about the importance of content between seasons, highlighting Serious Kids’ experience on The Unreal, part of a growing live-action slate at the company, given the saturation of the animation market.
TV KIDS
“We’re going to wait and sell season one and season two at the same time. With live action, it’s much faster, so that’s much easier to achieve.” Árnadóttir points to the benefits of “being boutique—we can be more agile in this rapidly changing, challenging industry. Being independent and being able to adapt to what’s going on can help. Being small makes it possible for you to be a bit more patient. You don’t have a huge army of animators that you need to keep working. That’s a benefit to the boutique model in the industry as it stands.”
TREND WATCHING Given animation’s long timelines and the rapid change taking place across the industry, staying on top of market developments and determining what your next step should be to stay ahead of trends can be a challenge. At Serious Kids, investing in dubs has been a priority. “Increasingly, the barrier to getting sales is not having enough language dubs,” Dexter says. “The broadcasters are increasingly unwilling to pay for that. We’ve been working with the dubbing companies to assist us in cash-flowing those dubs, because otherwise, if you don’t have something ready, it’s not going to sell to quite a lot of the platforms. It’s only the public broadcasters who are prepared to fund the dubs and Dandelooo is producing Max & Bunny, a 2D series, then give you access for 50 percent. for CANAL+ in France. That model is changing.” Árnadóttir said Tulipop Studios is building an L&M plan for the brand. “There’s a lot of risk aversion. An interesting angle is that we are seeing production companies bring their own products to markets. That’s something we have done. It’s an example of how producers can prove the concept of their IPs in some way and even find financing at the same time.” Mouchez agrees, pointing to MIAM!’s production of video games for some of its shows. “It’s a way to seek a new audience and at the same time give tools to our broadcasting partners to engage even more with the audience.”
TV KIDS
It’s been a similar experience with podcasts, she says. “Our broadcasting partners are trying to keep the audience. That’s a way to face the situation. Being proactive is super important today and to have that agility in terms of creativity, but also in terms of financing.” As for determining how many of those extensions you can pull off, it’s also a question of resources, Árnadóttir notes. “You Tulipop Studios is scaling the Tulipop brand in can do everything from the beginning, but part with venture capital funding. very few companies have the resources to do that. We have tried to figure out for our IP what the most important thing is at each point in time, where our audience is and where we want to connect with them, and take it from there.” Dexter is looking outside of the kids’ industry “in order to fire up new ideas and meet new people. We’ve got to be looking for equity finance. When you’re building a budget for a show, you’ve got to have a marketing budget because you can’t rely on the fragmented audience of your commissioning broadcaster to market your show. Then, you’ve got to have the budget for all of these other elements that we’re talking about. Private equity has got to be the way forward to allow you to build a business in an SPV around a property.”
POSITIVE MOMENTUM Pétry at Dandelooo highlights the importance of staying upbeat about the business, despite the onslaught of troubling headlines. “I want to be excited and enthusiastic about life in general and meeting people. Enthusiasm brings enthusiasm. I’m trying to not listen to the sad stories, the catastrophes, companies going under—that’s also contagious, and I don’t want that to happen, so I’m trying to keep the bad news away and just keep this little fire inside.” Árnadóttir adds, “There’s an increased discussion that it matters that people are creating quality content for kids. We want kids to be watching quality content with positive messages. There’s an opportunity to get more people investing in this industry and in quality kids’ entertainment because people want to invest in things that have a positive impact on the world and future generations.”
Disney’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends.
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Little Heroes
Harrison Wilcox and Sean Coyle, executive producers of Iron Man and his Awesome Friends, discuss aging down Marvel heroes for a preschool audience. By Jamie Stalcup
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arvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends has logged almost 900 million hours viewed globally for Disney Branded Television, so it’s no wonder Disney Jr. is betting on aging down beloved superheroes for young audiences. Iron Man and his Awesome Friends landed on Disney’s platforms this summer, while The Avengers franchise is getting a dedicated preschool take in 2027. “As a parent with preschoolers, it was important for me to introduce my kids to a character that was known for picking himself up,” says Harrison Wilcox, who executive produces Iron Man and his Awesome Friends as well as Spidey and his Amazing Friends. “Everyone loves the gadgets of Iron Man. Everyone loves to see him suit up in those sequences. But the key for this series was figuring out how to use your mind to solve problems.” Even though the three main characters frequently put on special Iron suits, “our goal was to make the civilian versions of these kids as relatable as possible,” adds executive producer Sean Coyle. “We want
TV KIDS
[preschoolers] saying not just, I want to be Iron Man, Iron Hulk or Ironheart, but, I want to be Tony, I want to be like Riri, I want to be like Amadeus.” Throughout the series, the characters will often lift up their masks even while wearing their Iron suits to talk out the problem they are encountering in order to remind the audience that they are kids just like them, Wilcox explains.
“Our goal was to make the civilian versions of these kids as relatable as possible.” —Sean Coyle Though it was important to remind kids of the characters’ relatability, the design of the Iron suits was still integral to the series. Wilcox, Coyle and the rest of the creative team worked with Marvel to design versions of the suits that “looked cool, were functional and didn’t feel too threatening,” Coyle says. Ironheart has a heartbeat bubble that is a glowing shield that forms around her to protect the people inside. Iron Hulk can perform an “Iron Boom” and “Iron Stomp.” Iron Man has traditional propulsors, as well as nano packs that can help solve problems on the fly. They combine their powers to demonstrate the importance of working together. “Our stories highlight the importance of teamwork,” Coyle says. “We stress the importance of problem-solving in unique ways and make sure that we’re tapping into each hero’s individual personalities and the way that they see the world. That also branches into a celebration of friendship with our characters. They are best friends. They would do anything for each other, which is important to celebrate.” “It’s all about making the world a better place in the way that you can… whether it’s on a global scale of saving the world or just making things better for someone who’s having a bad day or needs a little help,” Wilcox adds. “That’s what Tony Stark has always been about.”
TV KIDS
Tooning into Toulouse
Toulouse, France
CARTOON’s Annick Maes showcases the highlights of this year’s Cartoon Forum. By Mansha Daswani
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artoon Forum is returning to Toulouse, France, from September 15 to 18, with an agenda firmly focused on providing new solutions for producers, distributors and buyers. More than 850 delegates have committed to attending this year’s edition, says Annick Maes, general director of CARTOON, which organizes the annual event, including 230 buyers. “We’re once again seeing a vibrant mix of returning professionals and newcomers, which reinforces Cartoon Forum’s unique role as a key meeting point for the European animation community,” Maes says. “The level of buyer participation, in particular, highlights the continued demand for fresh, innovative content and the value of face-to-face networking. With such a dynamic and diverse group of attendees, we’re confident this year’s edition will spark exciting new partnerships and creative collaborations.” Showcasing new content is a key element of Cartoon Forum’s remit, with 75 projects selected from 108 submitted. France is at the forefront with 30 projects, followed by 11 from Central and Eastern Europe, seven from
TV KIDS
Ireland, six each from Belgium and Spain, and three each from Germany and Italy. Projects were also selected from Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Portugal and Sweden. Among the key themes to emerge from this year’s submissions was an uptick in female perspectives and heroines, Maes says. Projects from female directors and producers also rose. Environmental issues are explored in 15 percent of the selections and 17 percent tackle inclusion and representation.
“CARTOON has introduced several new measures aimed at providing practical, resultsdriven support.” —Annick Maes In addition to an increase in preschool projects, Maes also points to a rise in short-form content—73 percent of projects are under 13 minutes, compared with 63 percent last year. Furthermore, co-productions have also increased; they accounted for just 15 percent of selections in 2019 but rose to a substantial 31 percent this year. Budgets are down, with average spend slipping to around €4.4 million per project. With the high number of submissions, Cartoon Forum’s selection committee “prioritized the emergence of new intellectual properties,” Maes says. “This approach reflects our strong commitment to nurturing original content, especially in light of the current economic challenges affecting the industry.” However, Maes does refer to today as the “era of adaptations,” with 27 percent of selections based on existing IP. “Moreover, the production teams tend to increasingly consider developing for other platforms from the start of the project,” Maes says. “Whether through esports and video games, music, podcasts, social media campaigns or comics, adopting a transmedia approach offers the opportunity to reach a broader audience.” Cartoon Forum also features a conference program, designed to help animation producers navigate the evolving realities of the business.
TV KIDS
“Financing has become increasingly difficult, and fewer projects are being greenlit, creating serious obstacles for producers,” Maes says. “Many are now urgently seeking new leads, partners and funding sources to close budget gaps and push their projects forward. To respond to these evolving challenges and better support the industry, CARTOON has introduced several new measures aimed at providing practical, results-driven support.” These include the return of a CAKE’s Amelia Fang is among the projects being matchmaking-based networking pitched at Animated UK Meets Europe. afternoon on September 18 and the Fill the Gap initiative to help producers complete financing on projects. Maes also highlights Animated UK Meets Europe, led by Animation UK in collaboration with CARTOON and supported by BBC Children’s and Education and taking place on September 17. “This curated session will showcase three exciting new U.K. animation projects seeking European co-producers and distribution partners. The event complements the official pitch program and is designed to foster new creative alliances and highlight emerging talent.” In addition, the BBC, France Télévisions and Yle will discuss the power of co-production in a Cartoon Talks session. Also in line with boosting cross-border partnerships, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is returning to see 15 PSBs select at least one project to support. “Now in its third year, the EBU, in partnership with France Télévisions and CARTOON, continues to support the co-development of animated content through collective financing. This collaborative model allows EBU member broadcasters to select a standout project from the Cartoon Forum pitch lineup to receive development funding. In 2024, the chosen project was My Life is a Manga, produced by Brain Comet and Blue Spirit. The early stages of the project will be unveiled at Cartoon Forum 2025.”
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