Nicole Keeb

Head of International Co-productions & Acquisitions, Children’s & Youth Programming
ZDF

At MIPTV last month, the Indian animation studio DQ Entertainment announced plans to produce a new CGI take on The Jungle Book, the Rudyard Kipling classic that has seen numerous film and TV takes over the years. The first international partners on board for the project, budgeted at about 9 million euros, were ZDF and its commercial arm, ZDF Enterprises. Nicole Keeb, who heads up international co-productions and acquisitions for kids’ fare at the German pubcaster, said of the 52×11-minute show, set to be delivered in 2010: "Jungle Book is a classical property and with its modern 3-D adaptation perfectly fits into ZDF’s programming. We particularly like the idea that Mowgli and his friends will come to life in their homeland: India."

Keeb, who is still on the lookout for “high-profile adventure stories or fairy tales,” says it’s hard to explain why she signs on to a particular show. “It’s a lot of gut feeling,” she says. “You want to be close to children. Right now the fairy-tale element is quite strong. People don’t appreciate seeing depictions of their own lives. They want a little escape or adventure. We try to choose programs that are truly high profile. It has to look fresh. It’s always better if a real story is told. Comedy is not so much our cup of tea. Adventure stories or fairy tales work better.”

ZDF’s kids’ schedule consists of between 30 percent and 50 percent acquisitions, with the remainder coming from in-house production and co-productions.

Keeb says that ideas for kids’ shows flow back and forth between ZDF and the production community. H2O: Just Add Water, a series about modern teenage mermaids co-produced with an Australian producer, Jonathan M. Shiff Productions, started with a feeling from Keeb that occurred to her near the beach in Cannes. “I was thinking we needed another water show,” she says. “Ocean Girl was a big show quite a while ago. I thought maybe it was time for an underwater adventure. Then we came to mermaids and we are always trying to connect to ordinary life. It turned out to be that series.”

New for ZDF is The Elephant Princess, a series for which Keeb has high hopes. “We developed it with Shiff,” as ZDF did with H2O. “It’s the same recipe—teenage life with a fairy-tale level in it to make it a higher concept.”

As they map out their commissions for the months ahead, programmers are mindful of how they will be affected by the economic downturn. Those seeing the least impact are the big state-run broadcasters. ZDF, which can’t even carry advertising on its website or link to ad-supported websites, is probably the most immune to the turndown. “We are a pubcaster,” says Keeb. “People have to pay to have television in their home. And that’s the last thing they [cut back on]. We don’t feel anything right now. On the marketing side, we do cross-promotions with some companies and that might impact us in the future.”