Small Wonder

Joanna Padovano Tong checks in with leading distributors about what’s new in preschool content.

They are, in some regards, the most powerful demo in children’s programming. Short in stature and young in age, preschoolers—broadly defined as children 3 to 5—have an abundance of shows targeted at them. And their viewing habits are being closely observed as executives figure out what the next generation of savvy kids 8 and up will want to consume in the years to come.

It’s no wonder, then, that “bridge” content has become the busiest segment in preschool TV.

“There’s been this trend of more success with what would be considered slightly older preschool shows,” says Olivier Dumont, the managing director of Entertainment One (eOne) Family, which is home to one of the biggest preschool properties on the market, Peppa Pig, alongside the more recent success PJ Masks. “Some call it bridge shows, but it’s still very much preschool. It’s slightly more aspirational than your traditional educational, learning-your-ABCs type of show.”

Natalie Osborne, the chief strategy officer at 9 Story Media Group, agrees that preschool series have been aging up as of late. “Bridge properties targeting 4- to 8-year-olds have become quite popular,” she says. 9 Story’s preschool slate includes such iconic properties as Guess How Much I Love You and Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood, as well as newer titles like Peg + Cat and Joe & Jack.

As a result of the increase in bridge shows, there is now a greater need for early preschool programming, according to Bob Higgins, the executive VP of FremantleMedia Kids & Family (FMK), whose strongest current preschool performers are Kate & Mim-Mim and Tree Fu Tom, with Bitz & Bob coming up. “A few years ago there was this audience of [what] people started calling ‘pre-cool,’ 5- 6-, 7-year-olds—they were underserved,” he says. “So a lot of the preschool shows started chasing that, and I think we’ve seen shows begin to skew older and older. And of course, that has created a vacuum in the 3-year-olds space, where I think there’s an opportunity now to come out with a gangbuster show that targets that audience.”

FORGOTTEN ONES
“I would love to see more consideration being given to the 2- to 3-year-olds because frankly, they’re developmentally at a completely different place than a 4-year-old,” says Halle Stanford, the executive VP of children’s entertainment at The Jim Henson Company. “Many years ago, [experts] were saying that children 2 and under should not watch content. I think that scared the networks because they knew that moms were listening. Jim Henson’s whole mandate was, if you’re putting anything in front of any age child, it better be meaningful. We always took that position, and so I think that now, 2- and 3-year-olds need to be thought about, not forgotten.”

“It’s the classic [scenario of] everybody swaying from one side of the boat to the other,” adds Dominic Gardiner, the founder and CEO of Jetpack Distribution, which sells such preschool fare as Justin Time, Yoko and Kazoops! “The whole term bridge came out of the fact that somebody noticed there was a gap, so they then built a bridge and everybody went running down that end. I think now you’re probably going to see more for younger kids coming up.”

Morgann Favennec, the deputy managing director of Superights, has found that pay-TV networks are averse to bridge shows as they don’t hit a specific target group. Terrestrial channels, however, prefer them since they can reach a wider audience.

One of the trends that Mediatoon Distribution has been taking advantage of is the desire for established preschool brands. “The Magic Roundabout is [based on] an IP from the ’70s/’80s,” says Jérôme Alby, the company’s managing director. “SamSam is based on books. Trotro is based on books. Yakari is based on books. Little Furry is based on books.”

Alby notes that an established brand is especially helpful for the launch of new SVOD services. “It’s usually a good asset for nonlinear platforms to have such IPs that they can use as ambassadors of their platform.”

Studio 100 Media is also reaping the benefits of having established properties in its portfolio. “With our CGI renewals of Maya the Bee, Vic the Viking and Heidi, we have successfully revived three of the most popular characters, not only on German-speaking television but internationally as well,” says Martin Krieger, the company’s head of global distribution.

EDUCATION FIRST
Favennec at Superights says that when it comes to preschool, broadcasters are looking for educational content that focuses on such topics as math, literacy and science, as well as social development.

“Preschool, more than other genres, will usually have some kind of learning or educational component,” agrees 9 Story’s Osborne. “Whether it’s social-emotional or curriculum-based learning, it’s more prevalent in preschool programming.”

Stanford of The Jim Henson Company notes that each broadcaster is different in terms of its educational approaches. “Some networks are much more leaning on the social-emotional curriculum; others get incredibly specific,” she says. She also mentions the importance of strong characters, which her company refers to as “first friends.”

“Parents often demand special qualities from preschool content, like the transmission of ideas and the conveying of the importance of friendship, honesty, tolerance and other core values,” says Studio 100’s Krieger.

Besides educational aspects, strong characters and teaching core values, it’s also ideal—especially in early preschool—to have a show that adults can appreciate. “The success of Peppa is linked to the fact that parents can watch it with their kids and enjoy it, as opposed to a lot of preschool programming that is torture to watch for adults, even if preschool kids love it,” says eOne Family’s Dumont.

FMK’s Higgins concurs: “For some of these earlier shows, you have two audiences—you have the child, but you also have the caretaker,” he says. “So at that early age, there is more caretaker control of what they see. As they get older, they know how to turn on whatever device and they know what they like and they start doing it themselves. But when you’re talking about 2 and 3, there’s still more caretaker control, so you want to find a show that visually makes them stop and want to check it out, and then story-wise and character-wise, tickles them too.”

High quality is also key to a successful preschool show. While this may seem obvious, Jetpack’s Gardiner points out that preschool programming didn’t always require a high budget, since production value isn’t necessarily something that a young child will notice or care about. “The over-arching umbrella of quality in preschool is higher than it’s ever been before and I think that bar continues to rise,” he says. “A long time ago, you could perhaps justify a lower budget because you were targeting preschoolers and therefore, do you need to spend all that money on animation and design? As the preschool market has got bigger—in terms of monetary income, it could be as big as older kids, if not bigger—why would you cut corners if your potential to success is bigger on preschool?”

ON DEMAND
As with other types of programming, OTT platforms are certainly leaving their mark on the preschool business, although they won’t be commandeering the segment any time soon. “Traditional broadcasters are still an important part of the mix,” says Dumont. “Digital platforms are important, but in preschool, parents do still value linear platforms where they can put their kids in front of it and it’s been completely curated, and they know that it’s a safe environment.”

But there’s no doubt that streaming services are having a major influence in preschool. “The emergence of digital players has increased opportunities for kids’ content providers, as children’s programming is a significant driver of subscription retention,” says 9 Story’s Osborne. “The entry of new SVOD players has created an unprecedented demand for both catalog and first-run original programming.”

The impact of OTT platforms on preschool “continues to evolve,” according to FMK’s Higgins. “They’re important buyers for us; they require us to reexamine and modify our business models,” he says. “Tree Fu Tom and Kate & Mim-Mim had their television platforms, then we used Amazon and Netflix to enhance that. Both of those shows were on Netflix at the same time that they were on Disney Junior and Sprout. And so it became important that kids could find these characters on all screens.”

Superights’ best-performing preschool show is Puffin Rock, an RTE and Nick Jr. commission that was also snapped up by Netflix. “The Netflix commitment to Puffin Rock did not prevent us from selling the show worldwide,” Favennec says. “However, it is true that we could not close a couple of deals because the broadcasters were asking for some rights that were exclusive to the platform.”

Streaming services have made The Jim Henson Company’s preschool business “better and better,” notes Stanford. “Working with Netflix [on Word Party] has been a dream come true. They’re incredible partners, they’re innovative, they’re involved, they’re forward-thinking. The immediacy is just so unique and I think it’s going to change everything.”

“Additional platforms mean additional possibilities of exploitation that coexist with the traditional ones, often resulting in a broader reach for our content,” says Studio 100’s Krieger. “However, looking at the bigger picture, it does not always mean incremental revenues. In the last few years we have seen a rise in the number of players in the market on the nonlinear side, which constantly challenges us to find sophisticated ways of windowing.”

Mediatoon’s Alby feels that OTT platforms are good for giving a second life to older library titles, while also providing a home for series that may not get a lot of linear viewers. “You can have some trouble in convincing a broadcaster to air a show, so eventually after two or three years, you put it, for example, on YouTube, creating a nice, neat, official channel for it, and all of a sudden the viewership strengthens,” he says.

SECOND SCREEN
Indeed, digital extensions are a big part of the preschool segment. “We make sure on all our brands that we have a free digital offering available out of the gate because you realize that when preschoolers fall in love with their characters, they’ll want to engage a lot more with those characters,” says eOne’s Dumont. “So in addition to paid-for expenses, we have either free apps or free digital experiences available on our brands.”

“Today’s technologically savvy kids want the option of choosing where and when they can engage with their favorite shows,” says 9 Story’s Osborne. “With Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood, for example, kids can watch the show on traditional platforms, find it on OTT, play one of the many games online, or download one of the three apps. You have to be where kids are, and that means multiple formats and platforms.”

“At the same time as we’re developing for a TV show, we are developing what the YouTube engagement, user-generated part of the show will be,” says FMK’s Higgins.

Jetpack’s Gardiner notes that apps, games and e-books are important for long-term brand connection. “If your strategy is to maintain and build characters that a child can connect with continually and frequently on different platforms in different ways, it’s an essential component to building longevity.”

“All of our properties have support in the app, digital, publishing and licensing spaces,” adds Stanford. She also mentions the importance of outreach, citing as an example a Splash and Bubbles event that was hosted at an aquarium in partnership with PBS. “Parents can bond with their children and they can both indulge in the curriculum,” she says. “I wish that more of the networks would look to create experiences with kids and their families in the preschool space.”