Andrea Bannert

For more than three decades, Kiddinx has been fulfilling its goal to provide entertainment for children that is not only fun, but also provokes them to ask questions. The German producer and distributor is behind the well-known series Benjamin the Elephant, centered on a lovable pachyderm, and Bibi Blocksberg, starring a cheeky young girl who happens to be a witch. Now Kiddinx is focusing its efforts on establishing a new hit with Bibi & Tina, which develops an original audio story into a TV format.

“Bibi & Tina is a spin-off from the well-known witch series Bibi Blocksberg,” explains Andrea Bannert, the director of TV and merchandising for Kiddinx. “The series follows the adventures of two horse-loving girls, Bibi and Tina, with humor and suspense. The young witch Bibi’s spell-casting adds a fantastic twist to the series. Strong themes of friendship, family, horses, first romance and witchcraft deliver a guaranteed audience favorite.”

The first season was a success in Germany, boasting a 28.7-percent share with 3- to 13-year-olds on ZDF and KI.KA. Deals have already been inked for the first season in France, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. A second season of 13 episodes will be completed in February, just before heading into production on a third.

The momentum, though, still has not slowed for the original Bibi Blocksberg series. A third season is in production and will be ready for delivery in July 2009. “As of today, children in more than 70 countries have already been carried away into Bibi’s magical, fun-filled world of delightfully exciting adventures,” says Bannert. “The series will entail 39 episodes and was presented at MIPCOM Junior,” where Kiddinx notched up new territories for Bibi such as France, Italy, Russia and Australia. “A wealth of overseas buyers of high-quality children’s animation are now evaluating both series, so Kiddinx expects new relationships in many interesting territories in the near future.”

Kiddinx Studios has enhanced its portfolio of animated characters with the addition of BEBIDU, a series of shorts for young viewers, and another budding favorite, The Little King, a new series of animated five-minute shorts. “Kiddinx has been very pleased with Bibi‘s international success. Like superstar Benjamin the Elephant, who has become a household name in over 70 countries, Bibi has attracted a strong following in many territories. Now the introduction of BEBIDU and The Little King for preschool audiences and Bibi & Tina for older viewers will delight an even broader range of children in more countries worldwide.”

Also top of mind for Bannert is the push toward new media. “New distribution platforms are constantly evaluated to expand exposure of all of Kiddinx’ programs,” she says. “For example, several new co-operations in the VOD area and via Internet platforms have been initiated in several territories and will increasingly become an integral part of our distribution plans. Kiddinx will continuously expand these new business strategies to enter new markets.”

With an eye toward the future, Bannert acknowledges that challenges may lie ahead for the industry, but says that Kiddinx’ age-appropriate stories and memorable characters will persevere. “In a market of increasing competition for licensing expenditures, small content providers such as Kiddinx Studios tend to find it extremely challenging to acquire major new distributors and channels. However, we believe that quality products with broadly integrated brand support will always open interesting opportunities and business challenges.”

Bannert, who comes from a diverse background in international marketing, joined Kiddinx Studios ten years ago to develop worldwide licensing and distribution of its animated characters. As merchandising, media and online versions proliferated, her passion for Kiddinx’ characters continued to grow. Today, as Kiddinx has been honored with many gold and platinum awards for audio and video, Bannert advocates memorable characters in richly textured, internationally age-appropriate story lines. When asked what she loves about her job, Bannert points out that retelling a classic story in a modern way by integrating new technologies and new viewing habits is a challenge that studios thrive on and that makes this industry infinitely fascinating and rewarding to her.