Andy Yeatman & Nicolas Eglau on Moonbug’s Success Story

TV Kids Summer Festival viewers heard from Nicolas Eglau and Andy Yeatman about Moonbug Entertainment’s innovative approaches to content production and distribution as day one of the virtual summit came to a close.

Eglau is the managing director for EMEA and AsiaPac, while Yeatman oversees the company’s business in the Americas. In their joint keynote conversation with TV Kids’ Kristin Brzoznowski, which you can view here, they discussed working in the creator economy and what’s driving the multiplatform success of shows like CoComelon.

“Our goal is to become the world’s most impactful kids’ entertainment company,” Yeatman said. “Our whole business is set up around IP that has started, found and proven to have a big audience on a digital platform. With the emergence of digital platforms as the primary way kids discover and engage with content, the choices are almost limitless. In a world of infinite content but limited time, brands become even more important. We’re taking this popular content that’s found an audience on digital platforms and investing time, resources, skill and money, in building them into brands and franchises for kids and families all over the world. It’s all about the audience. We’re constantly testing new things. Does this new character resonate? Did this type of animation, this storyline resonate? The audience is our north star.”

Candle Media, founded by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, shelled out $3 billion in cash and stock in late 2021 to take ownership of Moonbug Entertainment. “Our strategy fit perfectly with Kevin and Tom’s vision, which is to build creator-driven franchises that deliver content, commerce and experiences to specific audience segments,” Yeatman explained. “With Candle Media and Blackstone behind us, we have the ability do almost anything we want, as long as it makes sense and makes sense for the audience.”

While each of the shows on the Moonbug slate is unique, Yeatman identified some of the common characteristics across the company’s lineup. “We’re constantly putting out new content. We’re constantly looking at what the audience’s reaction is, and then fine-tuning our content strategy and our creative strategy based on that. And then we’re making shows for a global audience. We want our content to be accessible to that global audience. The fact that our content is available on the world’s biggest, most accessible platform, YouTube, is critical. We also want to work with the premium platforms to make sure that our content is also there. The combination of that intense focus on what the audience wants and is looking for, their reaction to our shows and the accessibility help make our brands some of the most popular in the world with kids.”

Eglau added: “We try to find relatable moments for every child, whether in Brazil or France or Japan, like the first day at school.”

Brzoznowski asked Eglau and Yeatman about criticisms that some Moonbug shows may be overstimulating for preschoolers. “Sometimes people might have a hard time understanding the popularity of some of our shows,” Yeatman said. “We take a lot of pride in our content being popular and engaging but also enriching. Every single episode has specific values, a specific life skill attached to it. We have educational consultants, curriculum consultants and development consultants. We’re proud of the fact that it’s engaging kids.”

On what Moonbug looks for in IP to take on, Eglau referenced the acquisition of Oddbods, which the company saw as having franchise potential, quickly rolling out the Minibods spin-off. Yeatman then listed some of the criteria the company looks for in brands. “Does it have an established audience base? It could be a popular YouTube show or a Roblox game. Does it have core values? Does it help kids laugh, learn and grow? Do we think we can help grow it substantially? Are there potential extensions for the show?”

On nurturing talent and IP, Eglau discussed the benefits of having a data analytics team. “We see how people are watching our content. We don’t think data will replace creativity, but it’s great input for our creative people. We look at an IP and see how we can make it even better, grow it and distribute it. We look at the distribution situation and add new players in certain markets. Then we can create and kickstart a consumer product and experience business. That’s something we do with every IP.”

Ubiquitous availability underpins the approach to Moonbug content. “Each IP we acquire or build is born on YouTube,” Eglau said. “Then we want to extend the distribution. We add it to premium platforms, streamers around the world and broadcasters. As we own every IP, we have the freedom to package the content and fulfill the needs of our clients. We’re not big fans of windowing or exclusivity. If someone funds a big original, they need to have a chance to refinance that and have a certain period [of exclusivity], but even that show will eventually go to other streamers and broadcasters. We don’t want to dictate to people or households how they watch our content. Our content is for every child, every family, and we try to be across all these platforms, and our content works on all these platforms, whether advertising-funded or subscription-funded.”

Moonbug has begun rolling out linear channels, Eglau noted, starting in Asia and then expanding to EMEA. In the U.S., meanwhile, the company has been rolling out FAST channels. “We’re experimenting with different ways to get our brands out in that environment,” Yeatman said.