Mediawan Forms Kids & Family Unit

The Mediawan Group has launched Mediawan kids & family, focused on the production and distribution of kids’ and family content worldwide.

The development of Mediawan kids & family draws on labels such as Method Animation (Miraculous—Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, Robin Hood—Mischief in Sherwood) and ON Classics (The Little Prince, Little Nicolas—Happy). The division is also branching out into different genres with new studios, including Elliott, specializing in live action for tweens, and Somewhere Animation, dedicated to 2D animation for preschoolers and kids.

Additionally, the plan is to acquire new companies in France and abroad to help “satisfy the demand of different market players for content diversification, as well as consolidate the global leadership of the group.”

Mediawan kids & family also hosts the distribution for all kids’ and family content of the Mediawan group and manages a catalog of 2,500 half-hour programs produced by the group and third-party acquisitions.

Consumer products will complete the global management of the group’s IP, from production to marketing.

Aton Soumache, president and founder, said: “I am delighted with this new chapter that is opening for the group. This is a logical development since our integration into the Mediawan group in 2018. The arrival of Julien Borde has also allowed us to accelerate this transition. The creation of this new division will allow Mediawan to continue its growth internationally and in France and thus expand its know-how in all the different forms of creation for children and the family and to meet the new challenges of a sector in full expansion and transformation.”

Pierre-Antoine Capton, CEO and co-founder of Mediawan, added: “Today, Mediawan is proud to accompany the company founded by Aton Soumache into a new stage of its development and see the animation branch reach its full potential. This evolution, which gathers all animation activities (production labels, distribution) under the banner Mediawan kids & family, reflects the group’s strategy: by recruiting the best talent, diversifying its activities, and concentrating all the value chain in France and internationally, Mediawan continues to assert its leadership in the European audiovisual market.”

Julien Borde, executive VP, managing director and chief content officer, said: “With the creation of Mediawan kids & family, our ambition is to target all genres of kids and family content. We offer our partners and viewers worldwide wonderful worlds and new heroes imagined by the best European and international talent. With Method Animation, the group has already positioned itself as a leader in the European animation market. By grouping the expertise of the Mediawan group in kids’ content and creating specialist labels, Mediawan kids & family will help us better serve the needs of our partner broadcasters and platforms and create increasingly unique offers for viewers.”