MIPJunior & MIPCOM: The Week in Kids

TV Kids recaps the major children’s content news that made headlines at MIPJunior and MIPCOM.

MIPJunior was finally back at the JW Marriott after a three-year absence amid the pandemic, and per RX France’s Lucy Smith, attendance beat expectations. “We expected 800 or 900 participants,” Smith said at a MIPCOM closing wrap conference last week. “We actually had 1,311.”

In addition to a busy screenings lounge and networking areas, MIPJunior hosted several keynote conversations, including Cecilia Persson, the managing director of BBC Studios Kids & Family, unveiling her strategy for the new division in a presentation that was followed by a fireside chat with TV Kids’ Anna Carugati.

“We are opening a new chapter in BBC’s history by introducing our brand-new one-stop-shop, global kids and family content powerhouse,” Persson said. Noting that BBC Studios Kids & Family is already home to some of the biggest brands in children’s media, Persson stated, “We are ready to invest in the next generation. The new division seamlessly unites our brilliant production capabilities with our outstanding commercial expertise. This union extends the reach of our in-house hits, enhances investments in co-productions with independent partners and allows us to build global brands.”

As part of its efforts to spot and foster compelling new ideas, MIPJunior also hosted two Project Pitch competitions. The animated series Ava Undercover from Big Bad Boo Studios won the kids category, while Starlight Media’s live-action series Really? triumphed in the teens/tweens category.

The week at MIPCOM saw kids’ content deal news across linear and streaming. Pluto TV inked a deal with Mondo TV Studios to bring titles from its library to the platform in Italy and Latin America. Mondo TV Studios also revealed it had been appointed as the international distributor for the brand-new animated show Leo’s World, made with and for children and teens on the autism spectrum. Dandelooo presold the 2D comedy edutainment series Fantastic Antics to the kids’ educational platform Da Vinci and sealed a deal with the U.K. free-to-air channel Tiny Pop for Billy the Cowboy Hamster.

In terms of new content, A Productions and Cyber Group Studios announced that production had begun on the brand-new adventure-comedy superhero series Digital Girl. CakeStart Entertainment and Cloudco Entertainment started production on the multi-camera sitcom Pretty Freekin Scary for Disney. SLR Productions said it is working on the second season of the original CGI animated series Space Nova for ABC ME. ABC and the BBC jointly commissioned the new comedy series The Spooky Files, financed with production investment from Screen Australia and support from VicScreen. Epic Story Media started production on the animated series Mia & Codie and is working on the second season of Luna, Chip and Inkie: Adventure Rangers Go. Flying Bark Productions said it is working on 200% Wolf, a sequel to the internationally successful feature film 100% Wolf.

Last week also saw BBC Children’s unveil a slate of new series focusing on the environment, local history and world stories for CBBC and CBeebies. As interest in the kids’ factual segment builds, RX France’s Smith noted that the category would be covered at MIPDoc during MIPTV next year, with the market also set to host a Future of Kids TV Summit again.

Catch up on these stories and more on TVKids.com.