Quest for the Best

Several leading buyers and commissioners share their programming strategies.

In the ultra-competitive battle for a share of kids’ attention, channels and platforms catering to young ones are adjusting their programming strategies to adapt to constantly shifting consumption habits. Exclusivity isn’t as important as it once was (to a degree—more on that later); big brands are more crucial than ever; volume matters, especially for those services looking to beef up their on-demand services; and everyone is on the hunt for the next Bluey, or, at the very least, the next great co-viewing hit.

Acquired fare and co-productions feature prominently for all the buyers surveyed here, who run the gamut from pubcasters and commercial TV channels to ad-supported and SVOD streaming and FAST.

Last year, KiKA had more than 1,200 international programs across its grid, according to Sebastian Debertin, the ZDF and ARD joint venture’s head of international content acquisitions, programming and management department.

Acquisitions and prebuys also form a key part of M6’s kids’ grid, including on the free DTT service Gulli, the pay-TV channels Canal J and TiJi and the AVOD service M6+, Coralie Boitrelle-Laigle, director of youth programs in France, says.

RTÉ commissions a slate of content to meet the needs of its audiences but is always on the lookout for acquisitions, Suzanne Kelly, head of children’s and young people’s content at the Irish pubcaster, tells TV Kids.

Darren Nartey, acquisitions manager for films and kids at ITV, calls acquired fare an “important and necessary” part of the kids’ offering on ITVX. “It gives us a diverse pool of titles while bringing the biggest and most recognizable brands to British kids in an increasingly competitive landscape.”

Sandbox Group acquires for SVOD, AVOD and its FAST channel across 12 languages, with about 90 percent of its total slate made up of acquisitions, according to Ellen Solberg, director of content, with an eye to buying 15 to 20 new shows over the next year for SVOD.

Brenda Bisner, chief content officer at the A Parent Media Co.-owned Kidoodle.TV, says acquisitions have been “critical” to the AVOD streamer, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, “as we are always seeking best-in-class content from all around the world, in multiple languages, that our audience wants to see.”

For many of those acquiring content today, a key shift has been the need for an extensive portfolio of on-demand rights.

“An absolute prerequisite is strong box-set rights for our VOD player,” Kelly says. “We used to operate on the basis that we would sometimes get a 30-day catch-up, but that just doesn’t suffice anymore. Children are moving away from linear content. Everything is on-demand. So, we’re asking for very strong rights. If we can’t get those rights, we’re not buying that particular type of content. We’re also trying to build our brand significantly on YouTube. So, we also argue quite strongly for geo-blocked and YouTube content so we can create some kind of experience on that platform, with a view to pushing toward our player.”

ITV shuttered its CITV linear channel in 2023, bringing its kids’ offering to the on-demand platform ITVX. “The move from linear to AVOD last year has allowed for us to increase the amount of kids’ content on the platform while expanding the content mix to include more genres and attract new audiences,” Nartey explains. “ITVX Kids is a brilliant platform that offers a wide range of shows we believe serve its audience well. We’ve also stepped away from short-form content and are now able to experiment with longer durations.”

Debertin has been exploring new markets for acquisitions and co-pros at KiKA, while at Sandbox, the biggest shift has been expanding beyond preschool, acquiring content for kids aged 6 to 12, Solberg says. Gaming is also increasingly important, as is having a presence in FAST.

RTÉ’s Kelly is looking at a wider array of touchpoints as well. “There’s so much content coming in from the U.S. and the U.K., it’s very difficult to get kids to come to a public-service broadcaster. We’re not very cool! We are always looking at the various touchpoints we can create using the content in a clever way to try to engage them back to our service.”

Bisner highlights Kidoodle.TV’s greater focus on “strategic relationships with partners who care about our core Safe Streaming focus and participate in the journey of their content with us. We are acutely focused on proven brands while also taking leaps on up-and-comers.”

WISH LISTS
The diversity of the platforms surveyed for this piece is reflected in the broad range of their content needs.

Nartey notes that while ITVX is serving its preschool audience, his main focus at present is the 6-to-12 set. “For this age group, we are looking for animation of all genres and all demographics that would sit alongside our tentpole titles. For live action, we are open to all genres with a strong emphasis on entertainment such as American Ninja Warrior Junior, Detention Adventure and All-Round Champion.”

Solberg stresses that everything Sandbox acquires for its various services needs to fit its key brand tenets. “We are playful. We want learning to be fun. We want the content to inspire kids to discover new hobbies and to go out and do things outside of the app and TV as well.”

She is buying for multiple demos (preschool, bridge and tween), mainly series. “Long-form and short-form do different jobs across the platform. For example, on mobile, we’re seeing short-form is engaged with more. On Amazon channels and Apple channels, the longer form does better. FAST is still quite new to us. It’ll be really interesting to see how that compares to the other platforms. Our FAST channel is planned around a child’s routine. In the morning, you want getting-ready content, and then there are activities throughout the day and then calmer content at night. We do need volume. We need longer-form content there that fits into those themes.”

It’s a similarly wide set of needs at M6, Boitrelle-Laigle says. Gulli, geared to kids and families, is always in need of comedy that reflects the brand’s values. “Comedy grounded in the daily lives of children, so they can recognize themselves in the show,” along the lines of hits like The Loud House and SpongeBob SquarePants. TiJi, the preschool service, has a slight girl skew and has fared well with Barbie-themed content and Zoom the White Dolphin. Canal J is in need of action-adventure fare for kids 8 to 12, with volume being a key factor “because we program in big blocks.” Volume is also key for Gulli, given its wide audience target.

RTÉ is currently well-served on the preschool front. “We’re looking for a lot of comedy and slapstick in that bridge space,” Kelly explains. “And then, as we skew older, drama. The U.K. is producing quite a lot of drama, but for a point of difference, we’re looking outside of the U.K. We buy a lot of content from Canada and Australia. Sometimes, dubbing content that’s in a different language when it comes to Ireland can be quite a difficult sell for audiences. For older kids, the 10-to-12 segment, we look for more reality-based shows. We look for child-centric shows that are driven by kids.”

KiKA is serving the needs of its flagship channel as well as its on-demand player. On the preschool front, “We’re cherry-picking,” Debertin says. “We’re looking at everything because you never know.” KiKA is boarding a new preschool show from Croatia, Debertin notes, reflecting the wide net he has cast to fill the service’s needs. “It’s great to find these new, fresh, talented people in countries that you don’t have on your radar.”

Bisner says her shopping bag is ready to be filled at the market in Cannes. “We are continuing to grow our multi-language offering and presence in many regions globally. There is excitement around sports content for families, more gaming content, movies and, of course, anime.”

FILLING THE GAP
While the renaissance of kids’ programming amid the streamer wars certainly led to an abundance of content available on the market, there are areas buyers would like to see more options in.

For Nartey, “There’s a lack of live-action series in the market (scripted and non-scripted), but that’s because they’re extremely difficult to produce in the current climate given the budget challenges creators currently face. I’m interested in seeing how other territories are managing this decline.”

Kelly says she wants to see more puppet-based content. “We don’t really get offered that much.”

Sandbox is taking more of a 360 approach to brands, Solberg says. “We have videos and games as part of our SVOD service, but we also have a publisher and activity boxes that we send out. It’s opening a whole new world for exploring brands and content and doing more with them. This is something we’re discussing now and looking at how to start testing that out.”

Debertin adds, “The world for kids nowadays is so much more difficult and challenging. I’d love to see solutions. We take the kids seriously, and we want to give them a helping hand. It is not about giving kids a written manual, not a handbook, but some kind of smaller or bigger solutions for their daily lives and their future.”

The broad success of the likes of Blippi and Ryan’s World, which originated on YouTube, has led many “traditional” players in the kids’ business to explore the creator economy for content acquisitions, but it can be a challenging process.

“We have to know what this audience likes apart from our TV programs,” Boitrelle-Laigle says. “We always keep an eye on YouTube and on social media. We sometimes collaborate with YouTubers, but more [so] to promote the shows. YouTubers and influencers are local celebrities, and we need an international celebrity to build an IP. It’s really hard for us to have special content based on a YouTuber. In our shows, we make the character use the codes of YouTube and social media to create a close link between our audience and those YouTubers and this new, fresh tone that we like.”

Some of RTÉ’s shows have been fronted by local talent with significant social media followings. “Sometimes they transfer across really nicely, sometimes they don’t,” Kelly says. “The kids often sniff it out. They’re suspicious if we take their beloved social media stars and plunk them on a linear show. We’ve also tried to collaborate in interesting ways. We did Ireland’s Future is MINE, a skill-based show with Microsoft. We’re trying to muddy the waters and not be too platform-specific.”

Solberg says Sandbox is looking at the creator economy space. “I’m curious about it. Because it is user-generated content, you need a level of involvement in selecting the content and the curation.”

Kelly agrees, noting, “That can be a tricky space to navigate. You want the influencers because they’re so popular on social. You bring them onto your beloved, family-friendly, safe platform, and the next thing they’re doing on social is completely at odds with your brand. It’s a tricky state to navigate, but exciting.”

KiKA has started working with social media influencers who are popular among kids, Debertin adds. Viewers “see that we take them seriously and that we are where they are and also recognize that they have these new stars.”

“It also opens up loads of opportunities for the public-service broadcaster to not be so serious,” Kelly notes. “It’s brilliant that we can use our platform to showcase completely demented stuff that you would only see on social media.”

Kidoodle.TV, which has come of age amid the renaissance in the creator economy for kids, is keen to align with digital creators, Bisner says. “New and innovative content born outside of what was a traditional broadcast method is clearly a mainstay and part of the way all content will be in the future. When we see legendary brands make a comeback and go viral, we are watching that, too. A well-orchestrated social presence and conversation where families are getting information is mandatory now.”

UBIQUITOUS DISTRIBUTION
The need to have a ubiquitous approach to building a brand has opened up a new conversation about exclusivity in the kids’ space, with some programmers willing to take a flexible approach when needed.

“We’re pretty happy with things like simultaneous broadcasts,” Kelly says. “We’re really happy to geo-block for our territory. We’re not really that demanding. If we can just have strong box-set rights for our player, which is really where we’re pushing kids, and the ability to exploit a little bit on YouTube to get a good taster as to what our content offering is, we’re open to negotiation. That kind of protectionist outlook on content is slightly old hat at this stage. You can deliver to your territory and to your audience without demanding that you own everything.”

BRAND-DEFINING
Debertin agrees with Kelly’s assessment but notes, “At a certain point, we need exclusivity and shows that set us apart. Rights are very often a project-by-project decision. [There is] a third season of The Smurfs. We wouldn’t have become one of the lead co-producers if we wouldn’t have gotten exclusivity. For free TV and BVOD, you have to have that. If you find The Smurfs everywhere, that’s a problem.”

Boitrelle-Laigle is of a similar opinion, stating: “We are taking exclusive rights wherever we can, but it always depends on the IP. We’re open to discussing things case by case.”

Nartey says ITVX’s approach is flexible—“but only to an extent. It ultimately depends on our level of investment in each project. I’d be wary of losing all exclusivity to digital platforms if they’re not taking the same risks we are.”

Exclusivity has not been a concern at Sandbox, Solberg says. “We’ve never really focused on buying content exclusively. We haven’t had the budget to consider it seriously because we’re covering so many territories and languages. It wouldn’t work. We’ve come in a bit later, or we’ve taken all the seasons. But I have noticed that there is a bit more availability now than there was a few years ago.”

At Kidoodle.TV, “We have a creative way of structuring deals, where it makes sense to have a window or a carve-out to mutually satisfy the joint efforts and power of the brands,” Bisner explains. “It is all contextual. We are a proven new revenue stream, working on a non-advert-dependent CPM rate, and, quite frankly, partners have the opportunity to see great revenue results from us, in addition to their business on other AVOD platforms. It is a balance of the theory that content should be available anywhere kids are seeking and the platform’s responsibility to their served audience.”