Reed MIDEM’s Lucy Smith on MIPTV’s In Development KIDS

MIPTV is increasing the number and range of events dedicated to the children’s television business.

“This year at MIPTV we are launching In Development KIDS,” Lucy Smith, director of conferences and content for MIPTV and MIPJunior director, told TV Kids Daily. “The kids’ community will have its own unique hub, an area on Level -1 of the Palais, where they will be able to network, take part in pitches, have a dedicated conference program and meet producers and network executives.”

The series of events and conferences are being organized in response to feedback from the industry.

There will be two “Producer Pitches,” and the deadline for entries for both has been extended to February 20.

“For the second year in a row, we’re having the ‘Kids Live-Action Pitch,’” explained Smith. “We’re hearing there is a big trend in the kids’ industry for more live action.” Creators and producers will have the chance to present new and original live-action series that have not yet been commissioned or released and for which worldwide rights are still available.

The jury members will be Nina Hahn, the senior VP of international production and development at Nickelodeon, U.K.; Nicole Keeb, the head of international co-productions and acquisitions for children and youth at ZDF, Germany; Luca Milano, the executive director of Rai Ragazzi at RAI, Italy; and Cheryl Taylor, the head of content at BBC Children’s, U.K.

The new pitching event this year will be the “Pre-School Animation Pitch,” for animated projects targeting 3- to 6-year-olds, at the development stage and in need of financing.

The jury members will be Tiphaine de Raguenel, the director of children and youth activities at France Télévisions, France; Lev Makarov, the head of special projects at CTC Media, Russian Federation; Stella Noh, the general manager of SK Broadband, South Korea; and Adina Pitt, the VP of content acquisitions and co-productions at Cartoon Network.

“There will also be the opportunity to meet with some of the most senior commissioning, acquisition and co-production executives,” added Smith.

In the “30 Minutes With…” sessions, attendees will get the chance to learn the content needs of leading programming executives. These half-hour sessions will be with Cecilia Persson, the VP of programming and content strategy at Turner EMEA for kids and acquisitions and co-production for international; Karen Miller, the senior VP of content at Universal Kids, U.S.; and Brenda Bisner, the senior VP of content and business development at Kidoodle.TV, Canada.

Additionally, Jules Borkent, in charge of global acquisitions and programming for Nickelodeon at Viacom International Media Networks, will hold a creative master class on the topic of “Future-Proofing Your Content Strategy;” the BBC’s Cheryl Taylor will present the session “10 Key Ways to Greenlighting Your Live-Action Series” and Philippe Soutter will present “Get Your Animation Show Produced.” 

“Another area we feel is important and in demand is research from the industry, so we have a ‘Data Download’ track in the conference,” explained Smith.

In partnership with The WIT, there will be a Fresh TV Kids presentation; “One TV Year in the World: Cracking Audience Trends,” in partnership with Eurodata TV Worldwide; “Pre-schoolers, the Screens and Their Needs,” in partnership with Dubit; and “The Future 100,” in partnership with JWT.

“And once again, the International Emmy Kids Awards still have their home at MIPTV,” said Smith. There will be an International Emmy Kids Awards Showcase, and “all of the nominees will be integrated into the programs for MIPJunior and will be available for meetings.”