TVKIDS
We’re marking the fifth edition of the TV Kids Festival next week, and the sea change the industry has gone through in the years since we began our successful virtual summits business in 2021 could not be more dramatic. Every sector of the media business felt the pinch of the post-streaming wars recalibration, but none more so than the children’s content industry. Across the board, producers and distributors are feeling the ramifications of the SVOD pullback, an ad revenue crunch at “traditional” platforms and irreversible changes in viewing habits. While YouTube exploitation, AVOD and FAST and gaming extensions have given rise to new revenue opportunities, nothing yet is making up for the dramatic drop in commissions—and the reality that it’s especially challenging to land the sustained attention of a young viewer today.
We know it’s tough out there, so we set out to deliver an agenda rich with advice for navigating the landscape. If you haven’t already done so, register here to ensure you receive access details in your inbox every day, as well as our post-show Exclusive White Paper recapping all the key intel you may have missed—it’s all free!
We’re offering up a lot of intelligence, beginning with our hallmark session on acquisition trends, which kicks off the event on Tuesday, February 4. ITV’s Darren Nartey, Nickelodeon’s Lynsey O’Callaghan and Amazon Kids+’s Monica Sharma will convene to discuss what’s motivating their content decisions and what they’re looking out for. For insights on building and nurturing long-running, beloved brands, don’t miss our keynote with Josh Silverman, executive VP and chief franchise officer at Mattel, who will discuss the toy giant’s treasure trove of iconic properties and share the latest developments at Mattel Television Studios. Next up, Olivia Deane, research manager at Ampere Analysis, will outline the challenges and opportunities facing kids’ IP owners with a deep dive into commissioning trends, including the demand for known IP. On that front, we’ve convened a panel with ZDF Studios’ Oliver Grundel, Dandelooo’s Emmanuèle Pétry, Hidden Pigeon Company’s Kristofer Updike and Lion Forge Entertainment’s Jeremy Colfer to talk about adapting book IP.
The Wednesday schedule kicks off with a keynote conversation with Vince Commisso, president and CEO of 9 Story Media Group, on the way forward for the company now that it has closed its transformative deal with Scholastic Entertainment. To explore the ever-more important concept of engagement and building 360-degree properties from the ground up, kids’ media expert Emily Horgan will lead a conversation with pocket.watch’s Beck Canote and Kedoo Entertainment’s Olivier Bernard alongside sharing some of her own data on the performance of children’s shows on Netflix. In a keynote, Jon Rutherford, president of global rights, franchise and content strategy at Boat Rocker Studios, will outline the company’s approach to leveraging new technologies and platforms. As the day wraps, Dubit’s David Kleeman will lead a session on the importance of gaming extensions with Wind Sun Sky Entertainment’s Catherine Winder and DeAPlaneta Entertainment’s Jimena Tormo.
Day three of the summit opens with the presentation of this winter’s TV Kids Pioneer Award to Dominique Neudecker, VP of kids and family at Super RTL’s TOGGO, who will share her editorial strategy at the German kids’ network. Shaw Rocket Fund’s Agnes Augustin joins the festival to deliver insights on trends reshaping the Canadian kids’ content sector. The Toon Innovation session on Thursday will hear from Composition Media’s Carl Reed and Cheeky Little Media’s Patrick Egerton, exploring the game-changing developments presented by Unreal Engine and the looming impact of AI. A creative keynote from Zachariah OHora about Carl the Collector, the first series for PBS KIDS in the U.S. that is centered on a neurodiverse character, wraps the day’s events.
You’ll find information on all of our speakers in the TV Kids Festival Agenda. Make sure you register here.
