TV Kids Festival Recap

The increasing importance of AVOD platforms in the kids’ business, a need for new funding models and the creative revolution unleashed by the SVOD streamers were all key themes across the 15 panels and keynotes at the inaugural TV Kids Festival this week.

More than 1,500 registered participants took part in the four-day festival, which wrapped today with our Screenings Day featuring an NBCUniversal Global Distribution—Kids & Family sizzle reel, MONSTA’s Mechamato, Boat Rocker Studios’ Dino Ranch and Mondo TV Iberoamerica’s Annie & Carola.

Missed any of the sessions live? Don’t worry, you can now access the entire festival on-demand here: TVKidsFestival.com.

The first day of the festival opened with a phenomenal session featuring WarnerMedia’s Adina Pitt, M6’s Maud Branly, Kidoodle.TV’s Brenda Bisner and Hopster’s Ellen Solberg. These four powerhouse content executives were generous with their time and insights, providing super detailed briefs on what they are looking for. You can watch it here.

Next up, Andy Heyward, chairman and CEO of Genius Brands International, and Harold Chizick, CEO and co-founder of ChizComm, offered up their expertise on brand-building, the potential of AVOD, television ad buying and working with A-list talent. The session concluded with a sneak peek at Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, introduced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can watch that session here.

The afternoon schedule began with a delightful conversation with award-winning actor Tony Hale and DreamWorks Animation’s Teri Weiss, discussing the origins of Archibald’s Next Big Thing—the third season of which rolls out on Peacock later this month. That session is accessible here.

Then, veteran broadcasting executive Claude Schmit, CEO of Super RTL, discussed how the group has moved from being a purely linear channel to a content hub. Watch this session here.

The day wrapped with an in-depth conversation with ViacomCBS’s Jules Borkent and Nina Hahn, who discussed Nickelodeon International’s co-pro strategy and the importance of the launch of the VIS Kids division. It’s accessible here.

Day two kicked off with a look at Cyber Group Studios’ 50/50 Heroes, an animated comedy that delivers a unique spin on the superhero genre, featuring Pierre Sissmann, France Télévisions’ Christine Reinaudo and character designer Yann de Preval. The session ended with a sneak peek at the new series. Watch it here.

The Big Picture delivered a wide-ranging look at the challenges and opportunities faced by IP owners as they navigate the shifting needs of broadcasters, SVOD platforms and now AVOD streamers, with insights from CAKE’s Ed Galton, 9 Story’s Alix Wiseman and eOne Family Brands’ Monica Candiani. You can watch it here.

And for a masterclass on the ins and outs of managing the financing of series and perfecting the art of co-productions, don’t miss the Partner Potential session with Serious Lunch’s Genevieve Dexter, Guru Studio’s Frank Falcone, Toon2Tango’s Ulli Stoef and Boat Rocker’s Jon Rutherford. It’s available here.

The second day of the TV Kids Festival also provided two amazing creative keynotes. In the first, Traci Paige Johnson and Angela Santomero discussed the process that goes into making Blue’s Clues & You!, a reboot of the iconic preschool show for Nickelodeon. You can see it here. And then the multitalented Dan Povenmire talked about the long road to getting Phineas and Ferb commissioned, the inspiration for his new series Hamster & Gretel and the opportunities for animators today. Watch it here.

Day three kicked off with a panel featuring three experts on French animation: Xilam Animation’s Marc du Pontavice, Superprod’s Clément Calvet and Dandelooo’s Emmanuèle Pétry-Sirvin. Watch it here.

Next, Eric Ellenbogen participated in a keynote conversation about WildBrain’s positioning in the market, its treasure trove of classic IP and its position in the AVOD space. After Ellenbogen’s informative session, TV Kids Festival participants were treated to an episode of The Brilliant World of Tom Gates. You can watch the entire session here.

AVOD also took center stage in the afternoon panel, The Kidoodle.TV Story, with Brenda Bisner, chief content officer, delivering a deep dive into the strategy at the fast-growing Safe Streaming service. That conversation can be viewed here.

Jonathan M. Shiff, veteran Australian hitmaker, talked about the appeal of live action for tweens, producing amid COVID-19 restrictions and speaking to a global audience in his creative keynote, which you can watch here.

The conference sessions ended with the inaugural TV Kids Pioneer Award being presented to KiKA’s Sebastian Debertin. The head of international acquisitions at the German public-broadcasting outlet for kids and families shared what he looks for, detailed how KiKA has been serving young ones during the pandemic and reflected on what he loves about working in children’s media. “With kids’ media, I cannot change the world. But I can change the kids’ view of our world! That is a big chance we should make good use of.” We couldn’t agree with you more, Sebastian! Stay tuned at the end of this session, which you can view here, for a special message from Anna Carugati, the group editorial director of World Screen and TV Kids.