TV Kids Summer Festival Preview

We’ve crafted another fantastic lineup for our second annual TV Kids Summer Festival, with 25-plus speakers slated to weigh in on the most pressing topics in the children’s content business, from what’s topping acquisitions executives’ wish lists to insights on structuring financing and distribution strategies, fostering next-generation talent and making sense of the metaverse. If you haven’t registered yet for this virtual summit, running from June 7 to 10, you can still do so here; it’s free!
 
The event kicks off on Tuesday, June 7, with a panel on acquisition strategies featuring a broad cross-section of programmers: Paramount’s Layla Lewis, POP Channels’ Francesca Newington, Sensical’s Bethany Boles and De Agostini Editore’s Brenda Maffuchi. Next up, Amy Friedman, head of kids and family programming at Warner Bros., will discuss her strategies at Cartoon Network, Cartoonito and HBO Max. Katharina Pietzsch, director in ZDF Studios’ junior department, will highlight the company’s extensive live-action slate. IP owners trying to understand how to harness opportunities in the metaverse should tune into our panel featuring Dubit’s David Kleeman and WildBrain’s Anne Loi. The day wraps with Sesame Workshop’s Ed Wells and Kay Wilson Stallings discussing how the organization is expanding its slate while staying true to its mission of helping kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder.

The Wednesday schedule opens with a panel on financing that includes Serious Kids’ Genevieve Dexter, Cyber Group Studios’ Raphaëlle Mathieu, MIAM! animation’s Hanna Mouchez and Monster Entertainment’s Andrew Fitzpatrick. Later, delegates will get to hear from BBC’s Patricia Hidalgo about how the pubcaster is serving the needs of British kids. Halle Stanford’s keynote will see her discussing the slate at The Jim Henson Company (with Gobo Fraggle slated as a special guest!). Don’t miss our creative keynote with award-winning animation artist Bruce W. Smith, who will discuss the origins of The Proud Family and the process of bringing the beloved clan back for the Disney+ show The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. Later, Pam Westman will articulate Nelvana’s approach to developing and sourcing content and mining its extensive library of IP.

How to craft successful distribution strategies will be the focus of the opening session on Thursday, June 9, with insights from Jetpack Distribution’s Dominic Gardiner, WildBrain’s Caroline Tyre and Guru Studio’s Jonathan Abraham. Our first keynote of the day will be delivered by Super RTL’s Thorsten Braun. Next, we’ll hear from Paramount Global’s Jules Borkent about his strategy for the Nickelodeon-branded channels and Paramount+ internationally before honoring him with a TV Kids Pioneer Award. Nicolas Atlan will share how he is using his deep experience in the children’s media business to continue expanding Gaumont’s thriving animation segment. The day wraps with a spotlight on the Latin American kids’ segment, featuring Nickelodeon’s Migdalis Silva and Grupo Globo’s Luiz Filipe Figueira.

We close this year’s TV Kids Summer Festival by showcasing an array of great content at our Screenings Day on Friday, June 10. Tune in to watch episodes of Gaumont’s Bionic Max, The Jim Henson Company’s Word Party, Guru Studio’s Big Blue and Sesame Workshop’s Sesame Street Mecha Builders, along with new content from ZDF Studios and Dandelooo and a sizzle reel of Future Today’s HappyKids channel.

You can see the full schedule here and sign up for your free registration here.