TV Kids Summer Festival Reveals Full Schedule

Programmer strategies, digital-first rollouts, development approaches and IP-building are among the themes being explored during the fifth edition of the TV Kids Summer Festival, running online from June 3 to 6, 2025. Sign up for your free registration here.

Paramount’s Louise Bucknole, CBC’s Marie McCann, Nickelodeon’s Ashley Kaplan, pocket.watch’s Chris M. Williams, Sigma Girl Media’s Amy Takahara and Disney Branded Television’s Gino Guzzardo are all slated for keynote conversations, delivering their insights on navigating shifts in the business. We also have an array of panels, exploring the market for live-action tween shows, development strategies, indie producer-distributor innovation and creating digital-first content. And in partnership with Dubit, we’re delivering new intelligence on kids’ media habits and exploring gaming extensions. See the full schedule here and register here.

Tuesday, June 3

• 9 a.m. EDT
  Paramount’s Louise Bucknole
  Kicking off a series of conversations with leading programmers, the TV Kids Summer Festival will open with Louise Bucknole, general manager and senior VP for kids and family at Paramount UK & Ireland, on evolving Milkshake! to meet the needs of British preschoolers across all platforms.
• 10 a.m. EDT
  CBC’s Marie McCann
  Putting a spotlight on the crucial role played by pubcasters, we’ll hear from Marie McCann, senior director of children’s content at Canada’s CBC.
• 11 a.m. EDT
  Nickelodeon’s Ashley Kaplan
  As executive VP of unscripted and digital franchise studio at Nickelodeon, Ashley Kaplan drove the rollout of the network’s first original series for YouTube: Kid Cowboy.
• 12 p.m. EDT
  pocket.watch’s Chris M. Williams
  Amid booming interest in the creator economy, we’ll hear from Chris M. Williams, founder and CEO of pocket.watch, about bringing YouTube content to broadcast and streaming platforms and building multiplatform franchises.

Wednesday, June 4

• 9 a.m. EDT
  Live-Action Appeal
  Spotlighting successful formulas for high-end live-action shows for teens, this panel will convene ZDF Studios’ Oliver Grundel, ZDF’s Nicole Keeb and Cottonwood Media and Federation Kids & Family’s David Michel to talk about the crucial role of collaboration in this space.
• 10 a.m. EDT
  Creative Spirit
  With Martin Pope, joint CEO of Magic Light Pictures, and Grainne McNamara, VP of development, live action and animation at BBC Studios Kids & Family, we’ll take an in-depth look at how two purveyors of high-quality fare in the U.K. are meeting the needs of a business in transition.
• 11 a.m. EDT
  Sigma Girl Media’s Amy Takahara
  Formerly at Netflix, Amy Takahara, with her consultancy Sigma Girl Media, is helping kids’ content creators navigate the new realities of the business.
• 12 p.m. EDT
  Disney Branded Television’s Gino Guzzardo
  Gino Guzzardo, VP of multiplatform content, will share with TV Kids Summer Festival viewers how Disney Branded Television is serving its audiences across platforms with a wealth of short-form content.

Thursday, June 5

• 9 a.m. EDT
  Indie Gains
  Dandelooo’s Emmanuèle Pétry, Serious Kids’ Genevieve Dexter, MIAM! animation’s Hanna Mouchez and Tulipop Studios’ Helga Árnadóttir will share their insights on managing boutique independent producers and distributors.
• 10 a.m. EDT
  Going Digital-First
  Independent media consultant Emily Horgan will be back at the TV Kids Summer Festival to lead this conversation on different approaches to digital-first content, enlisting the insights of family programming powerhouse 9 Story Media Group’s Elianne Friend and digital-native outfit TheSoul Publishing’s Francesco Miceli.
• 11 a.m. EDT
  Trend-Watching with Dubit
  Dubit will bring its market intelligence to the TV Kids Summer Festival with this closing session as CEO Ian Douthwaite and team members Laura Dudley-Gough and Benjamin Sumner reveal new research on kids’ media habits and tips for how IP owners can explore opportunities in gaming.