WarnerMedia\u2019s Adina Pitt, M6\u2019s Maud Branly, Kidoodle.TV\u2019s Brenda Bisner and Hopster\u2019s Ellen Solberg shared their acquisition strategies at the Buying Time panel that kicked off the TV Kids Festival today.<\/p>\n
Moderated by Kristin Brzoznowski, executive editor of World Screen<\/em> and TV Kids<\/em>, the wide-ranging discussion saw each of the panelists sharing their approaches to finding the best content available on the market to cater to their target audiences.<\/p>\n Pitt, VP of content acquisitions and co-productions for the Americas at WarnerMedia Kids and Family, kicked things off by outlining the new structure in place at the division under the leadership of Tom Ascheim, president of global kids, young adults and classics. The segment includes Cartoon Network, Boomerang and HBO Max. \u201cOur target demos are always changing, but the primary target demo is kids 6 to 11, and we are expanding that remit to go a bit younger and a bit older. We\u2019re really excited to be working with our international channels as well. There have been a lot of changes happening at our company in the most wonderful ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Acquisitions, co-productions and partnerships are \u201ccritical\u201d to the businesses, Pitt said. \u201cWe rely heavily on Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios for great original content, but we need to complement those with storytelling that you can only get from the partnerships that come from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Branly serves as children\u2019s acquisitions director and international TV channels children\u2019s programming director at M6 Group. \u201cWe have a large range of channels and platforms in France and worldwide,\u201d Branly said, which have established themselves at the forefront of the local kids\u2019 market. This includes the M6 Kid morning block on free TV; the pay-TV services Canal J, focused on kids 6 to 12; TiJi, for preschoolers; and the Santa Claus seasonal channel with Christmas content; and the DTT service Gulli. There are also channels in Russia, French-speaking Africa, the Middle East and Brazil. There\u2019s also the SVOD platform Gulli Max in France, which has more than 3 million subscribers, she said. \u201cWe are working on localized SVOD offers in Russia, Africa, the Middle East and Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n Bisner is the chief content officer at Kidoodle.TV, an AVOD Safe Streaming service for kids under 12 in 160-plus countries. \u201cWe adhere to the highest letter of the law when it comes to keeping kids safe online. And we\u2019re fundamentally in a prime position when it comes to how many kids and families we\u2019re serving. We now reach 12 million monthly active users. Over the course of 2020, we grew 3,000 percent. One of our core values has always been about co-viewing. Now with the pandemic, we know that 97 percent of families around the world are co-viewing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kidoodle.TV offer includes gaming content, educational shows, titles that promote mindfulness and movement and megabrands like Peppa Pig<\/em> and PAW Patrol<\/em>, with more than 25,000 episodes available. \u201cWe\u2019re launching anywhere from 10 to 27 new shows per week,\u201d Bisner said. \u201cIt\u2019s very important that we\u2019re coming to families with a fresh offering every day and that we\u2019re meeting them where they\u2019re at. Acquisitions will always be a very large priority for us. We\u2019re able to have so much from all around the world and bring it to kids and families in their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n Also coming from the OTT space is Solberg, the head of content at Hopster, which recently acquired Curious World, an app delivering educational videos, books and games. Hopster is now targeting a slightly younger age range than it has in the past, up to 4-year-olds, Solberg noted, while Curious World caters to viewers aged between 4 and 8. Both are SVOD services, with Hopster available globally and Curious World in the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. \u201cAcquisitions are really important to us,\u201d Solberg said, adding that the company does create some of its own content. \u201cAbout 90 percent of our content is acquired,\u201d including shows, music, books and games.<\/p>\n Brzoznowski asked the panelists about the impact of COVID-19 on their acquisition strategies, both last year and heading into 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things I go to is what has stayed the same,\u201d WarnerMedia\u2019s Pitt said. \u201cThe consumer is still at the center of everything we do. If you stay focused on that, then what you\u2019re going after will remain the same. I will add that it\u2019s a great time to be a creator because there is such a need for [new content]. The challenge, of course, is the economics of this. Like any other challenging time, when you have peaks and valleys, we need to make adjustments. We have to work smarter and be a lot more strategic about the kinds of deals and the content we go after.\u201d<\/p>\n The crisis had a significant impact on M6\u2019s kids\u2019 strategy, Branly noted. \u201cWe immediately adapted our programming to propose more educational and preschool content\u201d once schools closed. \u201cWe wanted to be part of the pedagogical continuity.\u201d The company also rushed into production the show Home Sweet Home<\/em> featuring sketches about life in lockdown, among other pieces of content to help kids cope with their pandemic lives. Since September, kids have been back in school, \u201cbut of course we\u2019ll make changes if the government decides to close the schools again.\u201d Co-viewing also became more important with kids spending more time at home.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pandemic flipped us all upside down,\u201d Kidoodle.TV\u2019s Bisner said. \u201cFor us as a streaming channel, and as a mother myself, with my 7-year-old being led to sites that are not safe for children, it was an immediate activation. And it was 24\/7. And it\u2019s been 24\/7 since March. We hired over 20 people; we\u2019ll be hiring another large raft this year as well.\u201d The shutdowns and school closures prompted the service to go out and acquire \u201cas much content as possible\u2014the content that schools were sending kids to see on places that were not safe. And with more and more parents knowing about data protection issues and privacy issues, and of course safety for their children, we really stepped up.\u201d<\/p>\n Bisner went on to note how rewarding it has been to be working in the kids\u2019 business at this critical time. \u201cDeal structures are changing. We\u2019re seeing more creators come into the landscape. Things are changing. For many years, safety was not a very interesting word. We were very much the leaders of that movement, which is now being widely spoken of. We knew we had to step up as a trusted destination\u2014that safe place parents could trust.\u201d<\/p>\n When lockdowns hit in March 2020, Hopster commissioned safety videos using some of its original IP, Solberg said, and acquired some COVID-19-related content. It also picked up Li’l Doc<\/em>, a show teaching kids about how their bodies fight illnesses, and unveiled a learning program, devoting six weeks to six different subjects, including math, literacy and crafts. \u201cWe also created some learning resources that we made available for free.\u201d<\/p>\n Heading into 2021, it\u2019s difficult to plan, Solberg added. \u201cIt\u2019s all a bit up in the air. But we will be acquiring content. We\u2019re being a bit cautious on spending. The pandemic has affected most businesses. We\u2019re playing it by ear, seeing what becomes necessary as the year goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n WarnerMedia\u2019s Pitt noted that the pandemic has not impacted the genres of content she\u2019s looking for. Comedy, authenticity, individuality, diverse storytelling, book-based properties, original IP, hybrid storytelling and innovative animation styles remain qualities she looks for. \u201cNo one should feel that they have to present something that is fully baked; it\u2019s OK to showcase something that is at the early stages.\u201d<\/p>\n M6 also has diverse needs, Branly said, with her portfolio targeting everyone from 3-year-olds at the youngest end all the way up to families. \u201cOur main goal is to keep their trust by offering quality content. We are looking for all kinds of content, as before. We need preschool, comedy, action series, live-action. It\u2019s important for us to also find the right balance between shows based on known brands and original creations. And these days, it\u2019s also important to entertain kids with comedies\u2014comedy is our biggest need today. It\u2019s the genre that performs best on our channels.\u201d<\/p>\n Bisner said that Kidoodle.TV is eyeing \u201cpreschool shows, the 5 to 8, gaming, the 9 to 12, comedy and diversity\u2014we need a lot more of that. We\u2019re a Safe Streaming channel, so we\u2019re adhering to a very strict guidance principle. We have a very human approach. Everything that comes in goes through several eyeballs before it goes live. Our creative review process is proprietary. We watch every single second of content before it goes live on the channel,\u201d looking out for derogatory language, violence and other qualities that would make the show not suitable for the platform. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at the big brands\u2014PAW<\/em> Patrol<\/em>, Peppa Pig<\/em>, True and the Rainbow Kingdom<\/em>. We have great gamers playing Nintendo games. We\u2019re always looking for the unicorns. We\u2019re looking for the new content creators with a great show they\u2019ve been unable to place elsewhere because of financial restraints, because of traditional broadcast models. [We\u2019re] giving content a chance to thrive. We have a saying, Welcome to the Kidoodle.TV family. So when we\u2019re looking at acquisitions, we\u2019re looking at, How is that show going to live in the ecosystem of Kidoodle.TV and how can we support each other in that? It\u2019s not just about acquiring a show and closing a deal. It\u2019s about aligning with partners who actually care about what we\u2019re doing in the world to change it. We are on the front lines of this movement of Safe Streaming. We want partners to care about how we\u2019re showing up for kids and families. We\u2019re looking at cross-promotion opportunities. And we\u2019re always showing up to support brands in the biggest way possible, so people know they are there.\u201d<\/p>\n Bisner said she and her team are receiving more than 800 submissions a week. \u201cAnd we respond to every single one.\u201d<\/p>\n With Hopster\u2019s acquisition of Curious World, Solberg is now looking beyond the 2-to-6 set, eyeing content for kids up to the age of 8. Activity content is performing particularly well on Curious World, Solberg said, citing shows about arts and crafts and exploration. For Hopster, the focus is on the younger set. \u201cWe consider all content sent to us. Sometimes you don\u2019t know you\u2019re looking for something until you see it.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about gaps in the market, WarnerMedia\u2019s Pitt said there are plenty of \u201cunique and diverse storytelling concepts that are circulating with a greater frequency than we\u2019ve seen in the past. But I would like to encourage creators out there to maybe color outside the lines a little bit and not be so committed to formats and structure the way we have traditionally. We\u2019re in a very non-traditional moment, and this is a wonderful opportunity for risk-taking and to present us with ideas that perhaps we didn\u2019t know we wanted in the first place. It\u2019s OK if you have something that is 2-minutes long. It can be expanded. Don\u2019t be so married to tradition. Go with it and see what happens. There is so much opportunity for the consumers and the creators. If it\u2019s not for us, that doesn\u2019t mean it shouldn\u2019t get made. Maybe it\u2019s right for Ellen or Maud or Brenda. Keep creating. I do feel very encouraged by what we\u2019re seeing so far this year. I think it\u2019s going to be amped up a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n M6\u2019s Branly reiterated that she\u2019s \u201calways looking for new comedy series. There are so many available, but we need to find the right ones that will allow us to keep our leadership position. And on the live-action side, we\u2019re waiting to see something different. We have some sitcoms and kids\u2019 novelas. We have room for something new on the live-action side, even for preschoolers or co-viewing. We want to be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n Echoing Pitt, Kidoodle.TV\u2019s Bisner said, \u201cit\u2019s now a better time than ever to not just make a show for one place\u2014there are so many different channels, so many different ways of engaging with content. And there\u2019s this conversation about being available anywhere a kid is. And the conversation around exclusivity and non-exclusivity. What I\u2019m finding from a lot of creators is they\u2019re challenged by trying to sell a show, and they find if they make it for multiple places, it has a better chance at success. With that said, we\u2019re looking at the world changing and how we can try to integrate more education into our offerings, more diversity, showing kids other versions of the world that they might not have been able to see. We\u2019re facing an issue in the education space in general and the lack of it. A lot of kids are falling behind. How are we going to step up to help out with that deficit? What kind of content are we looking to bring into the marketplace? I encourage more educational content. I encourage mindfulness, music, movement, an understanding of other people around us and always looking at kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n She, too, called on creators to \u201cmake something different. We have shows that are 2 minutes; we have shows that are 30 minutes. The average viewing time on our channel is 90 minutes. It doesn\u2019t have to be a certain length; it doesn\u2019t have to be a certain way. What does matter is why we care about the show. What does it mean? What does it represent? If you know the core values of your brand, you have a higher chance of success.\u201d<\/p>\n In what has been a strange year, content needs have shifted, Hopster\u2019s Solberg added. \u201cWe\u2019re all looking for ways of coping and feeling happy in this situation while we\u2019re stuck at home. We are looking for more content on mindfulness and yoga and exercise and things you can do at home that make it easier being in this situation. Aside from that, we\u2019re looking for\u2014and struggling to find\u2014[content about] Black History month, the Paralympics if that goes ahead, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.\u201d<\/p>\n Brzoznowski asked WarnerMedia\u2019s Pitt about the company\u2019s specific brand values she wants content owners to know about before pitching to her and her colleagues. \u201cConsumers always come to our brands to just be entertained. Kids go to school or are home-schooled at this point. Their lives are filled with homework and responsibility within their world. It\u2019s wonderful to be able to provide something that allows them to laugh, to give them some water-cooler talk. But the core value of our brands that we\u2019re proud of is we\u2019ve always celebrated every child. Heart and humor have always been at the center of all kids\u2019 brands, and individuality.\u201d<\/p>\n On working with her international counterparts, Pitt said, \u201cWe\u2019re a small group, and we\u2019re pretty nimble. Whenever possible, we try to act globally. Sometimes an IP is not available or may not be relevant for that region, so we do pan-regional deals, or we work locally. We\u2019re very flexible in that regard. But the lines of communication across the international brethren are wonderful and pretty consistent. A great idea can come from anywhere, so we benefit from talking to our brethren [around the world]. And you\u2019re going to see a lot more of that cohesiveness as we go into a global experience that is not just linear but also nonlinear, and as the SVOD platforms are deployed around the world. I would say to any producer out there, if you can put yourself into the shoes of the consumer you\u2019re serving, that helps a lot in the tone and the spirit of the content you\u2019re providing. Tapping into that 6-year-old or 4-year-old or 11-year-old is really wonderful, and you\u2019ll find that a lot of fantasy and imagination and creativity will come from that exercise. We\u2019re excited to be able to partner with new creators and also partners we\u2019ve worked with for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n M6\u2019s Branly noted the importance of local content to Gulli, given France\u2019s quota obligations. \u201cWe have to invest every year a percentage of the turnover in French animation, and we have to broadcast a large amount of French animation. This is a good thing. There are so many great productions on the market, and we want to promote these productions. We are currently working on more than 20 French co-productions. It\u2019s great we have access to this French content. It also gives a smaller place to the non-French series on Gulli.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that she always has the international Gulli services in mind when assessing acquisitions. \u201cWe have eight TV channels, and it allows us to make global deals. It\u2019s also important to have content available on all our [feeds] because we want to build the brand. We share the same DNA across the channels, the same values in terms of openness, cheerfulness. So it\u2019s really important to share content. We are the [leading] broadcaster of French animation in the world. Last year we broadcast more than 25,000 hours of French animation. So it\u2019s a way to promote the French animation.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the company also wants to build \u201ctailor-made\u201d channels relevant to their local markets. \u201cWe broadcast local content; for example, on Gulli Africa, we broadcast 30 percent African animation. We need to have African content. The kids need to have heroes that look like them.\u201d<\/p>\n Addressing the factors she takes into consideration when it comes to buying for Kidoodle.TV, Bisner stated: \u201cWe have to look at the entire brand. When we say Safe Streaming, we mean it. The factors that come into play for us include, Where is the show from? There\u2019s a lot of great stuff that\u2019s been put out on YouTube. If we\u2019re looking at a YouTube creator, for example, we don\u2019t allow things like call-outs or promotion of YouTube. No \u2018Subscribe Here,\u2019 no leading anywhere else. We\u2019re adhering to the highest letters of the law: that\u2019s COPPA, that\u2019s GDPR, CARU, etc. Is it free of negative language? Is there violence? We don\u2019t have any religious content and we don\u2019t plan to. Also, anything politically driven is very difficult. When we\u2019re looking at YouTube brands, we have to take a larger filter. When we\u2019re looking at PAW Patrol<\/em> or Peppa<\/em>, it\u2019s a completely different conversation. We have a very thorough QA process; every single second.\u201d<\/p>\n At Hopster and Curious World, meanwhile, Solberg said she\u2019s \u201cflexible on formats since we\u2019re SVOD. We\u2019re very open to all types of content. We take into account if it fits with our brand, and we have a curriculum that we acquire and produce content to fit into. The content we put onto Hopster or Curious World should have some educational value. We don\u2019t acquire pure comedy or slapstick shows. We\u2019re in quite a lot of territories now and a lot of languages, so either having those languages available or being able to localize quite easily is a plus,\u201d as is non-verbal content, she added.<\/p>\n In closing, Brzoznowski asked the panelists to share advice for creators or distributors looking to get their show picked up on these platforms. A recurring theme among the panelists: be patient.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, it starts with a conversation,\u201d WarnerMedia\u2019s Pitt said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a pitching season, per se, so people can email us and we start the conversation that way. If you\u2019ve done your homework, then you\u2019re well-versed in what our ecosystem looks like. You can play outside of that but still within a certain framework of what is age-appropriate. I think that people need to be mindful that we\u2019re serving a large company right now and a lot of platforms, and we receive a lot of submissions on a regular basis. Patience is key. And beginnings are really important. If you\u2019re going to send 300 emails within the first month, chances are I don\u2019t care what your show is; we\u2019re probably not going to do anything with it because you\u2019re crazy! [Laughs<\/em>] There are people on the other side of the call who want to find those diamonds in the rough. You have to give us a chance to have the conversation, to do the strategic planning, to see where these pieces of the puzzle fit alongside not just the original IP but the content we\u2019re acquiring that\u2019s coming down the pipe. Patience, strategy, do your homework and be open to having a dialogue. It\u2019s not going to happen overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very broadminded and we appreciate being surprised, so we love to take a new challenge and find new kinds of programs,\u201d said M6\u2019s Branly. \u201cI completely agree with Adina; I\u2019m alone to do all the acquisitions, and I receive tons and tons of emails every day, so patience is key. Patience and strategy, yes!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe all agree across the board,\u201d Kidoodle.TV\u2019s Bisner said. \u201cI got your email. I have a system. We are very organized. I got it. I care. I will respond. The more emails you send, the less effective your first one is.\u201d<\/p>\n For Solberg at Hopster, key considerations include if a show hits the service\u2019s target audience, has an educational angle, is inclusive and has diversity, \u201cand we don\u2019t take on content with gender stereotypes.\u201d<\/p>\n She, too, added, \u201cWe do review everything sent in, it can just take a little time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WarnerMedia\u2019s Adina Pitt, M6\u2019s Maud Branly, Kidoodle.TV\u2019s Brenda Bisner and Hopster\u2019s Ellen Solberg shared their acquisition strategies at the Buying Time panel that kicked off the TV Kids Festival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":20019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[3677,4595,5784,5861,5723],"class_list":["post-20018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-adina-pitt","tag-brenda-bisner","tag-ellen-solberg","tag-maud-branly","tag-tv-kids-festival","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n