<\/p>\n
World Screen<\/em> made its first moves into the virtual events space last February with our inaugural TV Kids Festival. With close to 2,000 registered participants and 24,000 views of the sessions\u2014involving 30-plus speakers\u2014we knew we couldn\u2019t wait to do it again.<\/p>\n Taking place February 1 to 4, this winter\u2019s TV Kids Festival (like last year, we\u2019ll have another one this summer) has enlisted 32 speakers from across the business\u2014production, broadcast, streaming, distribution, L&M\u2014to share their thoughts on where the kids\u2019 content landscape is today and where it\u2019s heading. If you haven\u2019t registered yet, you can still do so here<\/a>; it\u2019s free!<\/strong><\/p>\n The festival kicks off on Tuesday, February 1, with the one question all distributors are looking for an answer to: What do buyers want? In our opening panel, WarnerMedia\u2019s Adina Pitt, KiKA\u2019s Sebastian Debertin, M6 Group\u2019s Maud Branly and CBC\u2019s Marie McCann will share their strategies for finding the best properties the international market has to offer. Next, Peter Gal, chief creative officer for television at DreamWorks Animation, will take part in a keynote conversation about the studio\u2019s approach to developing resonant, compelling content for platforms worldwide. Our first creative keynote will be delivered by Joe Brumm, whose Bluey <\/em>has won the hearts of preschoolers across the globe. Next up, we\u2019ll hear from Josh Scherba, president of WildBrain, on how the kids and family giant is evolving amid changes in the market. And the day\u2019s sessions end with Eric Berger, who led the team at Common Sense Networks to create the brand-new AVOD service Sensical.<\/p>\n The Wednesday schedule begins with a special session on preschool programming, featuring Serious Kids\u2019 Genevieve Dexter, Jetpack Distribution\u2019s Dominic Gardiner, Dandelooo\u2019s Emmanu\u00e8le P\u00e9try-Sirvin and CAKE\u2019s Daniel Bays. Next up, TV Kids Festival attendees will be treated to a keynote conversation with Nick Park, the Oscar-winning co-director at Aardman whose current slate includes a new Wallace & Gromit <\/em>movie for Netflix. At noon, Fred Soulie, senior VP and general manager of Mattel Television, will weigh in on the toy giant\u2019s content approach. Next up, Sesame Street<\/em> icon Sonia Manzano will join Fred Rogers Productions\u2019 Ellen Doherty to showcase the brand-new PBS KIDS show Alma\u2019s Way<\/em>. Closing the day, Deirdre Brennan, COO of WildBrain, and Frank Falcone, president and executive creative director at Guru Studio, will participate in a candid conversation about navigating the complexities of the kids\u2019 business today.<\/p>\n Day three of the TV Kids Festival opens with an inside look at the new show The McFire Family<\/em> with Pierre Sissmann, chairman and CEO of Cyber Group Studios, and Coralie Boitrelle-Laigle, head of content for M6 Group\u2019s kids\u2019 channels in France. Then, Philippe Bony, general manager of thematic TV channels at M6 Group and president of Gulli, will discuss what\u2019s driving the success of his division before being presented with this year\u2019s TV Kids Pioneer Award for his contributions to the kids\u2019 business. The day also includes a keynote conversation with Olivier Dumont, president of eOne Family Brands, about the treasure trove of properties he oversees. Later, we\u2019ll hear from Emmy-nominated writer and producer Chelsea Beyl about the new Disney Junior series Alice\u2019s Wonderland Bakery<\/em>. The last session of the day will take festival attendees inside the expansion strategy at Thunderbird Entertainment and Atomic Cartoons with Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO; Matt Berkowitz, president and chief creative officer; and Richard Goldsmith, president of global distribution and consumer products.<\/p>\n The Friday slate of events starts with a spotlight on France\u2019s thriving animation segment, featuring a panel discussion with Cyber Group Studios\u2019 Rapha\u00eblle Mathieu, TeamTO\u2019s Corinne Kouper and Zephyr Animation\u2019s David Sauerwein. Then, we\u2019ll hear from Hans Bourlon, CEO and co-founder of Studio 100, which operates across all segments of the kids\u2019 business, from animation studios and a distribution arm to theme parks, TV channels and a successful L&M operation. The powerhouse keynotes continue into the afternoon with Chris M. Williams, founder and CEO of pocket.watch, and Brenda Bisner, chief content officer at Kidoodle.TV. And stay tuned for the last session of the day, as Anna Carugati, our group editorial director, offers up a closing message and checks in with a pair of delightful young ones in the extended TV Kids<\/em> family about what they\u2019re watching!<\/p>\n You can see the full schedule here<\/strong><\/a> and sign up for your free registration here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Taking place February 1 to 4, this winter\u2019s TV Kids Festival has enlisted 32 speakers from across the business to share their thoughts on where the kids\u2019 content landscape is today and where it\u2019s heading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":22206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,21],"tags":[5723],"class_list":["post-22205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-tv-kids-festival","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n