{"id":22630,"date":"2022-03-18T09:42:03","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T13:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner\/"},"modified":"2022-03-18T14:11:10","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T18:11:10","slug":"jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Jetpack\u2019s Dominic Gardiner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jetpack Distribution, led by CEO Dominic Gardiner, continues to take a boutique approach to expanding its slate, which already stands at some 1,500 half-hours. Earlier this month, it landed the rights to the 2D show Alice\u2019s Diary<\/em>, a co-production between Portugal\u2019s Sardinha em Lata, Spain\u2019s Alice AIE and Brazil\u2019s Gepetto Filmes that uses art to help upper preschoolers discover the world around them. The company, which has long been known for its strong lineup of kids\u2019 comedies, is also working with U.K. outfit Paper Owl Films on the engineering and science-focused Florida<\/em> as it looks to cater to broadcasters and platforms eager for curriculum-inspired shows. TV Kids<\/em>\u00a0caught up with Gardiner to talk edutainment and his perspectives on navigating the business today as an independent distributor.<\/p>\n

\"***Image***\"TV KIDS:<\/strong> How are you approaching the landscape today as an indie?
\nGARDINER:<\/strong> The way we\u2019re approaching it is the way we set out to eight years ago. It was to be boutique in the sense that we\u2019re bespoke and specialist. That appeals to a lot of people. Not everybody buys their clothes at Walmart. Some go and have them tailormade. Those are the extremes of the market: your one-size-fits-all jogging pants with a nice elasticated waist or something tailor-made for a special occasion. We try to exist in that end of the market. The creatives and producers we meet appreciate that personal service. We\u2019ll never be as big as the big players who can buy brands. If you\u2019ve got plenty of money, you can buy success. The challenge for us is we have to grow a lot of the things we do from seed. I can\u2019t call some kids on a YouTube channel with 25 million subscribers. If I do, my conversation is very different than some of the bigger players who\u2019d call and say, We\u2019ll give you $10 million up front, but you have to give us everything in perpetuity. A lot of people would say, Why not? We\u2019re not a bank; we don\u2019t have enormously deep pockets, so we have to build relationships. We have to help them get from ground level up to the next step. You may get to a point where you have to sell. A show sometimes benefits if it has a bigger player behind it. I haven\u2019t found the next Peppa Pig <\/em>yet. I still look at its journey. You appreciate that as things get bigger, there\u2019s a need for big. But I also like the fun end, the startup phase.<\/p>\n

The challenge is always capital. It\u2019s always being able to bankroll and take risks. That\u2019s the advantage the big players have. Many people say, with all the consolidation, independents will fizzle it out. No. The bigger companies do struggle to break through and find the innovation required. Disney managed to do it, but many successful ideas stem from small, independent outlets.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> You say boutique player, but you\u2019ve significantly grown your catalog over the last few years!
\nGARDINER:<\/strong> We want to make sure we have enough content and enough diversity of content for everyone. For every buyer, there is a particular show. They know it when they see it. Every buyer has a unique taste. Some like to buy things that have been successful somewhere else. That\u2019s easy. But for every one of those, there are those who are very much about crafting their brand and finding a show that enhances their brand. You can\u2019t just have one show and sell it to the world. There\u2019s too much nuance between the buyers. You have to have multiple options. We need to make sure we have all bases covered. We love selling. But we also love shopping. We love working with new producers. We love working on ideas that are no more than sketches and ideas. That\u2019s where we get an opportunity to play in the creative space a little bit. We, as a distributor, are a good sounding board; do you think this will sell? Well, if you make the boy a girl and the dog a cat and take the horse out, it will be a hit! [Laughs<\/em>] And put more pigs in it!<\/p>\n

The catalog, for me, is a curated, dynamic object. I\u2019ve been a buyer. We don\u2019t want hundreds and hundreds of pages in a catalog. We want something that is current and alive. When we meet buyers, what excites them more than anything is seeing something new and exciting. Something that makes them delighted but also maybe confused. You want that interaction with them. Buyers want to share that expertise as well.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> Tell us about some of the STEM\/STEAM titles Jetpack is showcasing.
\nGARDINER:<\/strong> Florida<\/em> is about a little girl who lives with her auntie, who happens to be an ex-NASA scientist. It\u2019s based on a real NASA scientist. Our little Florida lives in Aunt G\u2019s repair shop. Kids learn about where the item came from, what it was used for and how it works. The emphasis is on storytelling, but the \u201chow it works\u201d bit educates kids about engineering and science. There is also a great focus on imagination-based science and how you can invent a new tomorrow.<\/p>\n

I was pitched the show by Grainne [McGuinness, managing director at Paper Owl]. I was in love from the start. I studied engineering at university. It\u2019s a show that can excite kids about engineering. The fun bits, like how magnets work and what a pendulum is\u2014the real-world applications of science. You want to get kids to think about how things work. [For] the kids today, there\u2019s no information you can\u2019t find. But the application of things in the physical world is something that kids probably don\u2019t interact with in the same way as when we were growing up. Toys were based on scientific things. Now everything just comes out of the screen. We wanted to have principles of coding in the storytelling. We also wanted to match that with more classic science as well. So, we have new tech and old. We\u2019re developing that with Paper Owl. It\u2019s the most obvious STEM show we have.<\/p>\n

We have just launched Alice\u2019s Diary<\/em>. It\u2019s the A of STEAM. The strapline is: Understanding the world through art. Alice\u2019s wonder, inquisitiveness and unique view of the world are shared with the audience through her off-beat, engaging conversations with her mum. And as Alice talks, she draws, and her pictures become a captivating visualization of what she\u2019s thinking. It\u2019s animation about art. It\u2019s one of those shows you\u2019re drawn to because it\u2019s so beautifully designed.<\/p>\n

One of the most successful shows we have about kids\u2019 questions\u2014how, what, where and when\u2014is Daisy & Ollie<\/em>. It\u2019s kids asking questions, and the episodes try to answer those questions. It\u2019s on season five. It\u2019s on Milkshake! in the U.K.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> We saw that scramble for educational content at the start of lockdowns. Have broadcasters and platforms kept up that demand?
\nGARDINER:<\/strong> There is a lot of demand. There are a lot of broadcasters that are already explicit with that demand and have been that way for a long time. Even those who have experience doing edutainment shows stepped up even more. I think there was demand from parents as well. And the industry reacted quite quickly. Even commercially minded broadcasters would have noticed it was very popular. At the end of the day, they\u2019re all in the business of eyeballs. If edutainment works, then why not do more of it? The slight problem we have is that when you\u2019re pitching, your idea can be compared to preexisting ones quite quickly. Once you even utter the word STEM, they may say, We have a STEM show! It\u2019s frustrating because you know the world can exist with more than one STEM show. There\u2019s almost that quota people have in their heads. It\u2019s not strictly related to the audience\u2019s appetite. And some channels could have edutainment all day. You have to be very distinctive. With Florida,<\/em> we\u2019ve been very specific with the engineering [elements]. Sometimes too broad of an approach can mean you\u2019re not necessarily standing out enough. You\u2019ve got to be quite precise and have a real mission. The audience will appreciate that. And the buyers appreciate that. That point of difference needs to be clear in any educationally driven series. But the younger you go, you can\u2019t be too specific. If you have a show about numbers, there\u2019s only so much you can do before you start getting quite technical. The younger you go, the broader the shows are.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS:<\/strong> As kids age up, I know it\u2019s harder to get them to respond to these themes. Are you seeing edutainment mainly be focused on the younger preschool\/bridge demos?
\nGARDINER:<\/strong> We\u2019re not seeing much of it [for older kids]. To follow a curriculum, you have to have a broad approach because not all kids develop at the same rate. Some subjects would be tough to get across in a story. It becomes factual. There\u2019s a lot you can do for younger kids. You can have a balance of story and education. And entertainment is the tone of it; it envelops it all. You can be completely madcap and irreverent and still have facts in there that kids can get out of it. When you get more into, this is a factual show, the older kids appreciate it, but it really is education, and the entertainment gets dialed down. You have to be clear and honest with older kids. This is a factual show, and it will help you with your schoolwork. The prominence is always the younger end. I\u2019d say 95 percent of preschool shows have some loose curriculum, whether it\u2019s soft emotional-social learning or science, etc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TV Kids\u00a0caught up with the CEO to talk edutainment and his perspectives on navigating the business today as an independent distributor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":22631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,21],"tags":[3386,958],"class_list":["post-22630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-dominic-gardiner","tag-jetpack-distribution","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nJetpack\u2019s Dominic Gardiner - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jetpack\u2019s Dominic Gardiner - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TV Kids\u00a0caught up with the CEO to talk edutainment and his perspectives on navigating the business today as an independent distributor.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-18T13:42:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-18T18:11:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2017\/07\/JETPACK-Dominic-Gardiner.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"240\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022\/\",\"name\":\"Jetpack\u2019s Dominic Gardiner - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-18T13:42:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-18T18:11:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/jetpacks-dominic-gardiner-2022\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jetpack\u2019s Dominic Gardiner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\",\"name\":\"TVKIDS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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