{"id":24384,"date":"2023-01-06T11:35:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T16:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/2022-year-kids\/"},"modified":"2023-01-09T09:34:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T14:34:14","slug":"2022-the-year-in-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/2022-the-year-in-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"2022: The Year in Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

The kids\u2019 business took some tough hits in 2022, beginning at the start of the year when the U.K.’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said it would be discontinuing the Young Audiences Content Fund<\/a>\u2014a move the Children\u2019s Media Foundation deemed \u201ca short-sighted failure.\u201d The confusion around HBO Max\u2019s kids\u2019 and family strategy that would begin later in the year, starting with Tom Ascheim\u2019s exit<\/a>and continuing with a slew of projects being canceled or put on hold, like Degrassi<\/em><\/a>, did not make life easier for producers and distributors. In announcing its strategy for a digital-first future, the BBC revealed it would be axing the CBBC linear channel<\/a>. Inflation, slowing SVOD gains and a weakening ad market squeezed budgets, making financing ever more complex. And with a fast-moving AVOD\/FAST channel landscape, windowing and rights negotiations became much more challenging.<\/p>\n

But as was evident as the kids\u2019 business convened in person in Cannes in October for MIPJunior\u2019s official return to the JW Marriott<\/a> and virtually for our own TV Kids Festival<\/a> in February and TV Kids Summer Festival<\/a> in June, the people making, financing and selling children\u2019s content are infinitely adept at navigating the challenges the sector is facing as it heads into 2023. And the trends that marked 2022 are likely to continue, especially in the M&A space, as companies chase IP, scale and talent. And there certainly was an abundance of investment activity in 2022. Banijay Kids & Family acquired Kindle Entertainment in the U.K. and Italy’s Movimenti Production<\/a>. Cyber Group Studios landed majority stakes in the Italian animation studio Graphilm Entertainment<\/a> and the U.K.-based studio A Productions<\/a>. MGA Entertainment, home to toy brands such as Bratz, set up MGA Studios to grow its TV, movie and streaming content catalog and acquired Pixel Zoo Animation<\/a>. LEONINE Holding purchased a 25.1 percent share in Toon2Tango<\/a>, the venture founded by Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris. Coolabi Group was acquired<\/a> by the technology platform Talenthouse. Paris-based Superprod bought The Co-Production Company, founded by Doug Schwalbe<\/a>. Moonbug Entertainment acquired the Singapore-based media company and production studio One Animation, which is behind <\/a>Oddbods<\/em><\/a>. TOHO International made a multimillion-dollar investment to acquire a 50 percent stake in select content and consumer products from Genius Brands\u2019 Frederator Network<\/a>. Australian indie Princess Pictures acquired the Dublin-based animation studio Boulder Media<\/a> from Hasbro. Sandbox & Co, the parent company of Hopster, took control of the U.K.-based children\u2019s educational subscription service toucanBox<\/a> and PlayKids, a digital education platform in Brazil<\/a>. Cinesite invested in Squeeze<\/a>, which is behind the hit Crack\u00e9<\/em>. 108 Media picked up a majority interest<\/a> in Singaporean animation studio Robot Playground Media. Spire Animation Studios<\/a> received a strategic investment from Epic Games. The year also saw the establishment of several new players and joint ventures, with Bob Higgins tapped to run a new company under the Trustbridge Global Media banner<\/a>; the creators of Moley<\/em> setting up a brand-new production company, Two Daughters Entertainment<\/a>; Cyber Group Studios and Splash Entertainment aligning to form CyberSplash Entertainment<\/a>; and BBC Studios formally moving Children\u2019s In-house Production into BBC Studios Productions, creating the brand-new division BBC Studios Kids & Family<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year also saw the emergence of new platforms and even expansion in the linear channel space. Sky Kids is launching a new ad-free 24-hour linear channel<\/a> next month dedicated to kids ages 1 to 7. NBCUniversal International Networks & Direct-to-Consumer brought the DreamWorks channel to France on SFR<\/a>. BBC Studios partnered with Switch Media and MTN to launch BBC Kids in South Africa<\/a> and rolled out the FAST channels BBC Kids and Ni\u00f1os por BBC in the U.S.<\/a> on Pluto TV. KidsBeeTV launched the new app KidsBeeTV en Espa\u00f1ol<\/a> in Latin America and the U.S. Sandbox Kids launched Hopster Learning<\/a>, its preschool entertainment and learning channel, in Australia on Prime Video Channels. Narrative Entertainment made its first foray into the FAST TV market<\/a>, launching, among other services, POP Kids. OTTera aligned with LAFIG Belgium and IMPS on two 2D-animated linear FAST channels for <\/a>The Smurfs<\/em><\/a>. Corus Entertainment rolled out TELETOON+<\/a>. Canela Media unveiled Canela Kids, a Spanish-language AVOD service<\/a> for kids ages 2 to 12. Studio 100 Media and ZDF Studios partnered<\/a> to offer kids\u2019 and family programming on Prime Video Channels under the channel brand Pash. Peacock expanded<\/a>its children’s programming roster. Genius Brands International unveiled the subscription-based Kartoon Channel! Kidaverse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In commissioning trends, known IP remained vital, with a raft of books, films, games and comics used as the basis for new shows. Disney+ ordered a pilot episode of <\/a>Witch Mountain<\/em><\/a>, a television adaptation of the film franchise of the same name. Scholastic Entertainment and Gaumont partnered<\/a> to co-develop and co-produce Rocket Park<\/em>, inspired by Sofia Sanchez, a 13-year-old Down syndrome self-advocate, actress and inspiration for the children\u2019s books You Are Enough<\/em> and You Are Loved<\/em>. Baboon Animation and IQI Media said they were working on a prequel to A.A. Milne\u2019s classic book <\/a>Winnie-the-Pooh<\/em><\/a>. TVOkids and Big Jump Entertainment teamed for the 2D series <\/a>Griffin and Turner<\/em><\/a>, based on real Canadian brothers who already have an online following. A brand-new Teletubbies<\/em>, narrated by Tituss Burgess<\/a>, arrived on Netflix. The multi-award-winning illustrated book <\/a>Tales from Outer Suburbia<\/em><\/a> by Shaun Tan is being developed as an animated series by Flying Bark Productions with support from the Australian Children\u2019s Television Foundation. Vancouver-based Slap Happy Cartoons partnered with Andrews McMeel Entertainment to develop content inspired by the newspaper, web and book-based property <\/a>Heart of the City<\/em><\/a>. WildBrain aligned with Peacock for new <\/a>Caillou<\/em><\/a>episodes<\/a>. Boat Rocker secured the rights to develop an animated series based on Nick Bruel\u2019s best-selling children\u2019s book series <\/a>Bad Kitty<\/em><\/a> and is working with The Operating Room on Stuffed<\/em><\/a>, based on the hit comic strip created by Erik McCurdy<\/a>. Nickelodeon greenlit a preschool series based on the Superhero Bunny League<\/em><\/a> comics by cartoonist Jamie Smart<\/a>. Method Animation and Shibuya Productions are working together on a new CGI show based on <\/a>Astroboy<\/em><\/a>. Cyber Group Studios is working with Nippon Animation<\/a> to produce a feature-length animated fantasy adventure film based on the classic Japanese series Tico and Friends<\/em>. Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation<\/a> are developing a new animated series based on the Ghostbusters IP. marblemedia and Robert C. Cooper\u2019s Mezo Entertainment are co-developing the new live-action sci-fi adventure series Generation Mars<\/em><\/a>, based on the books by Douglas D. Meredith<\/a>. Moonbug Entertainment and Disney Branded Television partnered to develop the new CGI series Morphle<\/em>, based on the hit short-form show My Magic Pet Morphle<\/em><\/a>. Apple TV+ ordered the animated series <\/a>Eva the Owlet<\/em><\/a>, adapted from the best-selling book series by Rebecca Elliott, and Sago Mini Friends<\/em>, an animated preschool series based on the characters and designs featured in the Sago Mini World app<\/a>. BBC Children\u2019s partnered with Shakespeare\u2019s Globe<\/a> to adapt As You Like It <\/em>for preschoolers and their families and ordered Quentin Blake\u2019s Box of Treasures<\/em><\/a>. Sesame Workshop expanded its animation slate<\/a> with book-based properties, beginning with an adaptation of E.B. White\u2019s Charlotte\u2019s Web<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It was also a significant year for developments in the metaverse, with new initiatives from Mattel,<\/a> Omens Studios<\/a>, Epic Storyworlds<\/a>, Hasbro<\/a>, Warner Bros. Consumer Products<\/a>, Banijay<\/a> and others. But kids want to do much more than spend all day on their tablets, as evidenced by continued gains in live experiences. Cyber Group Studios and the U.K.\u2019s ROARR!, a dinosaur-themed adventure park, partnered to develop Gigantosaurus Land, based on the hit children\u2019s series<\/a>, for a 2024 launch. China Leisure Development opened the first Peppa Pig<\/em><\/a>-themed play caf\u00e9<\/a>. Spacetoon Event teamed up with ZAG to bring new family entertainment experiences for <\/a>Miraculous\u2014Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir<\/em><\/a> to the MENA region. Kilburn Live and Rovio Entertainment collaborated on a new touring interactive theatrical production, Angry Birds Live: The Slingshot Adventure<\/em><\/a>. EMC Presents and Moonbug Entertainment rolled out the CoComelon Live! JJ\u2019s Journey tou<\/a>r throughout the U.S. Herschend Entertainment Studios expanded its Chuggington television franchise with its first immersive theme park attraction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keep up with all the developments in the kids\u2019 business by subscribing to TV Kids Daily<\/em><\/a> and TV Kids Breaking News<\/em><\/a>, visiting TVKids.com<\/a> and following us on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A look back at last year\u2019s biggest stories in the kids\u2019 business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":24385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n2022: The Year in Kids - 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\/2022-the-year-in-kids\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2022: The Year in Kids - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A look back at last year\u2019s biggest stories in the kids\u2019 business.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/2022-the-year-in-kids\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-06T16:35:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-09T14:34:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2017\/07\/2023-01-03-year-in-review.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"319\" \/>\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=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/2022-the-year-in-kids\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/2022-the-year-in-kids\/\",\"name\":\"2022: The Year in Kids - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-06T16:35:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-09T14:34:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/2022-the-year-in-kids\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/2022-the-year-in-kids\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/2022-the-year-in-kids\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2022: The Year in Kids\"}]},{\"@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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