{"id":27668,"date":"2024-06-04T09:44:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T13:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T09:44:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T13:44:27","slug":"top-buyers-talk-programming-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Buyers Talk Programming Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fourth edition of the TV Kids Summer Festival kicked off with our signature session on programming needs with KiKA\u2019s Sebastian Debertin, M6 Group\u2019s Coralie Boitrelle-Laigle, RT\u00c9\u2019s Suzanne Kelly and Sandbox Group\u2019s Ellen Solberg.<\/p>\n

The session featured Debertin, KiKA\u2019s head of international content acquisitions, programming and management department; Boitrelle-Laigle, M6\u2019s director of youth programs in France; Kelly, head of children\u2019s and young people\u2019s content at RT\u00c9; and Solberg, director of content at Sandbox Group, in conversation with TV Kids<\/em>\u2019 Kristin Brzoznowski. You can watch it in its entirety here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year, KiKA had 1,221 international programs across its grid, Debertin said, reflecting the crucial role of acquisitions and co-pros for the ZDF and ARD joint venture. Acquisitions and prebuys also form a key part of M6\u2019s kids\u2019 grid, including on the free DTT service Gulli, the pay-TV channels Canal J and TiJi and the AVOD service M6+. RT\u00c9 commissions a slate of content to meet the needs of its audiences but is always on the lookout for acquisitions, Kelly said. Sandbox acquires for SVOD, AVOD and its FAST channel across 12 languages, with about 90 percent of its total slate made up of acquisitions, Solberg said, with an eye to buying 15 to 20 new shows over the next year for SVOD.<\/p>\n

Asked how their acquisitions remits have shifted, Kelly noted, \u201cAn absolute prerequisite is strong box-set rights for our VOD player. We used to operate on the basis that we would sometimes get a 30-day catch-up, but that just doesn\u2019t suffice anymore. Children are moving away from linear content. Everything is on-demand. So, we\u2019re asking for very, very strong rights. If we can\u2019t get those rights, we\u2019re not buying that particular type of content. We\u2019re also trying to build our brand very significantly on YouTube. So, we also argue quite strongly for geo-blocked and YouTube content so we can create some kind of experience on that platform, with a view to pushing toward our player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debertin has been exploring new markets for acquisitions and co-pros. At Sandbox, the biggest shift has been expanding beyond preschool, acquiring content for kids aged 6 to 12. Gaming is also increasingly important, as is having a presence in FAST.<\/p>\n

Kelly is looking at a wider array of touchpoints as well. \u201cThere\u2019s so much content coming in from the U.S. and the U.K., it\u2019s very, very difficult to get kids to come to a public-service broadcaster. We\u2019re not very cool! We are always looking at the various touchpoints we can create using the content in a clever way to try to engage them back to our service.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversation then moved to wish lists. Solberg stressed that everything Sandbox acquires for its various services needs to fit its key brand tenets. \u201cWe are playful. We want learning to be fun. We want the content to inspire kids to discover new hobbies and to go out and do things outside of the app and TV as well.\u201d She is buying for multiple demos (preschool, bridge and tween), mainly series. \u201cLong-form and short-form do different jobs across the platform. For example, on mobile, we\u2019re seeing short-form is engaged with more. On Amazon channels and Apple channels, the longer form does better. FAST is still quite new to us. It\u2019ll be really interesting to see how that compares to the other platforms. Our FAST channel is planned around a child\u2019s routine. In the morning, you want getting-ready content, and then there are activities throughout the day and then calmer content at night. We do need volume. We need longer form content there that fits into those themes.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a similarly diverse set of needs at M6, Boitrelle-Laigle said. Gulli, geared to kids and families, is always in the need for comedy that reflects the brand\u2019s values, she said. \u201cComedy grounded in the daily lives of children, so they can recognize themselves in the show, along the lines of hits like The Loud House<\/em> and SpongeBob SquarePants<\/em>. TiJi, the preschool service, has a slight girl skew and has fared well with Barbie<\/em>-themed content and Zoom the White Dolphin<\/em>. Canal J is in need of action-adventure fare for kids 8 to 12, with volume being a key factor \u201cbecause we program in big blocks.\u201d Volume is also key for Gulli, given its wide audience target.<\/p>\n

RT\u00c9 is currently well-served on the preschool front. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for a lot of comedy and slapstick in that bridge space,\u201d Kelly explained. \u201cAnd then, as we skew older, drama. The U.K. is producing quite a lot of drama, but for a point of difference, we\u2019re looking outside of the U.K. We buy a lot of content from Canada and Australia. Sometimes, dubbing content that\u2019s in a different language when it comes to Ireland can be quite a difficult sell for audiences. For older kids, the 10-to-12 segment, we look for more reality-based shows. Key to what we look for as much as possible are child-centric shows that are driven by kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

KiKA is serving the needs of its flagship channel as well as its on-demand player. On the preschool front, \u201cWe\u2019re cherry-picking,\u201d Debertin said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at everything because you never know.\u201d KiKA is boarding a new preschool show from Croatia, Debertin said, reflecting the wide net he has cast to fill the service\u2019s needs. \u201cIt\u2019s great to find these new, fresh, talented people in countries that you don\u2019t have on your radar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brzoznowski then asked the buyers about their views on content from the creator economy that is resonating with young ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to know what this audience likes apart from our TV programs,\u201d Boitrelle-Laigle said. \u201cWe always keep an eye on YouTube and on social media. We sometimes collaborate with YouTubers, but more [so] to promote the shows. YouTubers and influencers are local celebrities, and we need an international celebrity to build an IP. It\u2019s really hard for us to have special content based on a YouTuber. In our shows, we make the character use the codes of YouTube and social media to create a close link between our audience and those YouTubers and this new, fresh tone that we like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of RT\u00c9\u2019s shows have been fronted by local talent with significant social media followings. \u201cSometimes they transfer across really nicely, sometimes they don\u2019t,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cThe kids often sniff it out. They\u2019re suspicious if we take their beloved social media stars and plunk them on a linear show. We\u2019ve also tried to collaborate in interesting ways. We did a show last year called Ireland\u2019s Future is MINE<\/em>, a skill-based show with Microsoft. We\u2019re trying to muddy the waters and not be too platform-specific. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solberg said Sandbox is looking at the creator economy space. \u201cI\u2019m curious about it. Because it is user-generated content, you need a level of involvement in selecting the content and the curation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly agreed, noting, \u201cThat can be a tricky space to navigate. You want the influencers because they\u2019re so popular on social. You bring them onto your beloved, family-friendly, safe platform and the next thing they\u2019re doing on social is completely at odds with your brand. It\u2019s a tricky state to navigate, but exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

KiKA has started working with social media influencers who are popular among kids, Debertin added. Viewers \u201csee that we take them seriously and that we are where they are and also recognize that they have these new stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also opens up loads of opportunities for the public-service broadcaster to not be so serious,\u201d Kelly added. \u201cIt\u2019s brilliant that we can use our platform to showcase completely demented stuff that you would only see on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

On what\u2019s missing from the market now, Kelly said she wants to see more puppet-based content. \u201cWe don\u2019t really get offered that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boitrelle-Laigle highlighted a need for \u201cmore episodic formula shows. It\u2019s really relevant for children to find the same beginning, middle and end, and in the middle of all three points, so many things can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandbox is taking more of a 360 approach to brands, Solberg said. \u201cWe have videos and games as part of our SVOD service, but we also have a publisher and activity boxes that we send out. It\u2019s opening a whole new world for exploring brands and content and doing more with them. This is something we\u2019re discussing now and looking at how to start testing that out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debertin added, \u201cThe world for kids nowadays is so much more difficult and challenging. I\u2019d love to see solutions. We take the kids seriously, and we want to give them a helping hand. It is not about giving kids a written manual, not a handbook, but some kind of smaller or bigger solutions for their daily lives and their future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The session wrapped with a conversation about exclusivity. \u201cWe\u2019re pretty happy with things like simultaneous broadcasts,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cWe\u2019re really happy to geo-block for our territory. We\u2019re not really that demanding. If we can just have strong box-set rights for our player, which is really where we\u2019re pushing kids, the ability to exploit a little bit on YouTube to get a good taster as to what our content offering is, we\u2019re really, really open to negotiation. That kind of protectionist outlook on content is slightly old hat at this stage. You can deliver to your territory and to your audience without demanding that you own everything.”<\/p>\n

Debertin agreed with Kelly\u2019s assessment but noted, \u201cAt a certain point, we need exclusivity and shows that set us apart from the others. Rights are very often a project-by-project decision. We are starting to produce a third season of The Smurfs<\/em>. We wouldn\u2019t have become one of the three lead co-producers if we wouldn\u2019t have gotten exclusivity. For free TV and BVOD, you have to have that. If you find The Smurfs<\/em> everywhere, that\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boitrelle-Laigle agreed with Debertin\u2019s perspective on exclusivity. \u201cWe are taking exclusive rights where it\u2019s possible and wherever we can,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it always depends on the IP, and we\u2019re open to discussing things case by case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exclusivity has not been a concern at Sandbox, Solberg said. \u201cWe\u2019ve never really focused on buying content exclusively. We haven\u2019t had the budget to consider it seriously because we\u2019re covering so many territories and languages. It wouldn\u2019t work. We\u2019ve come in a bit later, or we\u2019ve taken all the seasons. But I have noticed that there is a bit more availability now than there was a few years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fourth edition of the TV Kids Summer Festival kicked off with our signature session on programming needs with KiKA\u2019s Sebastian Debertin, M6 Group\u2019s Coralie Boitrelle-Laigle, RT\u00c9\u2019s Suzanne Kelly and Sandbox Group\u2019s Ellen Solberg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":27670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[6367,5784,451,4253,274,7151,452,9492,9549],"class_list":["post-27668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-coralie-boitrelle-laigle","tag-ellen-solberg","tag-kika","tag-m6-group","tag-rte","tag-sandbox-group","tag-sebastian-debertin","tag-suzanne-kelly","tag-tv-kids-summer-festival-2024","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nTop Buyers Talk Programming Needs - 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\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Buyers Talk Programming Needs - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The fourth edition of the TV Kids Summer Festival kicked off with our signature session on programming needs with KiKA\u2019s Sebastian Debertin, M6 Group\u2019s Coralie Boitrelle-Laigle, RT\u00c9\u2019s Suzanne Kelly and Sandbox Group\u2019s Ellen Solberg.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T13:44:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T13:44:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/06\/1-Buyers.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"394\" \/>\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=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/\",\"name\":\"Top Buyers Talk Programming Needs - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-04T13:44:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-04T13:44:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/top-buyers-talk-programming-needs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Top Buyers Talk Programming Needs\"}]},{\"@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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