MIPJunior, for the second year in a row, started with pre-opening sessions on Friday afternoon to give kids\u2019 media executives a jump on the weekend. And this sector arguably needs all the help it can get right now. Conversation on the weekend about what happened at TeamTO soon built into speculation about which animation outfit would succumb next to the business\u2019s rapid contraction, a symptom of both the wider post-peak-TV malaise and the irreversible changes in children\u2019s content consumption habits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are on the pointy end of media and we don\u2019t get enough credit for that because any shifts that are happening in the audience or in the landscape start biting us first,\u201d kids\u2019 media consultant Emily Horgan said in introducing her brilliant panel on Friday about adapting to the shifts in the marketplace. \u201cAny cuts in budgets also hit us first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jo Redfern, one of the panelists, stressed that those working in this sector need to understand the fundamental shifts in viewing behaviors. \u201cWe\u2019re on an evolutionary timeline. We\u2019ve moved from passive media consumption, and now we\u2019re entering this time of immersive media. Tech has democratized access to the means of creation, the means of sharing. We\u2019ve seen the exodus away from traditional media platforms, those mobile passive media platforms, to these more social platforms that facilitate co-creation and sharing. That\u2019s Roblox, TikTok, YouTube. That\u2019s also facilitated a closer relationship with the audience. The shift is toward a more participatory relationship with media\u2014co-creation, letting go of your brand a little bit, letting the audience in, letting them swim around and play with it. The power almost is with the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shift implies fundamentally reshaping your business models too, Gregory Dray, co-founder of Animaj, said in that session. \u201cThe old business models are dying. If we don\u2019t find a way to reinvent, we will all disappear. [The legacy players] have lost their audience. Less audience means less advertising revenues means less carriage fees, and at the end of the day, less budget to commission and acquire new content. You need to find new ways and completely reinvent the way to finance new content.\u201d<\/p>\n
New models was a key theme of\u00a0Olivia Deane\u2019s brilliant presentation of Ampere data on Friday about the kids\u2019 commissioning landscape<\/a>. While commissions are down, Deane highlighted the opportunities for children\u2019s content producers during her session, noting that the genre remains paramount for SVODs looking to minimize churn, pubcaster commissions have risen, and acquisitions are rebounding amid the reduction in originals.<\/p>\n Keeping an eye on data is paramount, she explained. Per Ampere\u2019s own analysis, children and family was the second most-viewed genre on Netflix in the first half of last year, behind crime and thriller. \u201cChildren are not a major motivating factor for consumers when deciding to subscribe to a service. However, they still play a really important role in subscriber behavior. Households with children are not only more likely to have more devices, but they also make up a very large proportion of Netflix viewing activity. As a result of this, those living in households with children are less likely to cancel their subscriptions than those without children. So, while children\u2019s content isn\u2019t enticing people to sign up, it is stopping them from leaving. At a time when subscription growth is stalling, retention is more important than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Deane continued, \u201cWhile streamers are limiting their budget for new, original or even exclusive children\u2019s content, they are also acquiring large volumes of existing children\u2019s content to appease this still very important consumer group.\u201d<\/p>\n Of note, Netflix kids\u2019 commissions fell 42 percent, while acquisitions rose 7 percent between H1 2023 and H1 2024. Apple\u2019s commissions fell by 58 percent, but acquisitions rose by 16 percent. Disney commissions were stable, but acquisitions were up 4 percent. Peacock\u2019s commissions plunged, but buys were up 30 percent. Of the majors, only Hulu reduced both acquisitions and commissions.<\/p>\n The big studios are at the forefront of content sales amid this boom in acquisitions, but \u201cmost content is still sourced from independent producers,\u201d Deane explained.<\/p>\n Deane also highlighted the crucial role of pubcasters in the children\u2019s commissioning space. Between the first half of 2023 and 2024, pubcaster commissions rose 7 percent as SVOD commissions fell 40 percent, commercial free-to-air fell 32 percent, and pay TV dropped 17 percent. \u201cIn this time of commissioning downturn, we\u2019re likely to be reminded of the distinct value of public broadcasters, particularly when the market is proving so volatile,\u201d Deane said.<\/p>\n MIPJunior highlighted the spirit of collaboration among pubcasters that is helping them retain their commitment to young audiences via a session with BBC\u2019s Patricia Hidalgo, ZDF\u2019s Nicole Keeb, Rai\u2019s Luca Milano and France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions\u2019 Pierre Siracusa, moderated by Serious Kids\u2019 Genevieve Dexter. BBC Children\u2019s is producing about 350 hours of original content a year, Hidalgo said, and features some 3,600 hours of content on the BBC iPlayer service. Partnering with fellow pubcasters in Europe has been crucial. \u201cWe need to have investment coming from abroad,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n Keeb highlighted the importance of collaboration at ZDF, noting, \u201cBudgets are not rising, and we want to keep our high quality. We can work on different levels because we don\u2019t have those restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n The weekend sessions also highlighted the continued dominance of known IP.\u00a0Josh Silverman, chief franchise officer and executive VP at Mattel<\/a>, took part in a keynote conversation with\u00a0TV Kids<\/em>\u2019 Anna Carugati at MIPJunior, discussing the toy giant\u2019s evolution into an IP-driven company. On the broader shifts in the landscape, he noted, \u201cThe industry is evolving. There are paradigm shifts. Market conditions are changing. What makes me very positive and optimistic is the ability for us to continue to tell great stories and the opportunity for us to do so. We\u2019ve been telling great stories as humanity for a thousand years. We\u2019ll be telling great stories in a thousand years. The ways that we do that and the types of platforms that we will have to leverage will continue to evolve. It starts with great storytelling. If you\u2019re focused on that, we\u2019ll together navigate any kind of change insofar as paradigms.\u201d<\/p>\n The weekend lineup at MIPJunior also saw\u00a0Andy Yeatman, the CEO of Miraculous Corp USA and global operations<\/a>, showcase plans for the new ZAG and Mediawan joint venture before sitting down for a Q&A with Carugati. Miraculous Corp is \u201c100 percent focused on building out a universe of female and teen superheroes dedicated to the vision of creating the most-loved superhero IP for the next generation,\u201d Yeatman said. The 150-member team is \u201crallying around the company\u2019s purpose of inspiring future heroes to save the world and our company values of creativity, collaboration, impact, humility, honesty, nimbleness and perseverance.\u201d<\/p>\n The importance of brands and franchises was a theme throughout the week in kids. Monday morning featured a screening of\u00a0Obocchama-kun<\/em>, a new season of the TV Asahi Corporation anime classic that was produced for Sony YAY!<\/a>\u00a0in India. I moderated the panel discussion that followed the screening, where TV Asahi\u2019s Makiko Inaba revealed that a new season of the classic anime series probably would not have been made if it weren\u2019t for the Indian commission.<\/p>\n In other returning IP news, Mattel said it has partnered with Aardman to\u00a0develop a new stop-motion and 3D animated series featuring the penguin Pingu<\/a>.\u00a0A new animated preschool series based on The Wiggles is in the works<\/a>. A teaser trailer for\u00a0Rainbow\u2019s\u00a0Winx Club<\/em>\u00a0reboot, debuting in 2025<\/a>\u00a0on Rai in Italy and on Netflix worldwide, unveiled how the new episodes celebrate a return to the origins of the saga. Netflix has slated the debut of Mattel Television Studios\u2019 new holiday special\u00a0Thomas & Friends: The Christmas Letter Express<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for November 21 in the U.S. and other territories.\u00a0Animotion Media Group introduced a\u00a0Detective Finnick<\/em>\u00a0series<\/a>\u00a0following the success of the 2022\u00a0Finnick<\/em>\u00a0feature film.\u00a0CosmoBlue Media added\u00a0Team Jay<\/em>, an animated series produced by Juventus FC<\/a>, to its platforms.<\/p>\n Amid all the talk of known IP, franchises and reboots though, new ideas are breaking through.\u00a0The Tinies<\/em>\u00a0from MIAM! distribution topped the list of the most-watched shows in the MIPJunior Screenings Library this year<\/a>, followed by\u00a0Dinomite & Lucy<\/em>\u00a0from Toon2Tango.\u00a0Bia and the Beats<\/em>\u00a0from Birdo (Brazil)<\/a>\u00a0was selected as the winner of this year\u2019s MIPJunior Pitch, focused on projects for the preschool audience ages 3 to 6. Tale Wind Studio signed a distribution deal with TV Cultura for\u00a0Turbozaurs<\/em>, marking the show\u2019s entry into the Brazilian market.\u00a0MIAM! distribution\u2019s animated series\u00a0Our Summer of Freedom<\/em><\/a>\u00a0was acquired by Italy\u2019s Rai and Canada\u2019s TFO. WildBrain signed a deal with Hangzhou Younuo Animation Co. to handle global distribution,\u00a0excluding mainland China and Russia, for the new preschool series\u00a0Hey Toma<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0BBC Children\u2019s and Education ordered the new preschool series\u00a0Playtime Towers<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0Dandelooo signed a distribution deal with TeamTO<\/a>\u00a0for the preschool comedy series\u00a0What\u2019s Up Eesha?<\/em><\/p>\n And even as companies scale back or shutter entirely, new ones are arriving:\u00a0Thom Chapman set up Victura Media<\/a>, a new entertainment franchise company based in the U.K. and Canada, along with company director and executive producer Gr\u00e1inne McNamara.\u00a0Gigglebug Entertainment is boosting its 2D production capabilities<\/a>\u00a0with the opening of a new studio facility in the Canary Islands.\u00a0Digitoonz Media & Entertainment opened a new European office in Madrid<\/a>, Spain, led by Maria Bonaria Fois.\u00a0Siesta Entertainment, a new animation distribution and brand development company<\/a>, launched in Barcelona.<\/p>\n