Video Interview: Lagardère Active’s Pierre Belaïsch

NEW YORK: Pierre Belaïsch, the managing director of programming and networks at Lagardère Active, discusses the strengths of CANAL J, Tiji and Gulli in this video interview.

In 1985, CANAL J launched as the first kids’ channel in France’s nascent cable-and-satellite industry. Today, at 25, the Lagardère Active-owned service is a market leader among children 6 to 12. The channel airs series such as Dinosaur King, Animaliens, Spectacular Spiderman, Gormiti and Yu-Gi-Oh!

Its sister service, TiJi, meanwhile, has been delighting preschoolers for ten years. Both channels have been driving their ratings gains with a mix of local co-productions and acquired fare from the international market.

Gulli, meanwhile, is aimed at bringing parents and children together. Part of the top three DTT channels in France, Gulli is dedicated 100 percent to kids in the day, and during the weekends in the afternoon and weekdays there’s a roster of prime-time shows that cover movies, documentaries, game shows, reality series and more.