Programs targeting preschool viewers will take pride of place at this year’s MipJunior, as broadcasters, distributors and production outfits respond to the raft of market forces that have made kids 3-7 a key demographic.
Judging by the jackpot distribution and licensing deals scored by brands including “Paw Patrol” and “Peppa Pig,” that young crowd is also a particularly lucrative subset — though broadcasters have often pitched toward that demo for more elemental reasons.
“Preschool is where you create kids’ media habits,” says industry analyst Avril Blondelot. “If you don’t invest in preschoolers, you might lose them forever.”
As head of content insight at the specialist firm Glance (Global Audience & Content Evolution), Blondelot has seen animated titles emerge as globe-spanning brands — while doing so, interestingly enough, more often through linear broadcast than via streaming.
“Streamers do not drive viewership,” Blondelot says. “They tend to invest in what already works on TV. They cater to young audiences that do not mind watching the same episodes multiple times a year. For little-known brands, it can be hard to emerge.”
Instead, animation producers bringing new projects to market have looked to linear broadcasters to boost discoverability while using toy-licensing deals (or public funds, depending on government largesse) to bridge production financing gaps. And in return, those preschool series have delivered reliable sets of eyes for the commissioning broadcasters.
“Audrey’s Shelter”
“[Upper preschoolers] are perhaps a more loyal subset of viewers than older kids,” Blondelot says. “But you also have the complicity of the parents, who set the content choice. And parents still rely on this lean-back experience of the linear, safe environment that broadcast TV can offer — especially free-to-air public services, which have for a long time used preschool to fuel positive growth.”
In just the past year, public channels such as the BBC’s kids-focused CBeebies and Italy’s RAI Yoyo have substantially increased their respective market shares on the strengths of beefed-up preschool blocs, echoing an increasing across-the-board demand for such content.
“We often hear that children are getting older sooner,” says animation producer and Watch Next Media CEO Philippe Alessandri. “Which is to say that at 8-9 years old, kids are already looking for older-skewing programs. So, for some time, broadcasters have sought to change their editorial line — to age down their channels.”
Through its Kids First distribution arm, Watch Next has looked to anticipate and seize upon those wider trends. After hearing similar stories from a handful of broadcaster clients in 2018, Watch Next picked up the option for “Hello Kitty” and went about developing an original preschool slate.
At MipJunior, the Paris-based studio will launch the short-form, CG-animated “Hello Kitty: Super Style” and the 2-D animal-friendly “Audrey’s Shelter” — two programs among many preschool projects responding to greater demand.
“We heard the faint signals of a trend,” says Alessandri. “So we had to take the chance to develop new preschool properties because we felt that in two or three years the market will be in demand for these kinds of series.”
Other industry players have responded to a different set of forces. Though London-based production and distribution house the Media Pioneers had previously found success bringing adult dramas to China, in 2018, the U.K.-company also refocused on preschool fare.
“Once we took on more shareholders, it made more sense to pivot towards kids,” says TMP managing director Maggie Liang. “There was less risk.”
While the company managed to get the gritty Tom Hardy-led drama “Taboo” through rigorous government censors and onto Middle Kingdom airwaves, relatively few series could share such luck. Meanwhile, preschool fare — at least back in 2018 — faced a much more hands-off approach.
Though younger fare now faces greater regulatory scrutiny than before, the path remains easier than for adult-skewing projects. Since 2018, TMP has brought 10 youth properties to China while always recalibrating to stay in tune with local expectations.
“Chinese viewers like 3D series with fun, engaging storylines,” says Liang. “Whereas the ground is more difficult for a brand-new, 2D title. Initially they didn’t care; if the show was interesting people would take a look. But now it’s 3D only, 3D is what everyone looks for.”