CMC signs high-profile names

Former Chorion CEO Lord Waheed Alli and BBC Children’s boss Alice Webb have joined the line-up of speakers at this year’s Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield.

Lord Waheed Alli

Alli, whose preschool production outfit Silvergate Media was recently bought into by a US private equity firm, will join Webb during the opening session of the conference on the morning of July 6.

Veteran media analyst Professor Steve Barnett will host the panel that will discuss topics such as the government White Paper on the BBC, the new pilot contestable fund, production quotas, diversity on screen and behind the camera and internet security in the new kids’ app VoD landscape.

Other speakers due to feature at the event, which takes place from July 5 to 7, include Ford Riley from The Walt Disney Company, Pat Younge of Sugar Films and Lucy Murphy from Sky.

Murphy will feature as part of the Commissioner Conversations strand alongside fellow VoD and OTT buyers Miki Chojnacka from Hopster and Estelle Lloyd from Azoomee.

Alice Webb

Meanwhile, the annual pitching session, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, will see producers put new projects in front of Cheryl Taylor from CBBC, Eryk Casemiro from Zodiak Kids, Serious Lunch’s Genevieve Dexter and Mattel’s Christopher Keenan.

There will also be separate sessions focusing on coproduction hotspots such as China, India and Canada, with the latter featuring Deirdre Brennan, the newly appointed VP of content at Corus Kids in Canada.

More than 1,100 delegates are set to attend the event, which kicks off with the annual CMC International Exchange followed by the opening keynote from UK Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell on July 5.