THE YEAR AHEAD: C21 asks leading content industry executives in the children’s TV sector what 2023 might bring, what the big trends, challenges and opportunities will be and how this will shape their strategies over the next 12 months.
Anna Taganov
Anna Taganov, head of children’s content and programming strategy, BBC
With more and more choice it’s harder to cut through, plus there are different access points for audiences. As the landscape evolves, one of the possible outcomes I can see is more niche platforms popping up. In several years there might be a case for streaming aggregators to emerge, which is already being pioneered in the US.
Funding is a constant challenge, even for those with deep pockets, which means coproduction is the way forward. Granted, things might take longer to negotiate and produce, but on the plus side the production values and the quality of the creative will be higher.
M&A is not a new trend. I was with Disney when Marvel and Lucasfilm were acquired, which supersized both companies’ franchise portfolio exposure, and also during the Disney/Fox merger in 2019.
There is plenty of unique nuance to every new ‘business marriage,’ but on the whole, usually when the dust settles internally – after restructures, overcoming culture clashes and pivoting business strategies – companies emerge stronger, benefiting from each other’s expertise and know-how in creating content, acquiring audience and building franchises. This is largely true for mid-size and small players. We’ve seen successes in distribution companies acquiring studios and kids’ content specialists joining general entertainment portfolios. It is all about new opportunities for those who are not opposed to constant change and can thrive fuelled by it.
Thorsten Braun, CEO, Super RTL
The streaming boom will continue to put linear TV under pressure in 2023. In Germany, kids’ television is a very competitive business with three major ad-funded players. With more and more streaming services entering the market, the competition for advertising money is increasing.
This is happening at a time of global crisis and economic uncertainty, when many companies are reducing their budgets. To succeed in this difficult environment, it is crucial for us to adapt and to follow a strategy that makes our platforms and our content indispensable to the target audience.
As the number of platforms grows, so does the need to fill them with attractive content. There will be a constant appetite for fresh series and formats in our business, and the competition in acquiring rights will be fierce. When we invest in coproductions or buying shows for our linear channels, we follow an all-rights strategy so that we can distribute them in every possible way. We also acquire content exclusively for our digital platforms.
The simultaneous availability of a huge number of content providers means that only the best ones will prevail in the long term. Therefore, it will be important for us to constantly reinforce our USP.
Louise Bucknole, general manager, kids & family, Paramount UK & Ireland
The closure of the BFI Young Audiences Content Fund presents a challenge for UK productions to close funding gaps quickly in 2023, which is one of the main reasons the fund was introduced in the first place. While we are naturally disappointed to hear the news that funding ended last year, we remain committed to UK children’s television and are keen to work with the government on its PSB Review to find new funding mechanisms to support kids’ programming for the future.
Paramount UK’s biggest opportunity is to ensure our content authentically reflects the true nature of kids and their world, not just in terms of what’s happening in the world around them but also through diverse casting, relatable characters and storylines. In 2023, we aim to further our work in regional productions as well as explore factual entertainment content that touches on important subjects such as sustainability and the environment.
There has been a clear shift in the family dynamic over the last few years, with kids today having a much larger say in which programmes are being watched in households and, more importantly, on which platforms. There is a rise in demand for intergenerational co-viewing content. Big franchises will continue to dominate in 2023 with fandom becoming increasingly important.
Delphine Dumont
Delphine Dumont, chief commercial officer, Banijay Kids & Family
We have already seen big M&A deals in the last 12 months with the likes of Discovery and Warner Brothers, and MGM’s sale to Amazon. We are sure we will see more in 2023 as consolidation has become essential for global growth. This is a result of the streaming revolution and increased demand for content putting pressure on production companies to get bigger and bigger. Budgets have also been squeezed, yet expectations on quality of delivery remain the same.
There is also no doubt that free ad-supported streaming television [FAST] is a part of our future. We are already establishing and expanding a strong portfolio of FAST channels, and this is only set to expand. The growth in platforms such as TikTok, Meta and YouTube will also offer strategic partnerships for producers in the marketing/broadcasting area.
Monica Levy, head of sales, Federation Kids & Family
The world is moving towards a less costly version of the SVoD streaming boom that we have all experienced over the past 10 years. For consumers facing post-pandemic cost-of-living challenges, coupled with the increased amount they have been paying on their streaming services, adjustments are in motion.
Looking back on TV history, we went through a similar shift when people were paying a substantial amount for cable bundles (specifically in the US, for example). We then moved to SVoD streamers and now the shift is moving towards a new set of rights that cost less for the consumer and are back to being advertising-based. Same business, different rights!
The biggest challenge facing many companies in 2023 lies in continuing to finance new kids’ shows. Although opportunities still exist with linear channels, fewer of the streamers are acquiring, as most of them seem to be locked into a holding pattern and budget freeze. However, when this changes, as it is most likely a temporary situation, there will still be a continued demand for high quality kids’ programming and, who knows, this might even lead to a buying frenzy?
It’s very hard to predict programming trends in this fast-changing climate. In recent meetings, some platforms went from looking for live-action fiction for tweens to looking only for preschool and young-adult in a matter of weeks. Girl properties were huge last year and now gender-neutral shows are what everyone is looking for. Live-action is as dynamic as ever for consumers and when the streamers consolidate following the various mergers, there will be a very strong demand for new live-action content.
Ed Galton, CEO, Cake
As the AVoD and FAST industries mature, this will only strengthen those platforms’ growth in the ad market as they will take a larger share of the ad revenue pie. At Cake, we are big believers that AVoD will ultimately be the future of where mass amounts of content will be consumed and will be the key force in content monetisation. The emergence of AVoD and FAST is also allowing content to be stacked on multiple platforms in a non-exclusive way.
The global recession and the impact of major mergers such as WarnerMedia and Discovery will be felt universally. Disney’s recent announcements about hiring freezes and budget cuts are examples of how this is something that will be affected by other businesses.
We have already felt the effects of the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger and, short-term, this has not been beneficial to the independent production sector. What it will look like in the long term remains to be seen. It is forcing us to cast the net worldwide and look at our business strategy in a different way.
However, with mergers there are always opportunities for new players to emerge and fill that void. In the kids’ business, there seems to be now more than ever the desire to have content that has mass global appeal.
