Australian Children's Television Foundation
Jenny Buckland
CEO
Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Tell us about your main objectives over the summer this year.
We’re currently accepting submissions from Australian producers for a preschool animated series and a tween live-action series that we will develop and support in partnership with Netflix. We’re looking forward to the assessment process and ultimately getting underway development of the successful projects.
What new shows are coming down the line that you’re particularly focused on?
We have a heap of new shows that we’re really excited about coming down the line for every age group. For younger viewers, there is a new series of Kangaroo Beach in production, as well as a fourth series of Little J and Big Cuz. In the next few months we’ll be launching two new shows for 7-11s. They are a live-action children’s drama, Barrumbi Kids, set in Australia’s Top End, and a factual series, Built to Survive. A thrilling series for teens, Crazy Fun Park, is in production and we have a series for older teens, More than This, which we have recently launched. There are also some terrific shows in development right now, including a very special animated series for 7-11s, Tales from Outer Suburbia, based on Shaun Tan’s book of the same name. It’s a beautiful concept.
What have been your most successful shows of the past six months?
The second series of Hardball has been a tremendous success, both with audiences at home and around the world, and we’ve also been making sales of The Inbestigators to linear broadcasters. We’re delighted with the response to First Day, for which the second season is now available, and Kangaroo Beach.
What is the biggest issue facing the kids’ industry and what is your company doing in response to it?
Fewer free-to-air commercial broadcasters are buying kids’ content, so the competition is between public broadcasters and the streaming platforms, and it is intense. They’re chasing quality, high-end content, so production budgets are getting higher, while the number of episodes being commissioned is going down. We’re looking closely at the deals being done. The ancillary rights of old (second and third windows, DVD or digital rights) are swallowed up in the initial offer from a broadcaster or a streamer, or have been rendered useless, yet the licence fees being paid don’t take this reality into account. Increasingly we find ourselves contributing more to production budgets, but we don’t think it can continue to be sustainable for broadcasters to pay bottom dollar for primetime production quality.
Can you talk about the company’s mission and strategy when it comes to the investment, development and worldwide distribution of kids’ content?
Over our 40 years we’ve learned to stay true to our fundamental values and the things that have always been in our DNA, while adapting and evolving for changing times. We have a singular focus on providing the highest quality shows for Australian children, breaking new ground and having the audience at the centre of every decision. But the way we do things has changed and the kind of programmes we deliver has changed. We are working closely with the independent production sector all over Australia to support them to make shows that meet our aspirations for the children’s audience.
It starts with our development programme, where we support writers and producers to develop their concepts properly before they take them to market, or into production. Today, with the competition for the children’s audience stronger than it’s ever been, we’re looking for new ideas and new voices, and concepts that are in touch with contemporary children. In the pitch we really need to hear why the show will connect with kids, and we need to be able to feel that it will. That’s the starting point.
How does the company find different ways to support and distribute high-quality Australian children’s programmes?
We provide development investment, distribution advances against distribution rights and equity investment, so there are several ways to work with us. Beyond that, we are as flexible as possible. We may also assist a producer to finance a project if it’s one we think we can help with and the producer wants that. We provide a lot of advice and feedback and we’ll even let people use our meeting rooms and facilities or work on a desk from the ACTF for a few weeks if that’s helpful. We’re also creating opportunities through new partnerships and initiatives with broadcasters and streamers.
