Notes for Article:

30 Minutes with CBC Kids:

 Primarily CDN content

 Has value prop for kids
 Strong characters, values, diversity & inclusion
 ‘Does this feel Canadian’
 Favours CDN content but willing to work with intl partners
 9m Kids in Canada
 Big drive for media training for kids, educational content

30 Minutes with DHX Kids:

 4 Different streams based on different age categories

 Budgets start in summer
 22 Minutes harder to pitch, children attention span shorter
 Looking for short form content
 Animation is driving Canadian TV

30 Minutes with TFO

 Funded by Ministry of Education

 For Frecnh language minority in Ontario (French French, NOT Quebec French)
 5% of Ontario population is Francophone
 2-12 year olds, all content in Frnech
 500m Views on Youtube channel
 Want:
o New formats
o Stuff that will reach out to parents on Facebook
 Parity, non-violence, diversity and Canadian values (CRTC Rules)
 What can we teach kids about modern world: terrorism, safety, web security
 Project can be pitched in English, can be dubbed (must be done by producer, not TFO)

30 Minutes with TVO Kids

 Like to work primarily with Canadian companies but can do co pros. Has to have CDN company
attached to it
 Needs financing behind it before pitch
Ronan McCabe:

 Domestic issues with 481 Tax Credits

 Itnl Studios often don’t know what they want until you put it in front of them. They can however
tell you what the don’t want and will tell you what they’re working on
 Can steer in terms of duration
 A lot of talk about online & physical ‘safety’

Alan Gregg Meeting:

 Sourcing Chinese partner can be difficult

 Huge Growing middle class and market to be in
 Smaller players need one good showcase project to show trust.
o UK Good market to get first
 Cultural context: sports shows not work in N.America etc
 Go for the pitch, no matter how small the cmpanmy, companies may remember you later on
and refer you again
 Irish companies should have connector person (pathfinder!)
 Ireland price comp[ptitive vs Toronto (huge demand for artists etc)
 Kidscreen needs big studios (Nickelodeon wasn’t there this year) to flourish

Jiro Okada:

 Talent is huge issue in Canada

 Big funders: Bell New Media, Shaw Rocket, CMF
 Pricate funders are usually gap financers
 In South Korea for example, can pitch show in English, sell to Eng market first, and companies
there will do the dubbing
 New formats: instead of waiting for complete new series, broadcasters increasingly want
smaller pieces of content for online

VIACOM RESEARCH:

 KIDS OF THE WORLD, global research study

 Kids today embrace a fearless attitude towards life, despite growing up in fluid times full of
uncertaintiy and change. 85% of kids surveyed believe better to try things anr risk mistakes than
never try at all
 Today’s global kids also view themselves as highly independent (76 percent), curious and creative
(nearly 90 percent for both).
  Feeding kids’ empowered attitudes toward the world is their support system: family is cited as
their #1 source of happiness
 Watching TV is the #1 way to relax for kids (#2 – listening to music, #3 – playing games on phone or
tablet)

 41 percent of kids have their own tablet, 37 percent have their own smartphone, and 76 percent claim
to use more than one device at a time

 watching TV, listening to music and playing games on a phone or tablet are the top
three ways
 Since many kids these days have working parents, they spend more time with grandparents,
other family members and caregivers. As a result, they have a variety of role models to
inspire them and make them feel loved. They can see from their friends how varied family life
can be, with different rules for different households. They’re learning that there’s not just one
fixed way to live life.
 When we asked kids what global problems they would solve if they had special powers, an
end to wars around the world topped their list (61%). Other issues they would tackle include
world hunger (58%), global terrorism (42%) and cancer (42%). Over half (53%) would like to
bring happiness to the world as well.

‘Great White North’ session

What fewer kids commissions means for

Canadian producers
Producers and broadcasters spoke at last week's Kidscreen Summit about how a changing
content landscape is breeding new levels of creativity in Canada.
By Alexandra Whyte
February 20, 2018
Kicking off the “Oh Canada – How the business is shaping up in the Great White North” panel at
Kidscreen Summit last week, moderator Mark Bishop—co-CEO and executive producer at
Toronto’s marblemedia—immediately addressed what he called “the elephant in the room,”
which was that the kids channel programming team (YTV, Treehouse) from Canadian media
conglomerate Corus Entertainment was not present at the conference, nor has it made any
recent kids content commissions. But rather than dwell on an ongoing void in the children’s TV
landscape in Canada, Bishop and his fellow panelists said they are more focused on surviving
and thriving in the local market—and beyond.
Alongside Agnes Augustin, president and CEO of Shaw Rocket Fund, Mary Bredin, EVP of content
and strategy at Guru Studio, 9 Story Media Group president and CEO Vince Commisso, Lambur
Productions president Joan Lambur, and Marney Malabar, director of kids TV at TVO, Bishop
pointed out that Canadian-made kids productions make up 16% of the country’s total film and
television production industry, which in 2017 was worth roughly US$421 million (CAD$521
million). Down from US$527 million (CAD$627 million) the year before, the drop is due partially
to a changing landscape and a lack of commissions on the part of Corus-owned YTV and
Treehouse. But Canada is about to get a US$400-million (CAD$500 million) investment from
Netflix, and the hope is that this will trickle into kids productions (such as current Netflix
Originals like Guru’s True and the Rainbow Kingdom).
To help in the creation of kids content in Canada, Augustin notes that the Shaw Rocket Fund is
undergoing some changes so that the application for its grant is not paperwork-driven, but
rather focused more on content. In addition, content no longer has to be commissioned by a
Canadian broadcaster in order to receive funding.

On the production side, Bredin, Commisso and Lambur say they are all setting their sights on
international audiences. Commisso noted that since Canada is so multicultural, content that
plays well in the Great White North can also succeed with global audiences. For example,
Commisso said countries like China increasingly want to partner in order to create content that
works in both markets.

Bredin agreed with the idea of bolstering co-production pacts and recommended that other
Canuck prodcos go out and find international partners. But she wants to make sure content
returns to Canada, because, as Bredin noted, “It’s a sad day if Canadian kids can’t watch our own
shows anymore.”

Malabar made a point to say that TVO Kids is still commissioning shows, even if other
broadcasters aren’t, but that means the volume of pitches received by the pubcaster has tripled
in the last year. The broadcaster can afford to be pickier now, and is leaning toward productions
already midway through development, and is picking up shows that look more polished than
ever before.

Of course, competition breeds creativity, and Commisso said there is a silver lining to an
evolving landscape. “The fact that there are producers out of Canada still making money despite
the fact that broadcasters aren’t making commissions proves just how good we are,” he noted.

To that end, Bredin said new platforms like Netflix and YouTube are giving producers a chance
to experiment and make new content that might not have worked for specific linear
broadcasters. Besides, Commisso added, strong Canadian tax credits and local talent are hard to
replicate anywhere else.

Viacom:

Viacom study shows kids believe they can

accomplish anything
Presented today at Kidscreen Summit in Miami, brand-new Viacom Insights global research
reveals that six- to 11-year-olds are developing a fearless attitude to life and are determined to
end global wars, stop world hunger and spread happiness to others.
By Jeremy Dickson
February 15, 2018
A new study from Viacom’s Global Consumer Insights division has found that despite growing up
in fluid times and being aware of uncertainty and change, six- to 11-year-olds are developing a
fearless attitude to life and are determined to end wars around the world, stop world hunger
and spread happiness globally.

Kids of the World, presented at Kidscreen Summit in Miami today by Viacom’s Global Consumer
Insights SVP Christian Kurz, surveyed nearly 6,000 six- to 11-year-olds from 31 countries
including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan,
Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden,
Turkey, the UK and the US.
Viacom Global Insights spoke directly with kids to hear their views first-hand on how today’s
fast-paced and changing world is shaping their attitudes, experiences and behaviors. Viacom did
not soley base the findings on responses they gathered from parents or caregivers. An extensive
qualitative phase consisting of in-depth video ethnographies in 11 countries was also completed.

The study found that the top three problems kids want to solve globally are ending global wars
(61%), eradicating world hunger (58%) and spreading happiness (53%).

For US kids, as well as children in one third of the countries surveyed, ending world hunger
ranked as the number one problem to solve. Eighty-five percent of all kids surveyed also believe
it’s better to try things and risk mistakes than never attempt to do something at all. Nearly 90%,
in fact, believe they can accomplish anything if they work hard enough (highest in Nigeria at
97%).

Looking at support systems, the survey found that kids are able to survive in today’s world
because they feel supported by their family, friends and, for those who have them, their pets.

Family, in particular—whether blended, traditional or multi-generational, headed by same-sex

or single parents—is kids’ top source of happiness. Sixty-one percent of children, in fact, say
their best friend is someone in the family. The study also found that 63% of kids globally believe
that “how good a friend you are” is the number one factor that helps someone fit in with his or
her peers.

With base support from family and friends, 76% of today’s global kids also view themselves as
highly independent. Among the positive attributes kids describe themselves with are creative
and curious (nearly 90% for both), and confident and optimistic (86% for both).

As for media habits, watching TV, listening to music and playing games on a phone or tablet are
the top three ways, respectively, for kids to relax. Kids are also fueling their creativity by using a
wide range of online resources, from coding courses to crafts tutorials. Of the kids surveyed,
41% have their own tablet, 37% have their own smartphone and 76% say they use more than
one device at a time. Forty-four percent also claim to have a social media account.

More information about Kids of the World and Viacom Insights can be found here.