Behind the news: Showcomotion

9 July, 2008 | By Katherine Rushton

Never mind the crisis - children's TV is feeling more upbeat than it has done in years. Katherine Rushton reports from a buoyant Showcomotion.

A lot has changed for kids TV over the past two years. The 2006 Showcomotion Children's Media Festival was coloured by desperation as ITV beat its retreat from children's programming, and the gloom had barely lifted at last year's show when the effects of the freeze had set in.

But last week the 2008 Sheffield conference ushered in an altogether more buoyant mood. Instead of mourning the halcyon days gone by and pleading for new funding, indies rolled up their sleeves and took a pragmatic look at the opportunities ahead.

“There has been such a positive feeling this year,” said Sarah Miller, CBBC head of drama development and animation. “Last time I came was two years ago and I don't think it is an understatement to say it was one of the most depressing events I've ever been to. Now there is a positive sense of turning a corner, of finding ways of dealing with the problems that we face. There's been none of that negativity that's brought us down before. It's been a concentrated exercise in practical solutions.”

Nigel Pickard, director of family entertainment at RDF, agreed that the industry has accepted the shift and is finally moving on. “The whole landscape has changed forever and I think everybody has realised that. There is no going back and we will have to find other ways to finance content. There will be some old-fashioned ways, and there will be some new ways as well.”

One of the “old-fashioned ways” that came under the spotlight throughout the conference was the co-production deal (such as RDF/Freehand's Escape From Scorpion Island, pictured, which aired on CBBC and ABC TV in Australia), which has become almost unavoidable in the industry and is set to stay that way. However, the editorial tug of war that often comes with joint production funding makes it a difficult place for untried indies to establish themselves.

CBBC commissioning executive Kim Shillinglaw advised inexperienced indies to ally themselves with more established companies, and all producers to hammer out the fine details of a deal before going into production. “Anyone entering a new co-production relationship has to make sure they are not overselling their idea and that editorial expectations are honestly agreed at the outset. If they aren't, that's where they just go horribly wrong and the fallout can last for years.”

Licensing potential
Indies also pointed to licensing as a fertile source of income, both in traditional areas such as books and toys and in fast-growing, newer areas such as computer games.

Neil Richards, director of cross-platform writers' agency The Mustard Corporation, said changes in the way computer games are distributed are opening up new opportunities. “Most of the gaming licences we see in the UK at the moment are taken from movies, but digital distribution is making UK kids TV brands more appealing to games developers.”

“It cuts out the publisher and the retailer and brings the development cost right down to around£100,000 or£200,000 - which compares to bigger TV budgets. One or two canny developers are beginning to look at kids TV properties so there's an opportunity for producers.”

However, Pickard cautioned that the broadcasters will have to offer more cast-iron guarantees in their contracts if they want to help indies to secure these licensing contracts. “If you're trying to get auxiliary companies like publishers to license rights, they all need to know that there is longevity in the programme - provided it performs,” he said. “We have to look at longer-term deals.”

As long as the first run is successful, broadcasters should pledge particular schedule slots and recommission series in batches of two or three instead of one at a time, he argued. “Properties will have to have at least three to five years of life.”

Meanwhile licensors argued that indies must think harder about the licensing opportunities for a property at the early stages of its development. “Potentially any show can have a licence in it - but we've got to be focused on hits and it's worth bearing that in mind,” said Richard Hollis, head of UK licensing at BBC Worldwide.

Mario Santos, managing director of HarperCollins Children's Books, added that TV producers should plan ways to market their product as well as engineer collectability and the potential to expand with new series and sequels. “I'd rather have outstanding implementation with average content than have a really amazing, original content with only average implementation. It's absolutely crucial that when you're creating the concept you keep that in mind.”

“I admire [director of children's programming] Nick Wilson's ability to pick and develop commercially attractive properties. It's something that we should get better at - attracting co-productions, things that sell internationally and things with toy potential,” he said.

Commercial anxiety
However, the drive to adapt content for a commercial audience is still an uncomfortable mix for many indies. Their anxiety became clear at the conference when Richard Deverell, controller of children's at the BBC, said the corporation should take commercial tips from Five.

Anne Brogan, director of Kindle Entertainment, argued that although Five does a good job for a commercial channel, any attempt to imitate it would severely restrict the range of children's programming on offer in the UK. “I'd be absolutely horrified if [the BBC] learned anything from Five and were to operate in the way it does,” she said.

Deverell responded that the BBC should mix commercial content with less commercial offerings and continue to fully fund some programmes - but added that independent producers do not always fully appreciate the commercial pressures the BBC faces. Perhaps this is one of the salutory -lessons that is only now sinking in.

The children's TV industry may be more positive than it has been in years, but it is in the full knowledge that the times ahead are tough and there is no sign or even likelihood that that will change. The crisis has become a backdrop to the ordinary business of commissioning and producing, and only the -pragmatists will succeed.