Julien Borde
Mediawan Kids & Family has been busy in the second semester of the year. First, it launched three brand-new shows at Cartoon Forum. At MipJunior, that agenda continued, where the French company had the worldwide premiere of its latest premium TV series co-produced with Palomar Animation for France Télévisions, Rai, and ZDF, “The Three Musketeers.” Señal News spoke with Julien Borde, President of Mediawan Kids & Family, to review the company's milestones and projects since its launch two years ago.
As a relatively new division within the Mediawan Group, how would you evaluate Mediawan Kids & Family's progress since its launch two years ago?
"Mediawan Kids & Family has become one of the leading animation providers in Europe and a global key player. We are producing over eight series in our studios in Paris, Bristol, Amsterdam, and Rome for all the major European commissioners and international kids' networks. We collaborate with top creative talent to develop all animation genres, from preschool to adult content. We are entirely talent and IP-driven, producing next-gen favorite entertainment within the Mediawan Group, a leading independent production and distribution powerhouse comprising 80 production companies across 13 countries."
Your catalog includes a blend of original IPs, IP adaptations, and acquisitions. How crucial is maintaining this diverse content mix in today's market?
"We see daily how having a broad content portfolio is highly valuable for broadcasters and commissioners. The kids' market is currently experiencing a challenging phase, with fewer commissions and a significant shift in consumer habits. Our partners are increasingly specific about what they want but remain very open to innovation. Our main focus is to develop new, original IPs from scratch that have the potential to grow into franchises that kids can enjoy anytime, anywhere in their daily lives. Two of our series in development at our Paris studio, 'Karters' for WarnerMedia and 'Witch Detectives' for TF1 and Super RTL, in addition to featuring strong female heroines who are perfectly in tune with the times, are excellent examples of IPs with the potential to grow and become new hits. We strongly believe in IPs originating from digital platforms, such as 'Chefclub Adventures,' based on the phenomenon digital brand Chefclub, or 'Ki & Hi,' our new anime-adjacent kids' comedy, the adaptation of the French best-selling manga of all time."
Concerning the distribution side of your business, what is your strategy for international expansion?
"Our distribution activity launched internally two years ago and has achieved great success thanks to the work of our dedicated team and a unique portfolio of content. That includes 'Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug' and 'Cat Noir,' now produced by Miraculous Corp, the groundbreaking joint venture between Mediawan and ZAG, dedicated to developing the franchise worldwide. We are fortunate to distribute not only the slates of our in-house European studios but also content from independent production companies, like 'Barnkidz' from La Station Animation, 'Idefix and the Indomitables' from Studio 58. We are eager to continue growing in Asia and Africa, where we see great business and creative opportunities."
How would you characterize this year for the company, and what are your primary goals as you look ahead to 2025?
"Energetic and exciting! We are building more and more co-productions between Mediawan companies, developing a new animated movie slate, and incubating new talents and universes to bring the best premium content to our partners and children around the globe."