The fi ne art of style guide design The fi ne art of style guide design
The fi ne art of style guide design The fi ne art of style guide design
The fi ne art of style guide design The fi ne art of style guide design
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KidsCo draws in<br />
were anyo<strong>ne</strong> else talking<br />
up plans to launch a<br />
IFit<br />
pan-regional kids chan-<br />
prodcos with free <strong>ne</strong>l by September, they’d probably<br />
be laughed out <strong>of</strong> the room.<br />
But the combi<strong>ne</strong>d experience and<br />
assets possessed by the triumvirate<br />
behind KidsCo—not to mention<br />
and an open-door their very indie-friendly model<br />
for accessing content—has been<br />
policy to library stirring up a considerable amount<br />
<strong>of</strong> curiosity in kids production<br />
programming circles lately.<br />
A joint-venture between DIC<br />
Entertainment, Nelvana Enterprises and Sparrowhawk Media<br />
(which bought Hallmark’s international broadcast and distribution<br />
out<strong>fi</strong>t in April 2005, and is headed up by ex-Dis<strong>ne</strong>y<br />
International president David Hulbert as CEO), KidsCo is essentially<br />
a 24/7 multi-platform chan<strong>ne</strong>l for preschoolers and kids<br />
ages six to 10 that aims to stand ap<strong>art</strong> from pan-regional veterans<br />
C<strong>art</strong>oon Network, Nick and Dis<strong>ne</strong>y/Jetix in several key ways.<br />
dubs, fl exible deals<br />
14 MAY 2007<br />
Nelvana’s rich pool <strong>of</strong> quality preschool<br />
shows, including Rolie Polie Olie, covers<br />
<strong>of</strong>f o<strong>ne</strong> <strong>of</strong> KidsCo’s two target demos<br />
KIDSCO<br />
CATERS TO<br />
INDIES<br />
TO BUILD ITS<br />
LAUNCH SKED<br />
b y j o c e l y n c h r i s t i e<br />
First, it’s European in sensibility, rather than North American.<br />
Second, while established chan<strong>ne</strong>ls work slowly towards breaking<br />
their dependence on ad revenue, KidsCo is st<strong>art</strong>ing <strong>of</strong>f in li<strong>ne</strong><br />
with the anti-commercial zeitgeist <strong>of</strong> the day. And third, the <strong>ne</strong>t<br />
is open to library programming that may have trouble <strong>fi</strong>nding a<br />
broadcast home now that its <strong>ne</strong>w<strong>ne</strong>ss has faded.<br />
This last element no doubt held p<strong>art</strong>icular appeal for shareholding<br />
content p<strong>art</strong><strong>ne</strong>rs DIC and Nelvana, both with deep<br />
libraries <strong>of</strong> programming, much <strong>of</strong> which is well past its premiere<br />
phase. KidsCo MD Paul Robinson says vertical integration<br />
is at the root <strong>of</strong> this p<strong>art</strong>icular distribution challenge. “It’s<br />
getting harder because acquisition budgets at the Hollywood<br />
chan<strong>ne</strong>ls are going down, and they’re putting more and more<br />
US content on air instead. Producers like DIC and Nelvana see<br />
KidsCo as an opportunity to get their product out to market fast<br />
in a way that’s <strong>ne</strong>ater and clea<strong>ne</strong>r, and that delivers lots <strong>of</strong> eyeballs,<br />
which are critical because they lead to ancillary revenue<br />
and brand-building.”<br />
To this end, KidsCo’s three-year rollout plan is quite aggressive,<br />
with Central and Eastern Europe pinpointed as the launch<br />
targets. Sparrowhawk’s team is currently in <strong>ne</strong>gotiations to lock
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