As Warner Bros. turns its attention to life beyond linear, the conglom is looking to broaden its reach.
Charged with programming for all youth across its linear channels (Cartoon Network, Boomerang) and SVOD platforms (HBO Max), the kids and family team is looking beyond its boys six-to-11 roots in a well-publicized bid to reach girls, preschoolers and families.
In summer 2020, under the leadership of Tom Ascheim, the Warner Kids, Young Adults and Classics (KAYC) decided that in order to grow beyond its third-place linear ranking, it needed a fresh focus and rebrand. In late summer that same year, with the rebrand already under way, news came down that kids programming for HBO Max was shifting under the KAYC purview, further altering the brand’s strategy, head of kids and family programming Amy Friedman told Kidscreen Summit audiences.
While heartfelt and funny content was table stakes, it wasn’t particularly unique in the kids market, says Friedman. Instead, the team began playing with the idea of a little-talked about strength: elevating original voices.
“[Our head of marketing] came to us and said, ‘What I think your brand is about is marching to the beat of your own drum,’” Friedman says. “We were like, ‘Yes! That’s ownable, differentiated and appropriate for a media company.’”
For preschoolers, this should manifest in content that helps little kids learn who they’re going to be; while for older kids, Friedman see their job as helping kids learn to love and accept who they are. “You can come to Cartoon as you are,” she says.
Specifically, the company is actively hunting for preschool ideas that fit into its human-centric learning philosophy, says Adina Pitt, VP/lead content acquisitions, partnerships, and co-pros for the Americas.
With plans to fill more than hundreds of hours of content for tykes, ideas should still have a bit of that CN flare, while also hitting on at least a few of its pillars of courage, creativity, curiosity and humanity, Pitt says, adding that content should have a modern feel to it. “If you’re looking at dusting off an idea you haven’t seen in a while, [think about] what would be the modern take,” she advises.
Girls six to 11 is also an area of growth for the company, and the team is actively hunting for more properties with female leads, as well as branching into live action and mixed-media content.
Finally, rounding out the buying needs, WB’s KAYC team is looking for family content to help catch that co-viewing audience, particularly on SVOD. Pitt says this may take the shape of older-skewing tween dramedies or other ideas that have positive draws for parents and kids.
As for what it doesn’t need, Pitt says boys six to 11 is well-covered at the moment, but she’s always open to hearing brilliant ideas.
Friedman suggests avoiding ideas based on the cadre of Warner IP, as much of that is likely well handled by the two studios (Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios). Instead, she’s keen on building out a truly original slate, seeing originality as a way of differentiating the Warner Bros. brand down the line.
“So much ‘original’ isn’t accessible, and so much of what’s accessible isn’t original,” she says. “We’re looking for overlap between accessible and original ideas.”
Visually stunning worlds and content that’s hilarious for both kids and adults is, of course, always a draw, Friedman adds.
Content itself is likely to head to multiple platforms, with Friedman estimating 80% of all shows picked up are likely to be on both linear and HBO Max. This means they are open to experimenting with formats, though traditional run times and episode counts are still favored as they work to right-size the strategies for a streaming/linear hybrid.
The team is also increasingly open to specials and MOWs (specifically 44/60/72-minutes) as they build out the channels and platform's unique movie strategy.
Understanding how and whom to pitch can also be a confusing proposition, Friedman concedes.
Original content will primarily come up through the studios, while co-pros, acquisitions and partnership will be Pitt’s wheelhouse. Some development for preschoolers and girls, overseen by Kim Howitt, will also come up on the KAYC team—though that’s still a burgeoning category.
With that in mind, producers without strong financial plans or without many other credits under their belts should strongly consider aligning with established production partners and distributors, Pitt says.
Pitches should be brief (“If you can pitch your idea in 15 minutes or less, you’re off to a great start,” Pitt jokes), and she strongly suggests people take time to familiarize themselves with the various brands under Warner Bros.
“I don’t like it when people try to retrofit an idea for us,” Pitt says.
Team
Adina Pitt VP, Content Acquisitions and Co-Productions
Demographic
Boys and girls six to 12, preschoolers and families
Format
2D Animation
3D Animation
CG Animation
Live Action
Made for TV
Mixed Media
How to Pitch
There’s no specific playbook for guide for materials needed, though Amy Friedman says she appreciates when pitchers are transparent about what they do/don’t have ready. For originals, consider approaching the studios (Cartoon Network Studios or Warner Bros. Animation); for co-pros, acquisitions, live action or preschool reach out to Robin Duffy (robin.duffy@warnermedia.com).
Contact
Adina Pitt: adina.pitt@turner.com (copy Robin Duffy: robin.duffy@turner.com).
