Chocolate Liberation Front

Chocolate Liberation Front (CLF), the year-old interactive producer, lines up a slate of TV-based multi-platform projects in the US, Canada and Australia including Santo Sam & Ed's Cup Fever!, Dance Academy, Harriet The Spy and The Kids In The Hall.

Santo Sam & Ed's Cup Fever! a social media experience produced by CLF for SBS and Australia-based production company Working Dog. During the World Cup, CLF delivered a 24/7 online environment to support the World Cup live television program, delivering 1+ million visits to the social network extensions.

Also in Australia, CLF has been tapped by Werner Film Productions, ZDF and ABC3 to produce the Dance Academy choreography application, Dance Academy Dance Maker.

In Canada, animation studio 9Story has commissioned CLF to produce a promotional web site for the new Disney Channel TV movie Harriet The Spy: Blog Wars, and Accent Entertainment and CBC appointed CLF to deliver the interactive strategy for the latest Kids In The Hall eight-part prime time series 'Death Comes To Town,' which includes behind the scenes footage, original video and an interactive hockey game.

CLF is currently producing The Wild Kratts interactive project for the Kratt Brothers, 9Story, TVO and PBS, with financial assistance from The Bell Broadcast & New Media Fund and The OMDC - an Asylum Seeker Simulation for SBS with the assistance of Screen Australia, Film Victoria and in conjunction with the Refugee Council and The Immigration Museum.

Vans will introduce a line of Yo Gabba Gabba! sneakers for kids and toddlers this November at retailers and online at shop.vans.com. The collection offers eight different versions of Yo Gabba Gabba! Vans, with each series character featured on their own show as well as two versions of a group character shoe. Created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, Yo Gabba Gabba! Is produced by The Magic Store and Wildbrain Entertainment.

A LOT OF KIDS NEWS WITH LOTS OF PRE-SCHOOL AND WEB

Sprout is set to launch its first, long form original series Noodle and Doodle (26x11) on Saturday, September 25 at 9a, in conjunction with the channel's fifth anniversary.

Noodle and Doodle will then air every Saturday and Sunday morning at 9a and again at 11:30a. The preschool series will air as part of the channel's live morning programming block, The Sunny Side Up Show, which is expanding to include weekends.

The Sprout produced series is hosted by Sean, co-hose of The Sunny Side Up Show, and Noodle, a puppet that enjoys working in the kitchen, and Doodle, a virtual electronic pal, and features arts, crafts and healthy cooking step-by-step activities for preschoolers and their families.

The series also includes Sean's dog Doggity, who takes viewers into an animated world where a group of cooking dogs team up to solve problems and cooking snacks in the kitchen.

The animated Doggity segments were created in conjunction with series creator John McCoy and Ka-chew!, a division of Klasky Csupo (Rugrats, Wild Thornberrys). A corresponding website for the series will debut at SproutOnline.com ( www.sproutonline.com ) after September 25.


Disney Channel will premiere the new preschool special, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally, on Tuesday, September 7, 7-7:50p. Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release the special on DVD the same day and date. A week before the premiere, August 31, the full special will be available via Disney Channel On Demand.

Meanwhile in conjunction with its TV debut, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally will be available on iTunes and Xbox Live, as well as simulcast on mobile providers Sprint TV, FloTV and MobiTV. Finally, the special will be accessible on mobile VOD for AT&T CV, Sprint TV and Verizon V Cast from September 8. Online PlayhouseDisney.com/Mickey
( www.playhousedisney.com/mickey ) will launch Clubhouse Rally Raceway.

Ameba, a Winnipeg-based and kid-targeted IPTV system, expands its programming with the addition of CCI Entertainment's classic series Nilus the Sandman, Time Blazers, as well as Monster by Mistake to its AmebaTV.com ( www.amebatv.com ) subscription portal.


Koba Entertainment is currently producing a live theatrical production of Nelvana's animated preschool series Max & Ruby, which is based on the book series of the same name by Rosemary Wells. Targeted to family audiences, the musical tour, Max & Ruby: Bunny Party, kicks off in Western Canada this fall. Featuring music and lyrics by Norman Foote, the show will make its way across Canada and then throughout the US in 2011. ( www.maxandrubyontour.com)

Lots of Kids news

Sesame Workshop and V-me ( www.vmetv.com ), a Spanish-language US TV network, partner to co-produce original Spanish-language content for the series Plaza Sesamo in the US. The new co-produced content includes 10 live-action films that reflect diversity in the Hispanic community in the US, and support healthy eating and exercise habits and healthy social-emotional lifestyles.
The films are part of the new season of Plaza Sesamo, which debuts Monday, July 19 on V-me as part of its preschool block V-me Ninos. Production of the Plaza Sesamo original content for V-me was made possible in part by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

41 Entertainment (41e), an animation and distribution company, will begin production this fall on the new mixed 2D and 3D animated series, Blake: Double Identity (26x24), which it will co-produce with TOONF Valencia.
Written by Andy Briggs and directed by Eric Robert, the series will also feature state-of-the-art special effects and will delivered in HD. Blake: Double Identity revolves around the adventures of twins, Justin and Tatiana Blake (who think and do things alike), and two of their friends Mandisa, from South Africa and Cho Jordan, a Korean American, who are recruited by an international multi-government organization to go undercover on various missions.

The team is overseen by Mr. Li, a 30-something mysterious Hong Kong-based James Bond type. Slated to be available for fall 2011, the series will be showcased this fall at MIP Junior.

Disney Channel orders a second season of its new live-action series Good Luck Charlie along with a holiday-themed original TV movie. Geoff Rodkey (R.V., Daddy Day Care) is penning the Good Luck Charlie TV movie.
The series is executive-produced by TV veterans Dan Staley (Cheers, Love & Money), Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen (Suddenly Susan and What I Like About You), and is a production of It's a Laugh Productions. Baker and Vaupen are also the series creators.
Good Luck Charlie airs Sundays at 8:30p on Disney Channel (US), and can be seen on Disney Channels worldwide, with episodes available via DisneyChannel.com, Disney Channel on Demand, various mobile providers, as well as on airlines.

ITV (UK) re-teams The Foundation, a production unit of RDF Media Group, and beverage company Britvic as it orders a second season of Skillicious With Fruit Shoot H20 for air on kid-targeted channel CITV. The new season of the will be hosted again by Nigel Clarke his new co-host Anna Williamson (Toonattik, GMTV) and will continue to be filmed in front of a live studio audience.
Skillicious with Fruit Shoot H20 is a The Foundation production for CITV, produced by Dan Pickard. Ged Allen serves as executive producer for The Foundation and Jamila Metran as executive producer for CITV.

CBeebies launches programming blocks in Latin America and US Hispanic market that are designed to dovetail with the regular activities in a preschooler's day.
Based on the UK CBeebies channel schedule, the new programming grid for both markets is broken into four blocks: Tiempo de Despertar (Get Set Go, 6a-9a);
Tiempo de Descubrir (Discover and Do, 9a-2p);
Tiempo de Jugar (Big Fun Time, 2p-7p);
and Tiempo de Sonar (Bedtime Hour, 7p-9p).
The programming lineup throughout the day features show including Chloe's Closet, Wibbly Pig, Numberjacks, Nina and the Neurons, as well as Get Squiggling, Garth and Bev, Zigby, and Finley the Fire Engine, Roly Mo, Tellytales, and In the Night Garden.

Sprout, Milkshake!

Sprout, the 24/7 preschool service owned in part by Comcast, inks a carriage deal with Charter Communications. Under the agreement Sprout is available now On Demand for customers with Charter TV in Digital.

Additionally, Charter will make Sprout's 24-hour digital cable channel available to its subscribers on a market-by-market basis through the end of this year.

Sprout's On Demand lineup offers 65-hours of programming monthly, including 15-hours of Spanish-language programming, such as Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, Barney & Friends and The Wiggles. Sprout is a joint venture between Comcast Corporation, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop.

Charter announced it is adding PBS' pre-school programming service Sprout as an On Demand offering across its entire footprint. The MSO also plans to add the linear digital channel on a market-by-market basis by the end of 2010.

In the UK, Five's plans to launch a preschool targeted digital Milkshake! channel have been put on hold due to the broadcaster's financial situation according to Five's Director/Children's Programming Nick Wilson in an interview with Broadcast Now. While Five looks for a new owner, Wilson says he plans to further develop the Milkshake! brand online in the meantime

DISNEY JUNIOR, PBS Henson

Disney/ABC Television Group to shutter the 10-year-old SOAPnet channel to make room to launch Disney Junior, a new preschool-targeted multiplatform brand and 24/7 HD basic cable/satellite channel and corresponding website, in the US in 2012.

Ahead of the new channel debut, Disney Channel's daily preschool-targeted Playhouse Disney programming block will be re-branded as Disney Junior (date TBD). Carolina Lightcap, President/Disney Channels Worldwide, will add Disney Junior to her portfolio, which already includes Disney Channel, Disney XD and Radio Disney.

Outside the US, the 22 Playhouse Disney channels and programming blocks, available in 156 countries/territories, reaching 45+ million households will be re-branded Disney Junior beginning in 2011.

Designed to encourage parents to engage and watch/participate with their preschoolers, the new Disney Junior early learning skills and entertainment brand will provide affiliates with VOD offerings and a Spanish language SAP feed.

Disney says its new channel will feature 200 new episodes each year of both new series, such as Jake and the Never Land Pirates, and existing preschool series, including Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso and Imagination Movers among others, as well as Disney movies. SOAPnet is currently available in 75 million homes in the US.


The Jim Henson Company inks new licensees for its preschool series Dinosaur Train, which airs on PBS Kids ( www.pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain ).

The newest domestic partners signing on for Dinosaur Train include: DecoPac (cake toppers); Anagram (balloons); Cranston (fabric); Kidz World (upholstered furniture); Pacific Play Tents (tents, slumber bags, folding animal chairs); Publications International (sound boos, look and find books); and Global Manufacturing (scooters, skates and bikes). The new lines of Dinosaur Train merchandise will begin rolling out in the US from late summer.

2010 Upfront: The Hub

2010 Upfront: The Hub, the new joint venture network between Discovery Communications and Hasbro, joins the upfront season as preparations continue for its October 10, 2010 launch.

Margaret Loesch, President and CEO, The Hub, unveiled a portion of the programming, including six original series and seven US series premieres featured on the network.

These series will be broken down into four demo specific programming blocks:
Preschool (K2-5; 9a-1p);
Kids Afternoon/Kids Prime (K6-12; 1-6p);
Family Prime Access (6-7p); and
Family Prime (7-11p).

Further original and acquired programming information and programming lineup launch schedule will be announced later. Here are The Hub's original series and acquired series (including US debuts), thus far:

The Hub Original Series:
Dan Vs. - the animated series revolves around Dan, a loveable loner, and Chris, his reluctant sidekick, as they strike out against the frustrations modern life has put upon him (real or imagined). Produced by Film Roman, a unit of Starz Media Company, in association with The Hatchery

Family Game Night - an hour-long, live-action game show series featuring kids and adults playing a range of classic Hasbro strategy games, such as Cranium, Bop-It, and Connect4. Produced by Hasbro Studios.

G.I. Joe Renegades - an animated action/adventure G.I. Joe origins series. The show follows the G.I. Joe team as it develops and goes up against their nemesis, the Cobra organization. Produced by Hasbro Studios.

Pound Puppies - Set in Shelter 17, the series follows a team of dogs and their mission to find a home for every puppy. "A pup for every person and a person for every pup." Produced by Hasbro Studios.

R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour - a scary-themed half-hour, live-action anthology series based on/inspired by kid horror author R.L. Stine. Produced by The Hatchery.

The 99 - the animated series is an adaptation of the eponymous comic book that follows the adventures of superheroes from 99 countries that work together to maximize their powers and foster peace. Created by Dr. Naif al-Mutawa, a Middle East scholar/clinical psychologist, each member of The 99 embodies one of 99 positive values (e.g. wisdom, mercy, and strength).
Produced by Teshkeel Media & Endemol Digital UK Production Group.

Acquired programming:

US Premieres include: Animal Mechanicals (preschool, 52x11) produced by Halifax Film

the CGI animated Cosmic Quantum Ray produced by Moonscoop Entertainment

Deltora Quest (52 episodes) a CGI animated series produced by Dentsu

Maryoku Yummy (preschool) - animated series produced by American Greetings Properties and DQ Entertainment in association with Telegael Media

Strawberry Shortcake (26 episodes) - the new CGI animated series produced by American Greetings Properties

The WotWots (preschool) - the puppet series comes from Weta Workshop and is produced by Pukeko Pictures

Twisted Whiskers - a CGI animated series produced by American Greetings Properties, and co-producers DQ Entertainment and Moonscoop

Other Programming: Fraggle Rock - produced by The Him Henson Company; Meerkat Manor - produced by Oxford Scientific Films; and Family Movie Night - which will offer family-targeted movies (titles TBA).

Veggie Mates, 37th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards

CBeebies is beginning production in the North West area on Veggie Mates (26x15), a new mixed live-action/puppet and music series that focuses on the concept of nurturing, caring and growing.

The series aims to get kids outside and learning about the world around them, including the fun of gardening and caring for living things, the importance of drinking water when it's hot out, and that everyone is good at different things.

Slated to premiere in early 2011, each episode a team of young kids arrive to help Mr. Bloom care for the plants and produce growing in his garden.

The series features a group of vegetable puppets, the Veggie Mates, who the kids can play with, teach and care for, they include: Colin the Runner Bean - he's always first with the wrong answer; Margaret the Cabbage - she's shy but fun and has her heart in the right place; Joan the Fennel - a mothering type; Raymond the Butternut Squash - who is always saying sorry; Sebastian the Aubergine - who enjoys summing up the day's events with a song; and the Wee MacGregors - a group of mischievous radishes that cause havoc.

Veggie Mates is a CBeebies production made in BBC Manchester.


Nominations for the 37th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards were announced yesterday, which of course includes a collection of kid-targeted categories. Leading the way in kid-related programming nominations is PBS with about 36 nominations, followed by Nickelodeon with 25 nods, Disney Channel with 5 and Cartoon Network receiving 4 nominations. CBS will broadcast the Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards on Jun 27 at 9p, live from the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas. The Daytime Entertainment Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be handed out at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles on June 25. Some of the categories and nominees are listed below, happily there are far too many to list here! Congratulations to everyone and keep up the amazing work. For a full listing of categories and nominees check out our home page Cynopsis.com ( www.cynopsis.com ).

Outstanding Children's Animated Program
WordGirl - PBS
The Backyardigans - Nickelodeon
Curious George - PBS
Sid the Science Kid - PBS

Outstanding Children's Series
Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman - PBS
Design Squad - PBS
The Electric Company - PBS

New Approaches - Daytime Children's
Come On Over - ComeOnOver.com ( www.comeonover.com )
Fizzy's Lunch Lab - PBS
Design Squad - PBS
The Electric Company - PBS

Outstanding Preschool Children's Series
The Wonder Pets! - Nickelodeon
Between The Lions - PBS
Sesame Street - PBS

Outstanding Special Class Animated Program
SpongeBob SquarePants - Nickelodeon
The Penguins of Madagascar - Nickelodeon
Ni Hao, Kai-lan - Nickelodeon
Sid The Science Kid: "Getting a Shot: You Can Do It!" - PBS

Sesame Workshop and Televisa

Co-production partners Sesame Workshop and Televisa (Mexico) have begun production on a 13th season of Plaza Sesamo, which will include 65x30 new episodes of the preschool literacy-centric and story telling series, at Televisa's San Angel studio.

The new season will see the debut of the new Muppet character Gaby, a 4-year old girl, who, despite being timid and a dreamer, can overcome her shyness to sing.

The new episodes will also include new set features such as more buildings and windows, brighter colors, all designed to reflect Latin American neighborhoods that can be found in Mexico, Colombia, Chile or anywhere, and a new tree on the Plaza. Additionally, the new season sees the appointment of Lorenzo Dunoyer as new Sr. Producer. Javier Williams continues to serve as Executive Producer.

Season 13 of Plaza Sesamo will premiere on Televisa this fall and on Discovery Kids throughout Latin America in January 2011.

Sesame Workshop teams with the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) to assist in reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities among kids and families around the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Using its media expertise, Sesame Workshop will work with GRSP to create content and distribute materials that will educate kids/families about road safety behavior. So serious is the issue around the world, the UN General Assembly recently passed a resolution making 2011-2020 the Decade of Action for Road Safety.

Eori, Sesame Workshop and BASF Kids' Lab,

Malaysia-based Ed-Online Technologies, a multimedia developer of content including e-learning and entertainment projects, inks a co-production pact at MIPTV with South Korean animation producer/distributor NHC Media.

The deal is valued at US$15 million. Together the two will c0-produce the new 2D animated preschool series Eori (78x7), which will be available in English, Korean and Bahasa Malaysia from 2Q 2011.

Featuring a budget of US$2 million, the new series revolves around Eori, a boy that saves a fairy that in return provides him with a lifetime of adventure by giving him mask that can magically place him as a character in her wide range of storybooks.

The stories are all based on Malaysian, Korean and international folk tales. Primary work on the series will be produced in Malaysia, where it will create 100+ jobs.

The co-production is supported by Malaysia's Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), and Korea's Seoul Business Agency (SBA) and Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).

Sesame Workshop and BASF Kids' Lab, an three-year-old interactive educational program founded by chemical company BASF, join for a live interactive educational show featuring the Sesame Street Muppets called Magic Map Show, which will run at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, May 1 October 31, 2010, twice daily at the Dock Theater at the Expo Garden in Pu Xi.

Targeted to K6-11, the musical filled live show will take kids in the audience on a tour of five continents to educate them about and encourage them to take care of the Earth, and will also offer a hands on clean water-centric experiment called Recycle Dirty Water.

Monkey See Monkey Do, Totally Spies Fashion Agents

Hit Entertainment debuts the new kid-targeted mixed CG animated/live-action preschool series Monkey See Monkey Do (26x7) at MIPTV this week, and has inked seven deals with international broadcasters. Produced by Smartoonz, Monkey See Monkey Doo is hosted by Monkey, an animated character, and is designed to get kids up and moving and dancing around. The series has been acquired by: France 5 (France); TVA, TVO and Knowledge (all Canada); Al-Jazeera Kids (Middle East); Minimax (Eastern Europe) and Disney Latam (Latin America). A US broadcaster deal will be completed soon.

Canada-based kelencontent is debuting two new kid's series at MIPTV 2010:

Red Caps (26x30) - a 2D animated series aimed at K6-11, follows Santa's special year-long team of helpers that have special powers to help kids around the world stand up for their rights and take responsibility for the world. The series will also feature a book series, online community and games, a 3D feature film, The Magic Crystal, which will be available from September 2010. Red Caps is a co-production between Epidem Zot (Finland) and Cartoon One Italy). The series has been pre-sold to RTL2 Germany, Hungary, Finland, Turkey, Middle East and Baltic territories.

Lotza (52x30) - the mixed animation and live-action preschool series is virtually non-verbal and uses music to help kids develop cognitive skills and prepare them for school. kelencontent holds the worldwide right.

Marathon Media and Ouat Entertainment partner to launch the co-published Totally Spies Fashion Agents ( www.fashionagents.com/en/), the first Role Play Game (RPG) based on the Totally Spies animated TV series, on Facebook. A Beta version in French and English will be published online April 20, with new missions and functions added every week.

The Totally Spies game invites players to create their own avatar and set out on missions to help save the world and play mini-games, and also acquire costumes and objects to decorate their apartments. In the Facebook game, players can share their apartment with friends just like the friends in the series.

Additionally, players can buy objects/items via micro-transactions that allow them to move through the game quicker, though they aren't mandatory to progress in the game.

CBeebies, Small Potatoes, Tinga Tinga Tales

BBC names kid's TV veteran Kay Benbow as the new Controller of CBeebies. Currently Head/CBeebies Production, Animation and Acquisitions, a role she has held since 2006, Benbow will make the move next year with BBC Children's to BBC North in Salford.

Benbow takes over the vacancy left by Michael Carrington who exited the position earlier this year to join Turner Broadcasting as Chief Content Officer, Cartoon Network EMEA. Benbow joined BBC Children's in 1988, after beginning her career with BBC World and Domestic Services, and she also managed, produced and directed various series.

She spent two years at Tell Tale Productions, where she was a producer on Tweenies, before returning to BBC Children's and has since developed and executive produced a range of programs.

Little Airplane Productions inks pre-sales for its short-form preschool animated series Small Potatoes (26x3) across Europe, Australia and Canada. The new broadcast deals for the music-centric series include CBeebies (UK), NRK (Norway), SVT (Sweden), ABC TV (Australia) and TVO and Knowledge (Canada). CBeebies plans to premiere Small Potatoes in summer 2011. Designed to help preschoolers learn about different genres of music, Small Potatoes features works by composers and lyricists such as Jerry Bock (Fiddler on the Roof).

Classic Media signs further license agreement for its new preschool property Tinga Tinga Tales.

New deals across all categories include: William Lamb (footwear); Roy Lowe & Sons (socks and hosiery); VMC Accessories (dress up and accessories); Trademark Collections (bags, umbrellas, wallets); Zap (bedding and towels); Hall & Associates (health and beauty); MV Sport (bikes, trikes, scooters); Paul Lamond (board games and puzzles); Titan (stand alone magazine; BBC Worldwide (multi-character CBeebies Weekly and CBeebies Animals Magazine).

Previous deals include pan-regional deals with Penguin Group, as global master publishing, which will release its first titles in the UK this May 2010, and a Bandai, the master toy partner for the brand, which will roll-out toys based on the property from this September.

CBeebies, Mister Maker, Survive This, Teletoon

CBeebies gives its preschool line-up a refresh for spring 2010. Beginning Tuesday, April 6, Driver Dan's Storytrain and 64 Zoo Lane are joining In The Night Garden as part of the Bedtime Hour programming line-up.

The Bedtime Story remains as the final programming of the day. Waybuloo will run weekday mornings and afternoons on CBeebies and BBC Two, and on weekends on CBeebies.

Additionally, on three consecutive Mondays this April CBeebies will launch the new live-action music series ZingZillas on April 5 at 8a, followed by the new series Bob The Builder: Ready! Steady! Build on April 12, and Big Barn Farm from April 19.

RDF Rights signs further program sales for the kid-aimed arts and crafts series Mister Maker. Acquiring all three seasons of Mister Maker are CITI Channel (Ukraine), Ecuavisa (Ecuador) and Al Jazeera Children's Channel (Middle East).

Additionally, picking up seasons 2 and 3 of the series are ABC Australia and Hop! (Israel), while NTV7 (Malaysia) and Medicorp TV12 (Singapore) take seas 1 and 2.

BBC Kids commissioned a fourth season, entitled Mister Maker Comes to Town (20x20), that will see Mister Maker make his way to towns across the UK in the Makermobile. RDFR holds worldwide rights in all media for the property.

9 Story Entertainment has wrapped production on a second season of its adventure series Survive This (13 episodes). Hosted by Les Stroud, 9 Story will debut the new season kid/tween-targeted series, which features eight new teen 14-17-year-old contestants, next month at MIPTV 2010. YTV (Canada) plans to debut the second season of Survive This on April 19, 2010.

Corus Entertainment, which already manages on-air sales for Teletoon's (Canada) English-languages TV services, adds representation of Teletoon's kid/youth-targeted English interactive sales for the online brands, teletoon.com ( www.teletoon.com ), teletoonretro.com ( www.teletoonretro.com ) and teletoonatnight.com ( www.teletoonatnight.com ).

Corus' VP/Digital Media, Tim Cormick, will manage Teletoon's English interactive sales. Corus' youth-focused portfolio of websites represented by Corus' interactive sales team include Corus' YTV.com, Treehousetv.com, nickcanada.com, as well as representing Nick.com and Nickjr.com in Canada.

FTC To Consider New Restrictions On Collecting Data From Children

Wendy Davis, Mar 24, 2010 08:12 PM

The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that it's seeking input from the public about whether to broaden regulations aimed at preserving children's privacy online.

The last time the FTC issued regulations regarding the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act was in 2000. The commission said it's now considering revamping the regulations due to "changes to the online environment ... including children's increasing use of mobile technology to access the Internet."

The 12-year-old Children's Online Privacy Protection Act prohibits companies from collecting personal information from children younger than 13 without their parents' consent. In a notice published in the Federal Register, the FTC specifically asks how the regulations regarding that law should apply to new platforms, including mobile, interactive TV and interactive gaming.

The commission also says it's considering whether the definition of "personal information" should be expanded to include "persistent IP addresses, mobile geolocation information or information collected in connection with online behavioral advertising."

That language is yet another sign that the FTC is concerned that even supposedly non-personally identifiable information -- that is, data other than name, address, phone numbers, etc. -- could be used to identify specific users. Last year, the FTC said in suggested guidelines for behavioral targeting that clickstream data potentially could be tied back to particular users.

Privacy advocate Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, says he supports a ban on the use of behavioral targeting techniques on commercial sites geared toward children. "The agency must bring its regulations on COPPA up to date, including specifically prohibiting the use of cookies and other techniques that track, profile and target kids on children's commercial sites," he said.

Chester also said that advocates have asked the FTC to specifically address efforts to collect data from TV viewers.

PBS Business and Daisy Whitney's upfront report

PBS Kids names Happy Kid Toy Group as its master toy licensee to launch a new line of preschool-targeted educational toys. Under the multi-year licensing deal the new PBS Kids toy line will debut in 2011 at a range of retailers (e.g. including specialty stores, catalogue, internet, department stores and major mass retailers). The line will feature craft and activity sets, science sets and role-play games and will be packaged with information for about play ideas for parents/caregivers interaction. PBS will invest the revenue earned from the project into the creation of the next generation of educational content for kids. Additionally, PBS Kids and Happy Kid Toy Group worked with Big Boing to help create an educational experience that delivers on the PBS KIDS promise through toys.

Kids Upfront 2010: Networks, Agencies Cautiously Optimistic
By Daisy Whitney

Advertisers, agencies and networks are holding their breath for budgets to come in for the kids upfront. Why? Because the kids business usually unfolds first and could set the tone for the big ad selling season that's about to begin.

Everyone in the business wants to know the same thing will ad dollars be up over last year?

That's the looming unknown. But kids networks have reason to be cautiously optimistic as their upfront selling season begins. The big kids networks have seen double digit ad spending increases in the fourth quarter and into the first quarter as well, giving them hope that the upfront season may lift over last year's bleak one. Plus, one of the stalwart categories in the kids market family movies has enjoyed a terrific year and studios will likely spend more money this year, buoying the kids market.

Still, the market may be complicated this year by the coming addition of new players. Later this year, Discovery is expected to launch "The Hub" to 60 million homes in place of Discovery Kids. That network is a joint venture between Discovery and Hasbro. The ownership of the company presents unanswered questions for the industry such as how much Hasbro advertising will run on the channel and whether Hasbro will still spend as much on other networks. Discovery is keeping quiet on those specifics for now and doesn't plan on holding an upfront presentation, but will start individual meetings with advertisers and agencies in the near future, the network said.

However, ad buyers and kids networks say they aren't expecting the presence of new entrants to impact the upfront much. What's more, toys should remain a strong category for everyone, experts say.

While the market probably won't move in earnest for at least several more weeks, Disney and Nickelodeon have already presented their new programming slates to advertisers and Cartoon will take its turn next month. The early deals they're able to strike could set a tone for the rest of networks that follow.

Advertising Begins Rebound

"We started to see positive signs in the kids category back in October," said Jim Perry, executive VP of 360 brand sales at Nickelodeon. "That seemed to be a turning point when we started to see more movie studios and toy companies up their scatter spending." The network finished the fourth quarter of 2009 up 20% in scatter spending. Growth has continued into the first quarter, he said.

Though Disney Channel doesn't write scatter deals, revenue was up in double digits year to year for the fourth quarter, said Michelle Scarola, senior VP TV ad sales at Disney Media Sales and Marketing.

The fourth quarter is the true litmus test for the kids market since that's the time when advertisers want to tout their new goods and when parents spend the most money on kids. The strength in the toy and movie categories during the fourth quarter and on onto this year has been coupled with new spending from non-endemic kids advertisers. Dell, Hewlett Packard and Kodak have started to market printers and computers on kids networks, Perry said.

Still, the memory of the recession is far too fresh for networks or agencies to make bold predictions on spending. While kids networks enjoyed a strong holiday ad season, the circumspect nature of the recovery may keep spending tepid for some time. "The economy has stabilized but I wouldn't suggest it's back to where it was two years ago," said Jackie Kulesza, senior VP video activation director at Starcom. Plus there are ongoing regulatory issues surrounding kids advertising, she added. "There are a lot of factors that play into kids marketplace. There are discussions outside of our advertising world in Washington about this space and it continues to be a concern from a regulatory perspective. This administration might be bringing a different tone," she said.

Another ongoing challenge in the kids market is pricing. Demand is so strong for holiday buys, but advertisers and networks need to work out the right pricing for pre-holiday ad buys, she said. "It's a challenge for us and the vendors to figure out the demand in other times of the year," Kulesza said.

In terms of timing, she suspects the kids market will likely start to move closer to the adult market. "The kids upfront usually moves commensurate with the regular upfront," added John O'Hara, executive VP and general sales manager of Cartoon Network.

However, when the selling actually begins is anyone's guess and the kids market has the potential to move earlier.

O'Hara expects the market should rise in the toy, quick service restaurant and entertainment categories. "The toy business had a better fourth quarter than was anticipated so there's reason to believe that will sustain and movies are strong as well. The marketplace went through a lot last year and I am confident there will be growth in spending that will reflect the stronger demand," he said. "We will see a different demand scenario that will lead to stronger pricing in the marketplace versus last year."

Also, some deal-making will happen sooner and that's because multiplatform buys are critical to reaching kids who are so facile with digital viewing. Those deals take longer to put together so they occur year round, Scarola said.

New and Returning Shows

During its presentation, Disney focused on original movies and series as well as its hit animated show "Phineas and Ferb," which launched two years ago and has been a ratings juggernaut that attracts both boys and girls.

Meanwhile, Nickelodeon touted its sixteen returning shows and five new shows, including a live action series headlined by rising teen star Victoria Justice. Perry said the first quarter is on pace to be the most watched quarter in the network's 30-year history.

During its presentation next month, look for Cartoon to focus on its scripted live-action drama series, such as "Unnatural History" and "Tower Prep," and to continue to build on the success of its "Ben 10" franchise. The series has posted double digit ratings gains in kid demos in the fourth quarter, Cartoon Network said.


Other Players

In addition to the three networks, 4Kids Entertainment is another sizable player with its five-hour programming block on the CW. 4Kids will be presenting to agencies and clients over the coming weeks, focusing on its reach via broadcast, said Dan Barnathan, president 4Kids entertainment ad sales, marketing and promotion.

The other broadcasters will also play a role in the kids upfront via their Saturday morning kids lineups. That includes NBC's Saturday morning block programmed by Qubo, CBS's "Cookie Jar," and the kids block on ABC programmed via Disney. Fox no longer programs kids showing on Saturday mornings, due to competition from cable.

SyFy is also developing a kids programming block, but has not announced details or a timeframe.

Starcom's Kulesza also pointed out that marketers are also spending money in digital venues entirely separate from the upfront. "Certainly money will get more spread out as kids use media differently and use digital properties," she said.

Reading Rainbow, BBC Children, PBSKids, Sprout

Reading Rainbow plotting a return? In a tweet last week actor LaVar Burton, the host of the series for its full 23-year run, said, "You heard it here first ... Reading Rainbow 2.0 is in th[e] works! Stay tuned for more info.

But, you don't have to ...", per Huffington Post. Reading Rainbow, which both educated kids about reading, spotlighted books, provided kid reviews and encouraged kids to read for (dare I say) fun, ran on PBS 1983- 2006. For lots of folks, even those that don't recall the series clearly, the theme song remains in their heads ...

Butterfly in the sky
I can go twice as high
Take a look
It's in a book
A Reading Rainbow


Sprout, the 24/7 multi-platform preschool service, and Decode Enterprises, the distribution arm of DHX Media, announce the exclusive US debut of dirtgirlworld, a green living series for preschoolers that aims to get kids up, outside, active and to "go get grubby" with the dirtgirl and her equally eco-interested friends.

Sprout's Dig Into Earth Day with dirtgirlworld marathon will feature several episodes of the series and air on Sprout on TV from 12p-3p on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22. Following its debut, dirtgirlworld will air on Sprout daily at 4:50p.

Games, crafts and environment friendly tips for parents of preschoolers will be available on SproutOnline.com ( www.sproutonline.com ). Created by writer/producer Cate McQuillen and composer/writer Hewey Eustace in northern New South Wales, Australia, the music-centric dirtgirlworld series features a mix of live-action and animation with photomontage and illustration. dirtgirlworld also airs on CBeebies (UK), CBC (Canada) and ABC (Australia).


PBS Kids will host its annual Share the Earth Day, featuring eco/science/outdoor-themed episodes of 15 series, on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, 2010 (check local listings).

The goal of the programming event, which includes episodes of Curious George, Sesame Street and Super Why!, The Electric Company and Cyberchase, is to encourage kids to learn about the earth and explore earth sciences on a daily basis.

On the digital front, PBSKidsGo.org/video ( www.pbskidsgo.org/video ) will feature the online premiere of WordGirl's Earth Day Girl episode, as well as a themed channel of Earth Day episodes. From this week, PBSKidsGo.org will launch new content on EekoWorld, an interactive website that introduces kids to the basics of ecosystems, conservation and pollution, and on April 5th, PBSKidsSGo.org/designsquad/contest will feature the launch of the 2010 Trash to Treasure competition which challenges kids to recycle, reuse and reengineer everyday items into new inventions.

PBSKids.org ( www.pbskids.org ) will offer 20+ environment and nature games, as well as an Earth Day specific playlist at PBSKIDS.org/video. Additionally, PBSParents.org
( www.pbsparents.org ) will showcase eco friendly crafts and kid party ideas, and host an as the expert Q&A with Kimberly Brenneman, education advisor on Sid The Science Kid. PBSTeachers.org ( www.pbsteachers.org ) will host a webinar on April 5, titled Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.

BBC Children's new Director, Joe Godwin, unveils the new CBeebies spring/fall 2010 programming line up. Included in the new lineup are:

Zingzilla - a music-based series developed and produced in-house by CBeebies Productions;

Mighty Mites a new series hosted by Sarah-Jane Honeywell, which encourages kids to get up and get moving in various activities, each episode two kids go on an adventure to try an activity for the first time;

Mister Maker Comes To Town Mister Maker returns with a new series as he takes his arts and crafts on the road to get kids involved in art projects at home; Let's Celebrate celebrates the different religious and cultural festivals around the UK and meeting kids and families as the prepare for the celebrations;

The Octonauts debuting later this year the series features a group of underwater adventure heroes as they set out to rescue sea animals and explore underwater worlds, the series is based on the books by Meomi;

Same Smile host Nisha Anil bicycles across the UK with her three cuddly pandas to visit kids and discover our similarities and differences, the series is a collaboration with BBC teams from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London;

Everything's Rosie the CG animated series about Rosie, "a 21st century ragdoll" that lives in a playhouse and sets out on adventures with her pals during which they learn about life and friendship;

Timmy Time Timmy and his pals head out on a new set of barnyard exploits;

Tinga Tinga Tales the series returns with new stories about animals based on African folk tales and the Tingatinga art of Tanzania.

Star Wars for preschoolers, My Friend Boo, Tangerine & Cow

George Lucas is working on a new Star Wars animated series and this one is for preschoolers and kindergarteners, per IESB. No really it isn't April 1 just yet.

Lucas and the folks at Skywalker Ranch are in pre-production on a series based on the Star Wars: Galactic Heroes, a line of Star Wars toys aimed at younger kids.

The series is reportedly operating under the working title Squishies, and there is a director on board. While Cartoon Network has had great success with the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, there is no word about a network deal.

My Friend Boo is a new preschool-aimed animated series that focuses on environmental issues, in an age appropriate way, such as water conservation and climate control.

Supported by the European Commission's fund for the environment, the series is produced by illustrator/animator/author Curtis Jobling (production designer on Bob the Builder, author/illustrator Frankenstein's Cat) and debuted in five European countries last week.

The series will be available in 11 languages across Europe from June. My Friend Boo will also be available in schools, social clubs and via other European organizations, such as Europe Region of World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Each episode is accompanied by free downloadable education packs for teachers/schools. The series follows a group of young kids and their magical dog Boo, who takes them on environmental-centric adventures.

Imira Entertainment completes sales of the Normaal Animation produced 2D animated comedy Tangerine & Cow (78x7), just ahead of MIPTV. Z@pp (The Netherlands) acquires the public free TV rights for the series, with Cartoon Network taking the pay TV rights for Spain and TV Catalunya (Catalunya) the free TV rights.

Additionally, RTP (Portugal) and Channel 5 (Lithuania) also picked up the series, while Al Sayyar (Middle East) takes the TV and home entertainment rights.

Further home entertainment and licensing deals have been signed with Kids Planet (Netherlands and Belgium), and Pourquoi Pas (France). Based on Jacques Azam's comic book Chico Mandarine, Tangerine and Cow is a co-production of Imira and Normaal.

Bedrock Studios, Summer in Transylvania, Cookie Jar Entertainment, Zinkia Entertainment, ZingZillas, PBS Kids

Cary Granat and Ed Jones open the doors of their new family-centric Bedrock Studios, which will develop/produce animated and live-action projects for movies, TV, publishing and digital media, with budgets of $35 million or less, per The Wrap.

Their first project is Turkeys, an animated feature film that will be directed by Ash Brannon (Toy Story 2, Surf's Up) and features a voiceover cast including Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson. The Thanksgiving themed Turkeys is currently in pre-production.

Granat is a co-founder and former CEO, Walden Media and Jones is an animator who runs Reel FX Creative Studios, he is a former executive at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). Bedrock plans to draw on the various resources from the prolific Reel FX. Other projects on Bedrock's development slate also includes movies based on popular kids books The Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and Dinosaur Bob by William Joyce.

Nickelodeon UK picks up the new tween-targeted live-action comedy Summer in Transylvania (20x30) from The Foundation, a division of RDF Media Group. Currently in production, Summer in Transylvania revolves around Summer Farley (Sophie Stuckey My Life in Ruins, Midsomer Murders) as she struggles to make the best of her home, school and social life when her family relocates to Transylvania for her dad's job.

Life in their new home is complicated when the local community, which of course, is comprised of zombies, werewolves, vampires and mummies, looks upon Summer's "normal" family as weird. At least Summer has two new friends to help her along, Heidi (Amy Wren Life Bites), a zombie girl, and Bobby (Kane Ricca), a wereboy. Created by Andy Watts (My Parents Are Aliens), Nickelodeon UK plans to premiere this series in fall 2010.


In Toronto this week, C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures abruptly shuttered its doors and Cookie Jar Entertainment reduces its production staff by 35, primarily in the animation group, both blaming the economic downturn that has made it more expensive for US companies to commission work in Canada, per THR.

C.O.R.E. Digital, a digital effects and noted animation studio, is known for its CGI animated productions including The Wild, Ant Bully and Valiant as well as work on The Tudors, X-Men and other projects.

According to the report, Cookie Jar says it is moving more towards live-action production and also plans to further grow its Copyright Promotions Licensing Group, which is based in London and has 16 offices worldwide.

Zinkia Entertainment completes a deal with RAI 2 (Italy) for the animated preschool series Pocoyo (104x7). Co-produced by Zinkia and ITV Studios Global Entertainment, Pocoyo will debut this month on RAI 2, with two episodes airing back-to-back at 9:15a Tuesdays and Thursdays, and one episode at 9a on Fridays.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment handles worldwide distribution rights for Pocoyo, excluding Spain, Italy, Portugal and Latin America, which are handled by Zinkia.

CBeebies new music-based preschool series ZingZillas (52x22) is set to premiere next month. Set on a tropical island, the series features a group of musical primates, Zak (a gorilla and lead singer), Tang (an orangutan lead guitar), Panzee (a chimpanzee bass guitar/keyboard), and Drum (a monkey percussionist), under the guidance of their mentor and music expert DJ Loose, who together perform once each show.

The group is visited on the island by music stars including opera's Sarah Connolly, scat singer Dame Cleo Laine, and didgeridoo player Dhinawan. Kids/families can also be able to hear the ZingZillas songs via CBeebies radio or by logging onto www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/zingzillas . Additionally, kids can join the band and play along using their own webcams.

More new apps for preschoolers:
PBS Kids launches two new apps for iPhone/iPod touch that are designed to encourage kids to explore the world around them and support literacy skills. They are available at the iTunes App Store or www.pbskids.org/mobile.

Developed as part of the PBS Kids Raising Readers initiative, The Super Why! ($2.99) app features four interactive literacy games (rhyming, spelling, writing and reading) and four series characters, as well as a virtual sticker book.

The PBS Kids Photo Factory (free) app features characters/art from 11 PBS Kids series, which can be added to your own family photo, as well as offering local tune-in information. The photos can be shared via iPhoto, e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.

Kindle Entertainment will release a new app based on CBeebies preschool series Big and Small via the iTunes App Store on April 1, 2010.

Developed by Ace Games in partnership with kindle, the Big and Small app will feature video clips and songs from the series, as well as sound effects from two series characters.

Schneider's Bakery, Material Girl

Nickelodeon inks a new long-term production deal and has also picks up two pilots. The network enters into a three-year, eight-figure production with deal with prolific creator/writer/producer Dan Schneider, per Variety.

Nick and Schneider have worked together for many years, with Schneider creating and producing some of the network's hit live-action series including iCarly, Drake and Josh, Zoey 101 and the upcoming Victorious.

Prior to creating shows for Nickelodeon, Schneider worked on the network's series including All That and Kenan and Kel.

On the pilot side, THR reports that Nickelodeon has given the go ahead to Brian Robbins and his Varsity Pictures for the single camera pilot, Supah Ninja, about a group of ninja kids in high school, and to writer/producer Steve Tompkins (The Simpsons) for Everyday Kid, which revolves around a boy who wakes each day with a different super power. There will likely be more to add to this following Nickelodeon's upfront presentation this morning.


Madonna and her daughter Lourdes are helping to design Material Girl, a new junior collection for Macy's. The line is the result of the formation of MG ICON, a new joint venture between Madonna and Iconix Brand Group.

The Material Girl collection will bow with products ($12-$40) in a range of categories, including back-to-school, footwear, handbags and jewelry, in about 200 Macy's stores and online at www.macys.com beginning this August 2010.

The Material Girl plan will include the addition of products across lifestyle and beauty categories, including fragrance, from 2011. Additionally, under the deal Macy's will have the option to launch further brands with MG ICON.

Peep and Mandie and the Secret Tunnel

Peep and the Big Wide World, the animated preschool science series, will be available to Spanish-speaking and bilingual preschooler for the first time when it debuts weekday mornings on V-me ( www.vmetv.com ) beginning this month (Monday-Friday, 9:15-9:30a).

Peep is produced by WGBH and 9 Story Entertainment in association with TVOntario and Discovery Kids.

A Spanish section of the Peep and the Big Wide World ( www.peepandthebigwideworld.org) is launching simultaneously. The site will offer animated Peep stores and related live-action videos featuring real kids playing the real world, as well as providing additional online educational activities and the like in Spanish for parents and caregivers.

Major funding for Peep is provided by the National Science Foundation, with additional funding is provided by the Northrop Grumman Foundation.

MarVista Entertainment acquires the worldwide distribution rights to the feature film Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, which is based on Lois Leppard's kid-targeted novel of the same name, from Lost World Pictures.

Under the deal, MarVista will license the rights to movie worldwide, and also maintains the option to acquire the remaining four movies for which Lost World's Producer/Director team Owen Smith and Joy Chapman own the rights.

The second movie in the series, Mandie and the Cherokee Treasure, is currently in development and will be completed this year. Mandie and the Secret Tunnel will debut to the international market at MIPTV. By the way ... there are 40+ titles in the Mandie book series, which are set in the early 1900s and follow Mandie on her mystery solving adventures with the her friends and cat Snowball.

Dora's 10

Nickelodeon celebrates the 10th anniversary of Dora the Explorer by launching Beyond the Backpack, a new multi-year/multi-platform campaign that aims to help parents and educators prepare preschoolers socially, emotionally, with early literacy and math skills and healthy living basics, for school, with the support of new partners actress Salma Hayek Pinault and Children's Defense Fund's president/founder Marian Wright Edelman, and the National Parents Teachers (PTA).

Nickelodeon will also mark Dora's anniversary with four primetime TV specials, an original documentary, and new online content for kids and parents.

The Beyond the Backpack initiative will include: a Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign featuring Hayek Pinault and Dora; a fundraising auction of limited edition celebrity designed Dora backpacks around the world (US proceeds to Children's Defense Fund, international funds to education in each country); dorabeyondthebackpack .com, a dedicated website launching in April, offering downloadables for parents and teachers; and local community activities.

The Children's Defense Fund and PTA, along with a range of experts, will inform an advisory committee. The PTA will also help with distribution of educational materials through their infrastructure and will c0-author a parent's toolkit for distribution.

Nickelodeon will premiere the first of the new primetime Dora the Explorer specials, Swiper the Explorer, on Sunday, March 21, at 8p.

In mid-August, in conjunction with Dora's official anniversary, the network will air the one-hour primetime special, Dora's Big Birthday Adventure. The Nickelodeon commissioned documentary is produced by Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) and also slated to debut on the network in August.

Milkshake! YOOPA

In the UK Five's Milkshake! will launch its newly redesigned preschool-centric website next week. In addition to a new look, the Milkshake! site will feature less text and more images and offer a point and click process with icons, character pictures and host branded areas to make navigation easier for younger kids, as well as offering a range of activities, downloads, games and printables.

Additionally, the site will be home to the new re-branded Milkshake! area of Demand Five, All Day Milkshake!, where kids can view shows on demand. Five's in-house Digital Media Group and the Milkshake programming team produced the new site. Bionic Communications created the design and flash aspects of the site and it was developed and built by Unboxed Consulting.

Canada's TV Group is launching YOOPA, a new multiplatform French-language preschoolers and their parents brand this spring, per KidScreen. Specifically aimed at families in Quebec, YOOPA will include a digital TV channel and magazine, both schedule for an April 1, 2010 launch, as well as a website to bow in May.

The TV channel will initially feature programming from 6a-10p, eventually becoming a 24/7 channel. Original programming a part of the plan, with a new live-action/puppet series currently in production and slated to bow in June and a second series planned for this fall. In the meantime the channel will launch with acquired programming including Angelina Ballerina, Waybuloo, Blue's Clues, LazyTown and Pororo.

The website will mesh together existing kid and parent sites PetitMonde.ca and EspaceParents.ca. TV Group is a unit of Quebecor Media.

BBC Worldwide, MarVista Entertainment

BBC Worldwide signs new broadcast deals for the animated preschool series Wibbly Pig (52x10). Set to premiere on ABC TV (Australia) in 2010, Wibbly Pig has now been acquired by TVB (Hong Kong), EBS (Korea) and RTE (Ireland). Wibbly Pig, which is just kind of fun to say, is co-produced by Wish Films and 9 Story Entertainment for BBC's CBeebies. The series will be seen on CBeebies channels in Africa and Latin America.

MarVista Entertainment completes principle photography in Vancouver on its Disney Channel TV movie co-production Sixteen Wishes. The new movie is slated premiere on Disney Channel US this summer and then rollout on other Disney Channels around the world. Starring Debby Ryan (The Suite Life on Deck) and Jean-Luc Bilodeau (Kyle XY), Sixteen Wishes is a comedy about a girl who has been planning her 16the birthday since she was little and over time has created a secret wish list that she has taped to her closet door. What starts off as a bad birthday turns the corner when a box of sixteen birthday candles arrives and the wishes on her list begin to come true, until she makes one wish on a candle that changes things forever.

Guess with Jess, In the Night Garden

Classic Media's CGI animated preschool series Guess with Jess debuts this week on Treehouse (Canada), Corus Entertainment preschool network, where it will air daily.

Co-produced by Corus' Nelvana Studio, Guess with Jess made its initial launch on BBC's CBeebies channel (UK) in fall 2009, and now airs on broadcasters around the world. Additionally, Tele-Quebec (Canada) will also begin airing Guess with Jess in summer 2010.

BBC Worldwide inks a licensing deal with publisher PT Media Griya Harmony, a unit of MRA Printed Media, to launch the preschool-aimed In the Night Garden magazine in Indonesia. The In the Night Garden magazine is based on the kid's TV series of the same name.

With Aksara Sophiaan as Editor in Chief, the first issue of the magazine in Indonesia, debuts this week featuring 20% original content and 80% UK content. Produced by Ragdoll Productions, the In the Night Garden TV series debuted on CBeebies channel in Indonesia in April 2009.

Friday kids news

Nickelodeon picks up a second season of its new kid game show BrainSurge. Production on the new season or 40 episodes will commence this spring 2010, with Jeff Sutphen returning as host.

In addition to the BrainSurge TV series (Monday-Friday at 4:30p), kids can play the game online at www.nick.com/brainsurge . BrainSurge is produced by 310 Entertainment and Stone & Company.

In Canada Family Channel, Astral Media's commercial kid/family network, will premiere Disney Channel's new original TV movie StarStruck on Friday, March 19 at 7:30p.

The movie will also be available on Family OnDemand (an SVOD service) from March 16-April 5. StarStruck premieres as part of Family Channel's week of spring break programming Monday-Friday, March 15-19 and Monday-Friday, March 29-April 2.

The animated preschool series the WotWots (52x10) will premiere in Canada on Treehouse on February 22, 2010 at 6:15p. The WotWots will air regularly on Treehouse on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6:15p, and Saturdays at 6:30p and Sundays at 1:40p.

Created by Weta Workshop's Richard Taylor and Martin Bantyon, the WotWots made its initial launch in New Zealand on TVNZ last year and currently airs on TV2 and TVNZ6 daily. The series also airs in Australia (ABC1, ABC2), the UK (Channel 5's Milkshake), and in Finland (MTV3)

PBS Kids is inviting Mister Rogers fans young and old are invited to vote for their favorite episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood at www.pbskids.org/rogers . Once at the site you can choose from seven Mister Rogers episodes, with the winning episode to broadcast on air and online on Saturday, March 20 (check local listings), as part of the third annual Won't You Be My Neighbor? Day, which celebrates Fred Rogers' birthday and his world of neighborhoods.

While online fans can also view previously unseen clips, behind the scenes moment and outtakes from the long running preschool series at pbs.org/video, as well as share their own photos and stories in the Neighbors of All Ages area at PBSKids.org/rogers. Additionally, PBS Kids has also recently introduced Mister Rogers' Make a Journal iPhone/iPod Touch application.

Dolphin Entertainment signs a program sales deal with NRK (Norway) for the live-action series Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Created and executive produced by Scott Fellow, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide was developed and produced for Nickelodeon, which launched the series in 2003. The series airs around the world on various broadcasters.

Doodlebops and Yo Gabba Gabba

The new preschool animated series Doodlebops Rockin' Road Show from Cookie Jar Entertainment will premiere on Kid's CBC (Canada) on Saturday, February 20, at 11:30a. Based on the live action Doodlebops series, the new series is a co-production with Argentina's Illusion Studios and Germany's OPTIX Entertainment.

The series, during which the Doodlebops will help viewers solve age appropriate problems, will air regularly on Kids' CBC on Saturdays at 11:30a and Wednesdays at 10:30a.


Nickelodeon premieres the third season of the preschool music series Yo Gabba Gabba! on Monday, March 8, 10:30a.

The new season debuts with a week of new episodes, Monday-Friday, March 8-12, featuring a range guest appearances including Sarah Silverman, Weird Al Yankovic, Black Kids, Jack McBrayer, Paul Scheer, Weezer, Anthony Bourdain, Of Montreal, Mos Def, Devo, The Aquabats, Mark Mothersbaugh, Biz Markie and a special remix by Travis Barker.

Created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, Yo Gabba Gabba!, is produced by The Magic Store and Wildbrain. Returning in their regular segments is Biz Markie in the Biz's Beat of the Day, Mark Mothersbaugh in Mark's Magic Pictures and Jack McBrayer and Paul Scheer in the recurring Knock Knock joke segment. The season will include many other celebrity appearances.

Electus, JimJam, Big and Small

Electus, Ben Silverman's newly formed multimedia company that is a business of IAC, inks a development deal with kid-centric build-a-robot entertainment brand Robotgalaxy for TV and movie projects.

Under the deal, Electus will package, develop, distribute and produce original content based on the brand's likeness across a variety of platforms including TV and film worldwide.

Additionally, Electus has teamed with Charlie Walk's CWE Media to serve as producer on all Robotgalaxy projects. Robotgalaxy is a concept based on the RobotGalaxy comic book series that includes a build-a-robot retail experience, a web-enabled toy, as well as a virtual world, which allows kids to create and program their own robots.

JimJam, the global preschool channel, expands further throughout Asia, which coincides with the channel's new look. The JimJam channel has its first launch in Thailand as a 24/7 service on Cable Thai Holding, a consortium of TV operators, and also signs a carriage deal with Indovision (Indonesia). The channel's new look begins with the jungle theme and later this year will feature other themes such as outer space, circus and the sea. The JimJam on-air refresh, which was created by Chello Zone's in-house production team, also simultaneously rolls out on all its feeds, including 50+ countries across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Welsh broadcaster S4C acquires preschool series Big and Small (52 episodes), as well as the series website, from Kindle Entertainment. S4C will debut the series as part of its preschool service Cyw from April 2010, weekdays at 12:30p. The broadcaster will feature the Big and Small microsite as part of the Cyw website. Big and Small is a co-production of Kindle Entertainment the 3J's Productions for BBC, produced in association with Treehouse TV and studio 100.

What kids’ buyers are looking for

(Kids | MIPJUNIOR, 04.10.09)


Although the new online screening system means programmes can be viewed online for the next 12 months, key buyers were making the most of the opportunity for two days of intensive screening at MIP Junior, fuelled by refreshments provided by Cookie Jar.

- “We want strong live action and animated comedy for 6-9s, and boys’ action series,” said Jules Borkent, SVP global acquisitions and international programming for Nickelodeon (photo).

- Francine Laprade, evaluation officer for CBC Radio-Canada, wanted 2- and 3D animated series of all lengths for all age groups between 2 and 12. “I will screen more than 50 series this weekend,” she said.

- David Levine of Disney Channels Worldwide directs programming strategy for nearly 100 Disney channels around the world. “Our priority is animation for Disney XD, and original movie co-production opportunities,” he said.

- Signe Lindkvist was buying for Ramasjang!, Danmarks Radio’s new kids’ channel. “We launch next month,” she said. “It’s Denmark’s first public service channel specifically for kids.”

- Bella Stjerna, head of children’s and youth at SVT was seeking ‘anything good’ for SVT Barnkanalen, SVT’s dedicated children’s channel. “We have plenty of good pre-school content,” she said. “But it’s more difficult to find content for the hard-to-please 7-11 year olds.”

- Ola Kurcz of Poland’s Canal+ Cyfrowy was seeking content for the pre-school channel Mini Mini and Zigzap, for 8-12s. “We saw a lot of new titles this year, particularly from Asia.”

- Nils Stokke, head of planning, scheduling and acquisitions for NRK Super, the Norwegian public service children’s channel, screened for kids from 2-12. “I’d like to see more live action for older kids,” he said. “That’s been hard to find for a couple of years now.”

- At his first MIP Junior, YLE’s Jusu Lounela was buying for 12-16 year olds for Finland’s TV2 channel. “I’m also seeking content for my youth magazine show, Summesi,” he said.

Branded Content initiatives

Walmart and Procter & Gamble (P&G) are teaming to produce family-friendly TV programming and begin this effort with the 2-hour TV movie Secrets of The Mountain, which will premiere on NBC on April 16, 2010.

Family-friendly TV commercials from both companies will run during the movie's breaks and, per the WSJ, it will also feature an array of product placements during the movie, and that P&G is spending $4.5+ million to produce the TV movie.

Secrets of the Mountain is described as a drama-adventure about a single working mother who takes her family to a mountain cabin they inherited from their eccentric uncle, where they set off on an adventure.

The partnership falls under Walmart's new Family Moments, a marketing, in-store and digital family-centric entertainment initiative. P&G is co-founder, and Walmart is c0-fhiar with P&G, of the Alliance for Family Entertainment (f/k/a Family Friendly Programming Forum), a group of about 40 national advertisers, which is supported by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).


Ameba, a Winnipeg-based IPTV system for kids' entertainment, prepares for the North American launch of AmebaTV.com ( www.amebatv.com ) by taking delivery of proprietary set-top boxes in preparation. This new portal aims to deliver commercial free, kid-targeted entertainment directly to television viewers via the web.

AmebaTV.com's library includes 500 hours of live-action and animated kid-centric content from producers including Decode Entertainment, Breakthrough New Media, Casablanca Kids, Sockeye, Marble Media, Portfolio, TVO, Compugraf, Blender, Agogo Entertainment, Ingaldson-Smith Productions, and Janet's Planet, National Film Board, among others.

Sprite is inviting teens to express their creativity via music and film in its first global integrated marketing campaign, The Spark, which takes its name from Sprite's newly updated Spark logo. The campaign includes TV commercials, an online interactive music mixer featuring content from music artist Drake and a digital film mixer, aimed at inspiring teens to interact and be creative. The Spark launches this year first in North America, and then across Europe, Africa and Asia. The new campaign will be showcased at the NBA All-Star 2010 this weekend, which will feature a soundtrack by Drake. A range of different artists will be featured in The Spark campaign around the world. Sprite is part of The Coca-Cola Company.

Hit Entertainment, Latin America Multimedia Corporation

Hit Entertainment goes ahead with the development of two new projects from noted US TV writer/producers:

For the Birds - an animated comedy series targeted to K8-11, which follows the adventures of Earl E. Bird. The series comes from writer/producers Tom Ruegger (Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain) and Randy Rogel (Animaniacs, Batman).

Zip Zip Zippy - a music-based preschool series that invites viewers to physically participate in story-based adventures, and featuring a live-action host in an animated world of animals and kids. The series is created by Jeanine Kay and Luciana Brafman Bienstock.

Latin America Multimedia Corporation (LAMC) moves forward with new episodes of the live action preschool series Dos y Dos. Recorded in Spanish and English, the new episodes of Dos y Dos will include 26x30 new episodes for two new seasons of the series, which are scheduled to be available beginning September 2010. 4Kids Entertainment is the worldwide merchandising and licensing agent and brand manager for the property.

Mexico City-based Rose Entertainment handles international distribution for the series. Dos y Dos has also inked a deal with Peer Music to serve as the exclusive music publisher in the Americas and parts of Europe. Peer Music and 4Kids Entertainment will work together to develop merchandise that showcases music from the TV series.

Additionally, the four main characters from the series will star in a new live stage version of Dos y Dos, currently scheduled to stop in 10 cities in the US this summer.

Spin Master Entertainment, The Kratt Brothers, PorchLight Entertainment

Spin Master Entertainment, a division of Spin Master Ltd., and animation studio Titmouse are partnering to co-develop and produce a new tween animated music TV series The Special Offers.

Created by Titmouse's VP Keith Fay, the series will feature music by Fay and Gina Shock -- yes, you remember her as the drummer of the Go Go's (she has also penned songs for Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Miranda Cosgrove). Fay previously produced the first two seasons of Adult Swim's Metalocalypse, and was also creative producer for in-game cinematics scenes on the last five Guitar Hero video games.

The series follows four music-loving misfit kids that form a band, The Special Offers. Each episode will feature an original song, culminating in a soundtrack release at the end of the season.

We can also look forward to a live tour. Spin Master Entertainment will serve as the global merchandising, licensing agent and toy maker for the property, with Titmouse Entertainment creating the animated series and retaining the global music rights.

Spin Master's Matt Wexler and Jennifer Picherack and Titmouse's Fay and Shannon Prynoski will serve as Executive Producers of the TV series. Schock will serve as a producer and will collaborate on original music with Fay for the series.

The Kratt Brothers head back into the wild in the new animated wildlife adventure/comedy series Wild Kratts (40x22). Targeted to K6-9, Wild Kratts will premiere in January 2011 on PBS Kids Go!, and in Canada on TVOntario, Knowledge Network and Tele-Quebec, and will be showcased next week at the KidScreen Summit in NYC.

Co-produced and distributed by The Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Entertainment, the series follows animated versions of real life zoologist brothers Chris and Martin Kratt as they take viewers on adventures where they explore habitats of unusual animals.

In each episode the brothers work to help animals in crisis, often instigated by their nemesis Zach Varmitech and his mission to collect endangered animals. 9 Story Entertainment will distribute the series outside of North America. The Kratt's created and produced Kratt's Creatures, Zoboomafoo and Kratt Brothers: Be The Creature.

PorchLight Entertainment adds the new Flash animated series Agent A to Agent Z (52x11) to its development slate. Created by Andy Rash (author/illustrator) and Dan Yaccarino (author/creator, Oswald, Willa's Wild Life) and based on Rash's kid's book of the same name published by Arthur A.

Levine Books, Agent A to Agent Z is a comedy/mystery that revolves around the misadventures of a father and son (12-yr-old Aaron) spy duo and their secret missions.

Disney Television Animation, Sesame Street Old School Vol. 1

Disney Television Animation commences production on Jake and the Never Land Pirates, a new interactive mixed 2D and CG animated preschool series, which will premiere on Playhouse Disney-branded blocks and channels around the world.

Designed to underline the importance of teamwork, the original music-filled series follows Jake and his pirate friends (and parrot) as they travel through Never Land in search of lost treasures and learning to work together and hone their problem solving skills, with the help of the at home audience, to outsmart Captain Hook and his ever-present lackey Smee.

The series stars Colin Ford as Jack, and Madison Pettis (Cory in the House, The Game Plan) as Izzy, and Jonathan Morgan Heit (Bedtime Stories) as Cubby. Executive produced by Rob LaDuca (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), Jake and the Never Land Pirates features original music by Loren Hoskins and Kevin Hendrickson of the pirate rock band Captain Bogg & Salty.


On the heels of the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street, E1 Music will release the CD box set Sesame Street Old School Vol. 1 on March 23, 2010.

The box set features three of the earliest Sesame Street albums, cast and original art: The Original Cast Recording (1970), Big Bird Sings (1974) and Bert & Ernie Sing Along, all digitally re-mastered and all on CD for the first time.

A ton of great songs and of course performances including at least one song featuring Mr. Hooper.

SpaceFace

Another kid-targeted social network launches. SpaceFace ( www.spaceface.com ) is a new space-centric virtual world aimed at kids/tweens 4-14.

SpaceFace features games, private messaging (SpaceChat), and a way to earn and collect points (SpaceGold), which can be used in its shopping area (SpaceMall). The also has 24/7 content monitors.

PBS,BabyTV

Public broadcaster PBS, which recently retooled its video site to make it much easier on the eyes and the mouse, continues to impress by devoting significant creative resources to its online efforts.

The network unveiled two new projects at TCA this week worth noting. In partnership with its local New York affiliate, WNET.org, PBS plans to launch "Need To Know" in May, a broadcast and online news show hybrid.

The idea is to cover stories using multiple mediums that are getting missed as less and less American pick up a newspaper. The property will aggregate news and public affairs content along with offerings from editorial partners in a weekly one hour show produced by WNET.org and via a "supervertical" site at pbs.org.

PBS also continues to up the ante for its online kids properties.

Lifeboat to Mars is a new Flash-based educational game designed by Red Hill Studios that includes an ambitious array of customization features. Watching online video to today's kids is like reading the cereal box for earlier generations.

PBS says kids watched more than 87.5 million video streams across the PBS Kids family of sites last month, a new high for the portal.

BabyTV partners with the Hong Kong Bureau of Education (EDB) to launch a 'guidebook', Growing Together: Making the most of TV for toddlers. The book is designed to help parents make better media relate choices for their kids, as well as how to engage with their kids to get the most out of kid's TV and media.

Created using the results of a survey conducted last summer in Hong Kong by BabyTV, which found that while 90% of parents use screens with their kids most aren't well educated about what makes age appropriate content, the book will be distributed to parents at kindergartens across Hong Kong.

Wilson & Ditch: Digging America

This week marks PBS Kids Go! and The Jim Henson Company's exclusive online launch of the comedy digital puppet series Wilson & Ditch: Digging America.

he series was created by Joe Purdy (story editor/Dinosaur Train, Sid The Science Kid) and Craig Bartlett (creator/Dinosaur Train, Hey Arnold), and produced by The Jim Henson Company.

Targeted to K6-10, Wilson & Ditch: Digging America takes viewers on a cross-country adventure with two gopher brothers (performed by Brian Henson and Paul Rugg), learning about American culture, history and geography along the way.

In addition to the webisodes, Wilson & Ditch also features interactive games, original comics a travel blog, online location audio podcasts, and downloadable activities from Wilson and Ditch's adventures.

Little Airplane Productions' new animated preschool series, Tobi (4x4), is set to make its worldwide launch on Sunday, March 7 on Nickelodeon Australia and Treehouse TV (Canada).

The series debut coincides with UNICEF's annual International Children's Day of Broadcasting, which encourages broadcasters to air programming for, about or by kids.

The short-form series revolves around a young boy, Tobi, who wants to make the world a better place and focuses on global issues in an age appropriate way, including human rights, endangered species and homelessness.

A traditionally hand drawn animated series featuring backgrounds created with recycled materials, Tobi is written in verse and uses a combination of stylized jazz and dialogue to support the narration. Tobi is produced at Little Airplane's NYC studio, with the company's Supervising Producer Tone Thyne heading up the production.

Team Umizoomi, Cooney Center Prizes for Innovation in Children's Learning.

Looking to empower preschools with early number skills Nickelodeon will launch its new math-centric series, Team Umizoomi (20x30), on Monday, January 25 with two back-to-back episodes from 11:30a.

A mixed 2D/3D animated and live action series, Team Umizoomi presents and bolsters preschoolers with math skills and self-esteem through interactive action-adventure missions.

Following the series premiere, Nickelodeon will air two weeks of new episodes Tuesday-Thursday, January 26-28 and Monday-Thursday, February 1-4 at 11:3oa. To supp the series launch, the network will offer a sneak peek at Team Umizoomi at Nick Jr. Video (at www.nickjr.com ) and wireless carriers via VOD.

The premiere episode will simulcast on Nick Mobile. Additionally, two episodes of the show will play back-to-back on the Nick Jr. channel on Sunday, January 31 and Sunday February 7 at 7p. Created by Blue's Clues alumni Soo Kim, Michael T. Smith and Jennifer Twomey, the series features a team of superheroes that use age-appropriate math to help solve their challenges.

NickJr.com will offer a Team Umizoomi learning section featuring math activities for parents to use with their kids, as well as games, videos, printables, and later this month additional free content such as personalized and customizable printables and a mo newsletter.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center ( www.joanganzconeycenter.org) at Sesame Workshop is accepting online proposals (by April 1, 2010) for its first Cooney Center Prizes for Innovation in Children's Learning.

Designed to encourage creators to develop new tools and content in kid's digital media and learning, the new annual national competition was launched last week at the Consumer Electronics Show's Kids at Play Summit.

Creators can develop projects in two categories: Breakthroughs in Mobile Learning mobile learning projects for K3-11; and Breakthroughs in Literacy Learning: Innovate with The Electric Company projects should promote literacy skills for K6-9 using The Electric Company series, not only on TV but for wherever kids are.

Up to five finalists in each category will be invited to pitch their ideas to industry and educational executives at an event held at this year's E3 Expo

Little Charley Bear and The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Chapman Entertainment names Vivid Imaginations as the new master toy licensee for its new preschool series, entitled Little Charley Bear.

Commissioned by CBeebies, Little Charley Bear revolves around a teddy bear named Charley who uses his imagination to go on adventures under the watchful eye of his pal, the Narrator. The series also features other characters including Squeak (a penguin), Tina (teddy bear), Pixel (a robot), Bluey (bunny), Caramel (cow) and Bella (a ballerina).

Under the five-year toy deal Vivid Imaginations will develop a Little Charley Bear toy line including plush, playsets, role play, arts and crafts, puzzles and games for distribution in the UK, France, Benelux and Germany.

Vivid also has global manufacturing rights for the brand excluding the US, and plans to debut Little Charley Bear products in the UK in fall/winter 2011. Vivid Imaginations also serves as the master toy licensee on Chapman's preschool series, Fifi and the Flowertots and Roary the Racing Car.

Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, inks a deal with Lucasfilm, Ltd. to feature Yoda n a new middle school novel titled The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.

Written by Tom Angleberger, the book revolves around Dwight, a "total loser," who somehow provides his sixth-grade classmates with particularly useful advice via an origami Yoda finger puppet; like the date of a pop-quiz, who has a crush on whom, and moments of potential humiliation.

How does Dwight do it? That's what Tommy, a hipper classmate, wants to know and sets to finding out how a dork like Dwight is pulling this stunt off.

Forum Nokia and my iPhone APP

Forum Nokia launches its annual Calling All Innovators 2010 app development challenge, which is designed to inspire creative and change.

Additionally, Forum Nokia is partnering with Sesame Workshop for the education apps section of the life improvement category (see below) to encourage developers to create educational apps and possibly use Sesame Street characters to teach early literacy on Nokia devices. S

esame Workshop, which will offer guidance during the judging process, will work with select developers to further enhance their related projects.

The annual contest, which runs February 1-May 18 2010, is broken into four submission categories that enhance the use of Nokia mobile devices in the real world:

Eco/Being Green apps that help save the planet

Productivity apps that make users lives easier and more efficient (e.g. utilities, business, personal finance)

Life Improvement apps that positively affect on daily lives of those living in developing countries by using mobile devices to teach kids and illiterate adults critical skills among other things

Entertainment apps showcasing multimedia features including music, multimedia and games.

Here's the app for the Whole Wide World: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/art-star/id299569441?mt=8

digital media in the classroom

The use of digital media and internet in the classroom is on the rise according to the latest edition of an annual study conducted by Grunwald Associates for PBS.

More than three-quarters (76%) of K-12 educators say they use digital media, up from 69% in 2008. Of K-12 teachers who use digital media in the classroom, 80% say they are frequent or regular users.

While DVDs are still the preferred medium by a narrow margin, 72% of teachers reported streaming or downloading content from the Internet, up from 65% in 2008. About one in three (29%) pre-K educators use this method.

One-quarter of K-12 educators say they belong to an online community specifically for teachers such as PBS' pbsteachers.org site, and those who use social networking sites are comfortable with a variety of online activities. Results are similar for pre-K educators.

Kids and Cell phones

If you've looked around or talked to friends recently you probably noticed that more and more younger kids have cell phones, but just how many more are there?

Well, there has been an increase of +68% of kids with cell phones in the past five year, according to MRI's recently release America Kids Study. Specifically, 20% of US Kids 6-11 owns a cell phone, this is up +11.9% from 2005, with the biggest increase among K10-11, which is up +80.5%, in the five-year period.

Not surprisingly boys were later to the cell phone ownership game, with the last three years showing the biggest growth among boys up by +47.6% since 2007, versus an increase of +17.2% among girls.
MRI believes that some of the increase, particularly with boys, is the result of wireless providers targeting parents and kids with kid-friendly phones and I'd add in the increase in kid-targeted wireless mobile content. So, what are kids doing most with their cell phones?
Survey Says... Top Cell Phone Activities for Children Ages 6-11:
Activity %
Call my parents 88.1
Call friends 68.1
Emergency purpose 55.7
Text messaging 54.1
Play games 49.0
Take pictures 47.8
Listen to music 34.4
Picture messaging 24.2
Download ringtones 16.5

Tipping the Iceberg

Daisy Whitney, Dec 01, 2009 04:58 PM
Missing the mark with messages is costly (and common)

Sometimes a number can be both frightening and liberating. Like this one from Don Schultz, a professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern: Only 4 to 5 percent of customers account for the preponderance of a consumer product's sales. Does that make the other 95 percent of a marketer's customers chopped liver? Maybe a little bit. Because not only does that 4 to 5 percent comprise most of your sales and your profits, the rest of your customers often cost you money to acquire.

"What that says is, I better figure out who those 5 percent are and pick them up in a car and drive them to the store and help them shop," says Schultz. That's why he is advocating a complete overhaul in the way media planners approach campaigns. Rather than focus on the distribution of a message, they should concentrate on finding the customers. By flipping their thinking around, they'll have a much better chance of reaching prospects with the right media mix and, in so doing, gain a bigger share of dollars for digital budgets.

"Most advertisers and marketers will have some clear definition of who they are trying to reach and it could be broad, like women ages 18 to 49, or it could be individual names and addresses. All I am suggesting is starting at the other end of media planning. Start with what media forms they consume as opposed to what [the marketer] wants to do," Schultz says.

In some ways that sounds elementary, but many shops are still married to old ways of thinking. "We have used averages and broad statistical analysis for so long that we have lost sight of what the marketplace is really like," Schultz adds.

Instead, media planners should consider four critical measures in media consumption: what media is accessed, how much time is spent with each media form, what media is used together and which media has the greatest influence on product purchase. Makes perfect sense, right? So obvious that all marketers must do this in their sleep?

Maybe not.

Because, says Schultz, if you calculate cost weighted by the influence, then auto marketers overspent last year in TV by $3 billion, underspent in radio by $1.6 billion and underspent online by $1.5 billion.

Other marketers are misfiring, too. Computer marketers, as an example, should have been marketing online, in magazines and via email, while radio is much less relevant to prospective computer purchasers, Schultz says, citing data from June 2008.

The key to success is to study consumption. Most people consume multiple kinds of media at once. They read a magazine while talking on a cell phone or use Twitter while watching TV. Knowing the media consumption habits, preferences and combinations for your prospective customers is the proper way to plan a campaign. "It's what media combinations are most important to people and having a clue how to put media combinations together," says Schultz.

And that means reach isn't all it's cracked up to be. "It's not how many messages are distributed, it's how many are consumed. It's not what is most efficient, it's what is most effective. It's not how big your share of voice is, it's how important your customers think you are."

That 4 to 5 percent may seem small, but as the saying goes, good things come in small packages.