Disney Kids & Family leaders take the stage to discuss creating stories and franchises that captivate today’s young audiences.
MIP Junior, the global market and conference for kids and family entertainment, today announced Disney Kids & Family as a Presenting Partner for 2026, marking the division’s first partnership with MIP Junior.
The partnership will bring industry leaders from Disney Kids & Family to the MIP Junior stage on Sunday 11 October for a dedicated discussion on how Disney is evolving its approach to storytelling for today’s young audiences, from preschoolers to teens and families, as audience behaviors and preferences continue to change.
Disney Kids & Family is the unit of Disney Entertainment Television that serves audiences across preschool, kids, tweens, teens, and families, creating original animated and live-action series, movies, specials, and short-form content designed to reach young audiences across platforms and formats. The partnership comes as the global kids and family sector navigates significant shifts in how young audiences discover, consume and connect with entertainment, creating new challenges and opportunities for producers, platforms and IP owners.
From first favorites to lasting fandom: Disney’s approach to Kids & Family franchises (Sunday 11 October from 12:00 to 12:30)
Drawing on Disney’s decades of experience building the world’s most enduring kids and family properties, the panel will explore how the company creates stories and characters that connect with today’s audiences and build lasting fandom. From preschoolers to teens and families, the discussion will look at how Disney finds fresh ways into established worlds through new storytelling and formats, while working with creative partners to develop original ideas with the potential to become the next generation of iconic franchises.
The session will feature Ayo Davis (President, Disney Kids & Family), Alyssa Sapire (Head of Disney Jr. Original Programming & Strategy, Disney Kids & Family), Charlie Andrews (Executive Vice President, Live Action, Disney Kids & Family), Zack Olin (Senior Vice President, Development & Current Series, Disney Television Animation), Gino Guzzardo (Vice President, Multiplatform Content, Disney Kids & Family), and will be moderated by Emily Horgan (Director, The Kids StreamerSphere).
The showcase will be followed from 12:30 by a Disney Kids & Family Cocktail Lunch, open to all MIP Junior delegates and providing an opportunity to connect with the Disney team and continue the conversation.
Lucy Smith, Director of Mipcom Cannes and MIP Junior, said: “Disney has helped define entertainment for generations of young audiences, so welcoming Disney Kids & Family as a Presenting Partner for the first time, and during this important time for our industry, is hugely significant for MIP Junior. As the kids and family business evolves at extraordinary speed, hearing directly from Disney’s leaders about how they are thinking about today’s audiences and the future of kids and family storytelling is exactly what MIP Junior is about: connecting the world’s creative community with the people, insights, and opportunities shaping what comes next.”
The partnership forms part of MIP Junior’s 2026 programme focused on the forces reshaping entertainment for young audiences, from rapidly evolving viewing and discovery behaviours to new platforms, formats, financing models and routes to market.
Across two days, MIP Junior will bring together commissioners, buyers, producers, studios, distributors, creators, investors and IP owners from across the global kids and family business. Through commissioning and acquisition insight, market intelligence, case studies, networking and direct access to leading decision-makers, the programme will examine what young audiences want next and where the industry is investing, commissioning and doing business.
MIP Junior takes place immediately ahead of Mipcom Cannes (12-15 October) and is expected to welcome approximately 900 delegates from more than 60 countries. Mipcom attracts more than 10,600 delegates from over 100 countries.
