Focused on presenting content with characters and stories that kids are sure to love, Hoho Entertainment offers a catalog of titles with brands that can extend to other business areas, as well as YouTube branded channels and more.
Having decades of experience in the entertainment industry, the founders of kids’ content producer and distributor Hoho Entertainment know how important it is to keep up with the market’s changes and staying ahead of the curve in regard to the latest trends.
And in today’s trying times, the group prioritizes content that not only has lovable characters and a good story, but that can also transcend the screen onto other platforms and become a marketable brand.
In the following interview with ttvnews, Oliver Ellis, Joint Managing Director, Hoho Entertainment, explains how the company is making the most of new technological advances in terms of content production and digital platforms, their outlook on the current state of the kids’ content industry, and they’re strategy for choosing content that kids will love.
What is your current outlook on the kids’ content industry? What do you believe will be the main trends in terms of genres and productions for 2025?
I believe, despite the current doom and gloom, the market will improve. Where there’s a downturn, there’s always an upturn and at Hoho we are positioning ourselves to be ready for that. Broadcasters are going to need new content at some point.
In regard to trends, AI will accelerate rapidly, playing a part in optimizing pipelines and make budgets more efficient, and also helping creators to create their own content. Assuming the right guardrails are put in place, this will be the great democratization of content creation.
The creator economy will continue to grow and become more relevant as audiences centre around dedicated fanbases – with our Cloudbabies Youtube channels, we are poised to make the most of them. Brands will increasingly look to creators to promote their brands so hopefully this will unlock sources of funding that currently is not coming from the broadcasters.
And more co-productions will happen as working together is one way of putting budgets together.
What are the main challenges of producing kids’ content today? What do you look for when it comes to selecting projects for your catalog?
Financing is the major challenge particularly when broadcaster budgets have dried up. What we look for is a project that excites us creatively in the first instance but also one that we can see the brand extensions for so that it’s not just a TV show, it’s a potential brand.
Which are the star titles from your current catalog for the international market?
Cloudbabies, Shane the Chef and Toad & Friends which are selling worldwide but for which we also have branded Youtube channels for. We also have the most amazing 30’ Christmas animated special, The Overcoat.
Unlike older generations, who accessed content solely on linear TV, having content available whenever-wherever they want is the norm for kids today. How do you think the streaming evolution has changed the business of how kids content is distributed?
Youtube is now the n°1 kids platform for kids. As mentioned, this has allowed content creators to upload their own content onto the platform. YTs prominence is only going to increase so traditional broadcasters are going to have to learn to work with YT – their audience expect it. Plus offering their programming gives high quality PBS programming to YT. So it’s potentially a win win.
In this regard, which platforms and territories do you currently work with? Which regions do you believe have the biggest potential for your content to grow in?
We sell our programming worldwide and every sale is important to us. I get excited when we sell to a smaller territory in the same way as if we sell to a bigger territory. There have been suggestions that Asia may be growing in terms of its content demand so we’re looking at that. But as YT is the dominant kids’ platform and it’s where our branded channels lie, we are going to be growing those channels in 2025.
How do you see kids’ content and younger audiences evolving in the coming years?
Generation Beta has just started this year. They are going to be even more technologically savvy that Gen Alpha so as content providers we need to be ready for that both in terms of content and in terms of the platforms that content is on. But certain truths remain the same. Kids love story, they love being entertained, and they love to fall in love with characters. While we can still provide those stories, those characters, we should do OK.
Watch this space. The technological advances are going to continue to amaze us all.
