Safaa Benazzouz, EVP of Distribution at Xilam Animation, spoke to ttvnews about the importance of creating content that resonates with kids and families all over the world; the challenges and producing content in today’s landscape; and the latest additions to their catalog for the international market.
With tighter budgets and higher competition, broadcasters and platforms are looking for titles that are guaranteed for success, minimizing risks and betting on known IPs that can engage audiences on a large scale.
What it takes for content to connect with young viewers on a global scale is something Xilam Animation knows very well, as they specialize on programming that combines education and entertainment, and more importantly, content that brings families together with stories that resonate around the world.
For instance, Xilam’s well-known slapstick, non-dialogue comedy titles transcend language barriers, giving it universal appeal across global audiences, with shows such as Oggy and the Cockraoches or Zig & Sharko already beloved by kids all over the globe.
In the following interview with ttvnews Safaa Benazzouz, EVP Distribution at Xilam Animation, talks about the latest additions to the company’s catalog for the international market, her outlook on the latest trends and challenges in kids’ content production, and Xilam’s commitment to creating original IPs that resonate with kids and families across cultures, languages and territories.
What is your current vision of the children’s content industry? What do you think will be the main trends in terms of genres and productions for 2025?
The children’s content industry is evolving rapidly, with the continued rise of VOD consumption as well as cuts to commissioning, meaning that producers and distributors need to diversify their strategies and offerings to stand out in the market. In terms of genres, programming that combines education and entertainment continues to be attractive for buyers, as well as content that the whole family can watch together.
What are the main challenges of producing children’s content today? What do you look for when selecting projects for your catalog?
The current commissioning landscape for kids TV has made it more difficult to create new and original brands – as such, we and other producers are having to take fewer risks in our development, and are seeing that brands that are based on known IP like Piggy Builders are standing out. Our existing, flagship brands such as Oggy and the Cockraoches and Zig & Sharko are also continuing to see popularity – for example, this year we signed a large package deal with Sony Yay! in India for Oggy, and are continuing to see strong sales across our non-dialogue catalogue series.
One of the core themes across our catalogue is content that brings families together with stories that resonate around the world, with a strong focus on slapstick comedy – so when selecting projects, we’re looking for programming that really complements our existing slate whilst bringing something new and fresh. We’re also continuing to bet on new concepts such as Submarine Jim, our upcoming 2D-animated adventure-comedy series that follows the adventures of a naïve young Dolphin named Jim who is put in charge of navigating the first-ever submarine on wheels!
What are the star titles in your current catalog for the international market?
We’re highlighting our upcoming series Piggy Builders, a modern retelling of the Three Little Pigs that was commissioned by BBC, France TV and ZDF, and is a great example of the new ways that we are financing series – by having multiple commissioners come together to greenlight a project. We also have 2D animated series Submarine Jim coming up, which is a new adventure-comedy series that we presold to France TV and Super RTL last year, and are spotlighting our environmental comedy Buddybot, which has the important message of saving the planet at its heart. In addition, our beloved brands Zig & Sharko and Where’s Chicky are long-running favourites in our catalogue, which we’re continuing to sign new and returning broadcast partners for around the world.
Unlike previous generations, who accessed content only on linear television, having content available whenever and wherever they want is the norm for today’s children. How do you think the evolution of streaming has changed the business of distributing children’s content?
The rapid increase of VOD consumption in today’s children is certainly changing the way content is commissioned and distributed. It’s becoming more difficult for creators to produce new content as the algorithms on VOD platforms tend to serve viewers content they already know and have already been consuming. It’s vital for the animation community to come together and amplify the voices of original creators – and from a distribution perspective, to use successful original series like Bluey as examples of how new titles can break through. We have also been active in the past decade on all social media platforms by creating dedicated pages and accounts for our heroes, and are now counting a total of eight million subscribers across these platforms. From Facebook, Snap, TikTok and of course Instagram, kids are everywhere!
In this sense, which platforms and territories do you currently work with? In which regions do you see the greatest potential for growth for your content?
Our slapstick, non-dialogue comedy transcends language barriers, giving it universal appeal across global audiences, and we’re seeing a particular appetite for this in the Central and Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Viewers and broadcasters are looking for new seasons of our hit series like Oggy & the Cockroaches, Zig & Sharko and Karate Sheep, as slapstick comedy is a reliable and comforting genre that is a safe bet for broadcasters, especially non-verbal series such as these that travel so well.
We work with a large range of broadcasters, including both public and commercial channels, as we have a large range of programming that appeals to different types of platforms. We’re also specifically seeing strong interest in our 3D programming such as Oggy & the Cockroaches spin-off Oggy Oggy from clients that are looking for this type of programming. Our content certainly has a huge potential for further growth in these regions.
In addition, our in-house digital strategy allows us to reach all continents, and across the 70 YouTube channels we distribute, millions of views are coming from the USA & Latin America.
How do you see the evolution of children’s content and younger audiences in the coming years?
The continuing rise in popularity of VOD platforms and the ways in which their platforms highlight and promote content that is continually successful means that we’re likely to see more content based on or around known IP, as well as spin-off programming from well-loved brands. Kids have so much content at their fingertips, it’s all about finding new ways to reach them based on their content consumption trends and platform preferences – and working together to bring them a wide range of stories and perspectives.
