Event Coverage
MipJunior 2014: Upfront funding from b’casters for kids’ programme on a decline?
CANNES: Producers in Asia and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) are in for some trouble, if IHS Technology principal analyst TV Tim Westcott is to be believed. According to a study conducted by IHS Technology in 28 countries comprising a mix of producers and broadcasters, upfront funding is seeing a downward trend. While most producers still get funding from broadcasters before they get into production, overall, the producers in Asia and MENA are less likely to receive upfront funding.
In the same study, while 58 per cent of the producers accepted that they still get upfront funding from broadcasters for children’s programming, 42 per cent of producers did not receive any such funding. The observations were shared during a session on ‘Kids and Multi Media’ on the first day of MipJunior.
This apart, another key finding of the survey was that broadcasters today place strong emphasis on original programming in their budgeting. “More than half the broadcasters surveyed spend a majority of their budget on original programming. Not only this, one pubcaster spent 100 per cent of its budget on original programmes, while other broadcasters spend 80-85 per cent of their budget,” said Westcott.
A majority (63 per cent) of producers expect broadcaster budgets to decline, while 9 per cent of those surveyed are still optimistic. Another point that came to the fore was that producers tend to not stream the programmes on their own sites. “People are not seeing a great deal of revenue coming from digital and certainly not enough to compensate from any decline they’re having from linear TV sales,” said Westcott.
According to Westcott, episodes are more likely to be streamed on a third party site and then on the producer’s own site. Of those surveyed, 37.5 per cent of respondents still do not have their content online. “Over the top subscription like Netflix was cited as the most significant revenue stream for online content,” he added. This is followed by free to the end user streaming, supported by advertising.
Kids are moving beyond linear television. With 34 per cent of British kids in the age group of 5 to 15 years, using smartphones and tablets to view content, linear TV could just be witnessing a downward trend. Westcott during his presentation said that kids in the US, UK, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Germany have shown a decline in linear TV viewing.
So is digital making up for the losses caused due to decline in linear TV viewing? Answered TVE head of children’s content Santiago Fandino Lousa, “Things are changing year by year. Today, broadcasters face difficulty in formulating long term strategies. Kids today want the content they like, at the place of their choice.”
While broadcasters may be facing difficulties, Hit Entertainment VP global productions and content Keenan Christopher is quite happy with the development. He said, “All of our content is character based. Kids find time to invest in these characters, regardless of the platform. For us, the second screen has become the first screen, which is good as there is decline in linear television viewing.” For Toca Boca VP brand and marketing Jonas Carlsson, second screen is highly immersive.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
