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Harvard Research on kids to kick off Kidscreen Summit 2017
TORONTO: Kidscreen is thrilled to announce that Dr. Richard Weissbourd, director of the Human Development and Psychology programme at Harvard University, will open 2017’s biggest event for leaders in children’s entertainment with the presentation of a new research study exploring why and how we are unconsciously undermining the development of empathy and caring in today’s kids.
In the current socio-economic climate, where tolerance and understanding seem to be in short supply, it’s more important than ever to help kids develop these skills. So join us and find out how kids TV producers and media platforms can help children and parents learn to care for others—and also what kinds of messages and content strategies are important for counteracting the nastiness, scapegoating and incivility that seems to be pervading our culture right now.
The full conference programme for Kidscreen Summit 2017is now available online (http://summit.kidscreen.com/2017/agenda/), and it’s chock-full of keynotes, panel discussions, presentations, debates and networking/pitching formats. Here are just a few highlights:
Emotional Scheduling: How kids are organizing their own media lives
Kids today are accustomed to having access to what they want, whenever they want it. But as it turns out, programming schedules still make sense to them, and they organize their media lives around factors like where they are, who they’re with, and what they’ve been doing or are about to do. Dubit’s David Kleeman discusses this new concept of “emotional scheduling,” which is critical to driving discovery and retention for anyone creating media for children.
From Toys-to-Life to Life on Netflix: A Skylanders Academy case study
Activision Blizzard’s Skylanders almost single-handedly created the US$4-billion toys-to-life category. And tasked with bringing the bestselling video game franchise to TVs around the globe, content arm Activision Blizzard Studios scored a worldwide deal with Netflix for Skylanders Academy, created by showrunner Eric Rogers (Futurama). In this session, the creative team behind the show will delve into its adaptation process and what we can expect to see next.
Little Big Kids: Preschoolers ready for life
Viacom recently undertook a huge global study of preschoolers—an adventure spanning 12 countries, 6,500 families, social media diaries and in-depth ethnographies—to find out what it means to be under six years old today. Christian Kurz, the company’s SVP of Research, Insight and Reporting, will for the first time unveil these latest findings on our youngest generation. And as an added bonus, real preschoolers—equipped with GoPro cameras—will give you a glimpse into their world.
Surviving, Scaling and Making Money in the Kids Digital Space
Is there a way to create and deliver fun, engaging and strictly regulated digital content to this generation of kids, but also build market share, profits and long-term brand loyalty at the same time? In this fireside chat, Jeff Imberman, CRO of kids ad platform SuperAwesome—and former SVP of Sales and Marketing at Nickelodeon—will answer this critical question and show how the kids digital ecosystem is something to be embraced, not feared. He’ll also divulge how the under-13 audience is already telling brands and content creators what they want—delivering success is just a matter of really listening to them.
Set to run from February 13 to 16 next month, Kidscreen Summit 2017 will once again take place at the InterContinental Miami, a contemporary luxury hotel located on prime waterfront in downtown Miami, and just minutes away from South Beach, the Design District, Coconut Grove’s bohemian village, and the many galleries, restaurants and boutique shops in Coral Gables.
In 2016, the event welcomed nearly 1,800 attendees from more than 50 countries around the world, including more than 450 kids programming buyers and investors looking for new content and partners. Its unique positioning as a conference AND a market lets delegates customize their Summit experience to suit their goals and priorities. Offering an unparalleled conference programme and networking opportunities, the event is the perfect place to learn about the latest trends, issues and opportunities and connect with the industry’s top decision-makers.
Registration for Kidscreen Summit 2017 is still open. To sign up online or get more information, visit the event website at http://summit.kidscreen.com/2017/.
MUMBAI: There is a lot of excitement in the US about NextGen TV or TV broadcasts based on the ATSC 3.0 standard. With 76 per cent of U.S. households now able to receive the signals, America’s local TV broadcasters are hailing the introduction of new ATSC 3.0 receivers that will first be shown at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The affordable options will add to consumer choice, from high-end NextGen TV sets to affordable accessories that can transform Android and Fire TV devices already in consumer homes.
“We are very excited about the expanded offerings from accessory device manufacturers for NextGen TV. The new low-cost Atlanta DTH (ADTH) USB receiver, powered by Tolka, is built for existing Android and Fire TV televisions and will, at a very affordable price, expand the reach of NextGen TV into homes who already have those sets. ADTH is also about to introduce a new model that works without an internet connection and will be doing a software update for deployed ADTH devices to give them the same functionality. In addition, Zinwell is adding pause functionality to their accessory device, with an add-on hard disc drive. In 2025, RCA is also coming to market with two new NextGen TV sets that will join TV options already available from Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Hisense, and TCL,” said Pearl TV managing director Anne Schelle. “We congratulate all of the manufacturers who are selling thousands of receivers each day to consumers looking for the best possible video and audio quality from local stations.”
Pearl TV is a business organisation of US broadcast companies with a shared interest in exploring forward-looking broadcasting opportunities, including innovative ways of promoting local broadcast TV content and developing digital media and wireless platforms for the broadcast industry. Pearl’s membership, comprising more than 820 TV stations, includes eight of the largest broadcast companies in America: Cox Media group, Graham Media group, Gray Television, Hearst Television, Nexstar Media group, Sinclair Broadcast group, the E.W. Scripps, and Tegna.
Broadcasters are loading up new services with new features for NextGen TV viewers, including interactive gaming options that will be launched by GameLoop.
GameLoop TV launches next week in Las Vegas on local NextGen TV channel 3.2 and will bring gaming directly to viewers with no additional hardware or subscriptions required. At the heart of GameLoop’s innovation is the channel’s exciting “play now” feature, which allows NextGen TV viewers to instantly play games showcased on the channel simply using their TV remote or mobile phone.
“We also salute TV broadcasters Gray and Sinclair, who are working to bring fun, interactive gaming to the living room through GameLoop – a service that utilises NextGen TV for web-based family fun that will work seamlessly with millions of installed NextGen TV sets. Easy interactivity is literally going to be a game-changer for viewers,” Schelle predicted.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) functionality is now live on more than 200 local NextGen TV services throughout the US , with more being added to enhance viewing of key sports games and other spectacles. Broadcasters are promoting the advantages of NextGen TV this sports season on stations throughout the country and plan to continue these promotions as they continue to rollout HDR and Dolby Atmos services nationwide.
A holiday promotion effort in NextGen TV markets that began before December continues through early February, with broadcasters now indicating onscreen to viewers when local NextGen TV programming is available in HDR.
“We’re very excited to announce that broadcast stations throughout the country are adding HDR10+ capability in their NextGen TV broadcast services to accommodate a broad array of TV manufacturers. With other flavors of HDR that also may be present in the service, this allows every receiver to present the best picture possible, showing that local television just keeps getting better and better, which is exactly what we promised with the rollout of NextGen TV services,” Schelle said. In addition to providing better video quality through HDR, many markets are adding Dolby Atmos audio coding, which delivers immersive audio capability.
“HDR began for sports with the Kentucky Derby last spring. It really made the Olympic Games pop with brilliant video. We know that sports is a big driver for buying new TV sets as well as for enjoying broadcast services — your favorite games look even better in High Dynamic Range,” Schelle said.
Throughout the country, local stations not already broadcast on over-the-air ATSC 3.0 transmissions are gaining access to NextGen TV viewers through the innovative addition of more channels through broadcast internet protocol – or broadcast IP. These additional channels are available as NextGen TV channels and have added more choices for viewers in a range of markets, from public to commercial broadcasters who now have their programming available for NextGen TV viewers.
Consumers can easily find details of what NextGen TV services are available in their markets by visiting WatchNextGenTV.com, a resource maintained by Pearl that lists individual services by market and a full range of more than 90 NextGen TV receivers and antenna products certified to work seamlessly with the new services.
