Event Coverage
Kids programming trends discussed at MipCom Jr
CANNES: What are the trends that are going to hit kids television programming? That is one of the topics that was discussed a short while ago at Mipcom Junior’s second and final session ‘Brand Builders and Profit Drivers’ at the Hotel Martinez on Le Croisette in Cannes, France.
Various views emerged from the panelists which included Clipper Media managing director John Knox, Sesame Workshop senior vice-president global consumer products & international television distribution Marc Schneider, MTV Networks International vice-president & general manager Jean Phillippe Randisi, Hit Entertainment senior vice-president Europe Simon Forrest, and Alice4tv president Alice Donenfeld.
Donenfeld envisioned a future where thanks to digitalisation, greater nicheing is going to take place in the kids television segment. “We are going to see more and more channels coming up – age group specific even in the kids segment. I have got people asking about an infant channel, a preschool channel. The market is being chopped into smaller pieces, age specific,” she said.
Forrest said that he saw a whole new bunch of CGI based programming coming out of nowhere. “The quality is getting good. The feathers and fins and all other characters are becoming better. Costs are also falling. In the near future you will see good CG based animation costing under 5000 pounds a minute flooding television.”
Schnieder aired a view that revenues are going to be under pressure “with large retailers like Wal-mart going in for their own labels, we are going to have to find new ways of licensing and merchandising because these guys are going to reduce offtake of our products.”
Forrest whose company Hit Entertainment is behind Bob the Builder says that is worrisome. “93 per cent of Bob the Builder revenues have come from licensing and merchandising. Just seven per cent from the TV show. Bob the Builder has resulted in something like 1.15 billion dollars in retail sales. We have earned about $180-190 billion from the property in the past four-five years.”
John Knox said that what was worrying him was the obsession with creating programming for merchandising and for revenues. “It is all about creating good television. Produce excellent programming. I am seeing a lot of appalling kids programming properties being developed to make money. There is going to be a consumer backlash.”
Randisi said that he had no clue about the trends. “The only trend about kids programming is that we don’t know what it is going to be and what will work. Like it has always been.”
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.
