Fall programming for Canadian kids takes most of its cues from successful adult programming. A media buyer at Toronto’s Starcom Worldwide says boys and tweens seem to be the main target demo for much of the new slate, and that the overall broadcasting strategy leans towards ‘programming that is conservative and is a sure-fire hit to garner higher audiences and rates.’

Destination station Teletoon fits that bill. Undoubtedly, a showpiece will be My Dad the Rock Star, an original production from Toronto-based Nelvana that asks: what if Gene Simmons (of Kiss fame) was your dad? At the other end of the spectrum are MegaMan: NT Warrior, an action-packed cartoon in Japanese-anime style from the creators of Pokémon, and a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.

Buyers at Starcom’s Broadcast Investment Group received an advance preview of programming from Toronto-based Corus Entertainment, Teletoon and Alliance Atlantis for this story. They note that Teletoon’s new lineup retains a family-oriented feel, merging old characters that parents recognize with new situations for the kids, as in Duck Dodgers, a new comedy/adventure series based on Chuck Jones’s animated short and featuring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. Tween debut Silverwing should also be familiar. The series is a coming-of-age story based on Canadian Kenneth Oppel’s best-selling young adult novels about a bat.

A new cartoon for Corus’s YTV picks up on the book-to-series theme. The station plans to air a Canadian production of Mordecai Richler’s award-winning Jacob Two-Two books. This classic fare will be augmented by Martin Mystery, which is billed as a ‘dripping goo-fest of slime, thrills and comedy’ where two teenagers investigate the paranormal. The station will also air a new computer-animated Spider-Man series and Rugrats: All Grown Up.

Starcom buyers like the look of Corus’s Discovery Kids lineup, which offers a host of kid-sized reality shows, all of which are variations on already successful adult formats. Endurance is ‘Survivor Junior’ set on a boat; Operation Junkyard is a younger version of Junkyard Wars; and then there’s Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls. Upping the educational quotient somewhat, Ben Stiller narrates a kids version of the BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs.

CBC has many shows returning including its Get Set for Life on CBC weekday morning block for two to 11-year olds, now featuring Dot, a motion-capture animated preschool host. New for preschoolers is Poko, which stars a three-year-old, his dog and a stuffed monkey and Tractor Tom, which uses 3D CGI to bring an entire farm, including the machinery, to life.

Debuting after school is the Canada/U.K. co-production The Blobheads, an animation/live-action hybrid about a 14-year-old whose baby brother is declared Emperor of the Universe by aliens who emerge from the toilet bowl. Maple Shorts is a series of original flash-animated short films, presented for nine- to 12-year-olds by two squabbling hosts. Nickelodeon’s Taina is a live-action series about a 15-year-old girl juggling a traditional Puerto Rican family and life at the Manhattan School of the Arts. Finally, Anthony MacLean and Miss X will host The X, a tween variety show.

New youth shows include: Chilly Beach, about two hockey-playing, beer-drinking best friends who live in an unsuccessful resort town built on an ice floe; Fungus The Bogeyman, a three-part animated miniseries about underground creatures preserving their strange, grimy way of life; Kenny vs. Spenny, a documentary/comedy series about two friends who challenge one another to outrageous real-life competitions; and Rock Camp, a reality series based on a real summer camp in Halifax.

BBC Kids plans to make the ‘mature nine-year-old girl’ its main target this season with BBC dramas that unfold over numerous episodes, such as Cavegirl, now entering its second season. A more general audience will enjoy the BBC import Basil Brush, a show about a comedian fox who stars on a show within the show. Basil is a puppet who originally debuted on U.K. TV in the ’60s and is one of many retro properties making a global comeback. The series now gets 1.4 million viewers per week in Britain.

Also premiering from the BBC is My Parents are Aliens, a live-action comedy about kids whose parents are literally from another planet and The Raven, a game show for older teens in which participants avoid being eliminated by the raven.

Overall, caution seems to be key, say buyers. ‘Networks want to capitalize on programming or franchises that have historically done well such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rugrats: All Grown Up and of course Spider-Man. I’m sure we will eventually see a new Incredible Hulk animated series fresh off the heels of the summer blockbuster movie.’

Marketing through TV

Canadian broadcasters are not that far into the upfront process, but like the U.S., Canadian broadcasters expect to see a continuation of two major trends.

The first is a drive towards integrated communications programs, exemplified by a March promotion orchestrated by Corus for Parmalat Canada’s kids snack Cheestrings. The snack was successfully tied into Corus property Beyblade, a series premised on the popular spinning tops adored by millions of kids around the world. In addition to multiple TV spots, Corus oversaw all aspects of the campaign including the in-pack ‘Beyblade Extreme Spinner,’ an on-pack four-page flash sticker and an in-store shelf dangler. An online Beyblades-style game was heavily branded with a high level of product information.

‘We’re being asked for more and more integrated solutions all the time,’ says Gerry Mackrell, VP sales at Corus. ‘There’s a movement away from exclusively buying 30-second spots and looking for more robust communications programs. The trend is only accelerating.’

The second major trend is the rise in ‘kidfluence.’

‘More marketers are interested in targeting kids for their business,’ Mackrell says. ‘It used to be toy, cereal and QSR. Now it’s becoming far broader than that; from government to packaged goods to other consumer packaged products.’

TVO Kids will continue some of its ongoing partnerships based on the success of the Reading Rangers program sponsored by TD Bank. A soft launch of the Time Trackers this spring had TVO hosts tell stories on Canadian history and invite kids to participate by creating their own stories online. Over 800 kids participated. A music version of the program will break this fall.

Leslie Kruger, director of marketing and promotions for Teletoon cites Catelli’s Adventure Pasta for kids (including Sea Creatures and Aliens format) as an example of a company that’s made moves into the market, adding that ‘we’ve been able to help advertisers stick their toes in the kid marketing arena by handling their production and working with them on a sponsorship or promotional basis.’

Kruger also adds that Teletoon attracts a wide range of advertisers anyway. ‘Cartoons are not just for kids.’