Not so very long ago, children’s tv was considered to be an obligation more than an opportunity, by those not directly creating it. Granted, tv as we know it, has been around since the early ’50s, gaining stature in the ’60s, recognition in the ’70s, influence in the ’80s and accountability in the ’90s. During most of these 40-plus years of growth and evolution, children’s tv was usually on the periphery, discounted and often marginalized.

Children’s tv has only recently taken center stage. The world has rediscovered its youth!. In just 10 years, what was once considered to be a narrow market has become a flourishing, dynamic and competitive business.

Once restricted to Saturday mornings or irrational time slots, the genre of demographic-specific programming is diversifying, becoming aggressively accessible to a broadening audience base and is now big business.

Merchandising and licensing, for example, are two aspects of the business that go beyond the screen. Look at the creation and export of u.s. services such as upn, Warner Bros. and Disney to name a few.

Then there are the numerous programming blocks available from syndicators.

Canada and Canadian producers have always been in the front lines, creating internationally acclaimed children’s entertainment. Canadian broadcasters, along with our public cbc and the provincial educational channels have contributed greatly to children’s and youth programming.

And while the majority of these series may originally have been in-house initiatives, the past decade has seen a dramatic increase in content, creation and execution from the independent production sector.

Numerous Canadian producers and directors are now successfully selling their product in the u.s. and internationally. And unmistakably, the big nut of our collective bottom line resides south of the 49th.

At ytv, we have defined our role as ‘entertainment for kids of all ages.’ Given the reality that kids and families can be entertained together, ytv has really worked our primetime (3 p.m. to 9 p.m.) with varied genre crossover properties such as Goosebumps and ReBoot.

This is a subjective medium based on objective criteria. So, creating a schedule with good flow and wrapping it in an environment helps the packaging and presentation. Since 1990, ytv’s pjs (program jockeys) have been a cornerstone of our schedule design.

Some of the popular kids’ television trends today include grandfathered retro-revival animation shows like Flash Gordon, Garfield, Pink Panther, old Mr. Magoo and Woody Woodpecker. And other series like The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, where old classic animation meets with new high-end computer-generated imagery, are reaching a broader demographic than just kids.

In fact, the growth in the animation industry is rocketing. Clearly, animation can work on many layers: for dubbing and versioning, for kids and adults alike, for many dayparts, and for brand development. For example, shows like ytv’s ReBoot and Beasties are being watched by nearly two million (viewers 2+) in an average week*. Another ytv series, Stickin’ Around, is quirky, off-center and works with a crossover audience of kids and adults both in primetime and Sunday morning.

In the coming years, we must be mindful to define children’s tv, educational tv, relevant tv, too much tv, et al. We will have help from our tv colleagues, plus the industry regulators, the social advocacy groups, media watch groups and thoughtful, opinionated citizens/viewers.

We need to be aware of society’s evolving tastes and judgments, as well as evolving viewer patterns, demographic shifts and societal pressures. And, of coarse, we must be cognizant of our inherent responsibilities as entertainment providers.

But beyond passive programming, we need to collectively embrace more interactive elements via convergence and prepare for kids programming their own entertainment environment. We need to become more focused, more creative, more willing to take risks and have fun.

* Source: Nielsen Marketing Research, Fall ’96