Down with the kids: while other multichannel genres flounder, kids channels continue to go from strength to strength. But the dominance of the major US-based networks remains unchallenged

摘要

The European kids channel business is enjoying a period of almost relentless growth. Barely a month goes by without one of the major pan-regional players launching a new channel brand, clinching a ground-breaking carriage deal or making a foray into new media. At Viacom-owned Nickelodeon, for example, 2005 saw channel launches in France, Portugal and Germany, the latter into 30m homes via analogue cable (a deal that puts Nick into a total of 65m European homes). The channel also announced increased hours in Spain, the launch of pre-school channel Nick Jr. in The Netherlands and a new Nick block on Turkish terrestrial TV. MTV Networks Europe chief executive Simon Guild, who oversees all Viacom's channel brands, says the decision to put muscle behind Nickelodeon's European business was based on two factors: "We will be better-placed for [firstly] pan-regional programme acquisition deals and [secondly] to talk to pan-regional advertisers. If you want to be taken seriously by media agencies you have to have a substantial presence in territories like Germany."