Kidscreen 2025 focuses on resilience in a changing landscape

Images courtesy of Bauman Photographers

The 2025 Kidscreen Summit was held in San Diego in February, hosting over 1,500 delegates from around the world. An important fixture on ACTF’s calendar, this year for the first time I had the opportunity to attend the event along with our Head of Content Bernadette O’Mahony. Despite attendance numbers being down on previous years, it was a bustling and energised conference, the days packed with thought-provoking sessions alongside meetings, networking opportunities and social events.

It’s no secret that these are testing times for the screen industry broadly, and the kids’ content sector in particular. There was a palpable sense of these challenges at Kidscreen. However the overall mood wasn’t one of panic or pessimism, but rather an acceptance of the fact that the kids’ landscape has fundamentally changed in recent years, and an invigorated sense of determination to find opportunity in adversity.

The difficult realities of the present moment were reflected in sessions discussing mental health, burnout, and panellists’ experiences forging a new path after being laid off. These topics served as acknowledgement of the very personal cost to so many in the industry, as commissions have decreased and broadcasters have downsized their teams. The discussions clearly resonated, with delegates continuing to share their experiences in informal conversations long after the scheduled panels had ended.

The theme of resilience also resonated in a series of sessions on tackling climate change in kids’ content. These highlighted the need to strike a balance between educating kids on the stark realities the world is facing, and helping them deal with their anxieties constructively by focussing on positive action.

Several panels exploring topics related to AI also had an air of resignation. AI tools are out in the world and people are using them, so panellists emphasised their commitment to doing so transparently, sustainably, and in ways that support their creatives rather than undermining them. From my perspective, the case studies and demonstrations featured in these sessions ranged from reassuring to alarming, and inevitably drew attention to an elephant in the room: while many producers and creators are making impressive efforts to use AI ethically, what will be the impact of open source generative AI tools in less-regulated online spaces?

Of course, much of the instability the kids’ screen industry faces is driven by dramatic shifts in the audience itself. The way young people interact with screen content has fundamentally shifted, and will continue to shift with new technological innovations. The good news is that quality content is still highly valued by young audiences, from preschoolers to teenagers, for all the reasons we expect: to be engaged and entertained, to enjoy shared experiences with family and friends, and to see themselves and their stories reflected on screen. But the way kids are accessing that content—and the platforms on which they discover it—have changed significantly, and there’s no going back.

Most consumer research continues to suggest YouTube is the most-watched platform for young viewers, so unsurprisingly YouTube was a topic of several sessions at Kidscreen. It was fascinating to learn how some of the major global content brands have found ways to work within YouTube’s algorithms, using strategic channel management and scheduled release programs to boost the introduction of new properties on their slates. It’s clear that, more than ever, YouTube is particularly effective as a way for established IP brands to maintain consistent audience engagement. Unanswered questions remain, however, when it comes to YouTube’s effectiveness as a platform for new properties. None of the panels offered firm answers about the financial viability of launching new IP on YouTube, or how new players in this space can find a foothold without their content getting lost in the sea of algorithmically-promoted content.

Despite audience shifts to newer platforms, the prevailing perspective at the summit was that kids will enthusiastically engage with their favourite content anywhere they find it. This includes traditional linear broadcasters, SVODs, FAST channels, online spaces like YouTube, and even user-led gaming spaces like Roblox. Across several sessions analysing extensive audience data, the inescapable message was that it’s short-sighted to view these platforms as competing with each other. Rather, it’s essential to embrace opportunities for them to complement each other; simply releasing a new property on a single platform and expecting kids to find and flock to it, is increasingly a losing battle.

Many of the big global media companies have found the most successful strategy is to make their properties discoverable in as many places as possible, in varying formats that best fit each platform. For instance, kids might watch a compilation of clips from a given show on Youtube, then engage with user-generated content related to that show on Roblox, then return to the original streaming service where new episodes of the show premiere, and so on. This can create a self-promoting content ecosystem that exponentially reinforces kids’ enjoyment of a particular property, building meaningful, long-lasting fan engagement and enthusiasm.

Clearly, the downside is that this approach is challenging and costly to initiate, especially for smaller or emerging creators and producers. Furthermore, to really take advantage of this kind of holistic approach to audience engagement, many of the traditional ways of operating—from the creation of content itself, to raising finance, forming partnerships, assigning IP rights, designing marketing strategies, etc.—will simply no longer be effective.

It was a wonderful opportunity to attend Kidscreen 2025, and to hear so many of the industry’s leading voices share their insights into the current state of the children’s content landscape. If there was one undeniable take-away from the summit, it was that to thrive in this new, ever-changing world, all in the industry will need to be innovative and open to experimenting with new approaches to every aspect of our work. The difficulties we all face are sobering, and it’s both daunting and exciting to contemplate how we in Australia might rise to the challenge.