English
From MIPJunior to Mipcom 2026: new times, old problems
Mipcom 2026, the main event of the content calendar worldwide, starts today in Cannes, France, with important challenges ahead: to move forward on the digital era, particularly on social media, the Creators Economy and microdramas, surpassing income and financing problems that are critical both in traditional and new businesses.This weekend, where the focus was on MIPJunior for kids and teens, the message was direct: suppliers must accompany the evolution of young audiences, generating proactive stories and environments as the ones led by games and social platforms. The ‘passive’ contents don’t run any more.
The main MIPJunior event yesterday was the Disney panel at midday --see the article apart. There, its main programmers stressed that to shift youth viewing habits, it is key to build interconnected content pipelines that evolve with the audiences. First, preschool slate as foundational gateway, creating scalable original IPs, as “SuperKitties”. Then, animation and later live-action with age-appropriate resonant follow ups, as series like “Coven Academy”. You must set up loyalty at every step, to feed the next one’.
Consultancy companies Ampere Analytics and Glance agreed that children entertainment has evolved from ‘attention economy’ to ‘meaning economy’, pushed by games and social-lead platforms. The key to succeed at these times, is to abandon generic programming to digital-native interactive codes with timeless storytelling, creating specific community-driven content that empower kids to engage with the brands they love.
Dubit’s David Keeman highlighted quite the same: Generation Alpha abandons traditional algorithm-drive social media in favor of gaming platforms, which turn to be their primary ‘third space’, after home and school. To succeed, producers must build interactive, participatory worlds to push kids to live within their narratives.
LC