Kidscreen Summit reveals packed agenda

December 1, 2011 by Wendy Goldman Getzler

The full conference agenda for the 2012 Kidscreen Summit, which is taking place in New York from February 7 to 10, is now online.

Expected to draw more than 1,600 professionals in the kids entertainment industry, KSS 2012 will offer more than 75 panel discussions, presentations, debates and networking/pitching formats that showcase new strategies, innovative ideas and relevant business solutions that delegates can apply to their own businesses.

This year’s conference highlights include a keynote exploration from TEDx speaker and trained ethnographer Simon Sinek (pictured), who will discuss how the human brain absorbs information and makes decisions. The event’s Channel Team Spotlight series will focus on the industry’s most  powerful public broadcasters this year, with core teams from BBC Children’s, PBS Kids, ABC Australia and Kids’ CBC set to take the stage and talk about their highest-priority strategic plans and content needs in the year ahead.

New additions to the 2012 agenda are Talent Fair and Service Fair, both of which are designed to connect producers of kids content with the creative professionals and service companies they need to make their projects come to life and succeed in the market. The drop-by fairs will run over a half-day each.

The annual live Pitch It! event will feature four projects vying to win over a focus group of parents, in addition to the usual panel of broadcasters. Projects are being accepted for consideration until Friday, December 16. The Summit’s last early bird discounted rate also expires on that date.

Other topics being explored in-depth at this year’s conference include how social media and apps are affecting kids broadcasters, whether upstart digital platforms and traditional television broadcasters can live symbiotically in the kids entertainment space, VOD rights ownership and revenue, the health of the stereoscopic 3D industry, and producing live-action formats for kids.

Tags: apps, BBC Children’s, Channel Team Spotlight, Kidscreen Summit 2012, PBS Kids, Pitch It!, Simon Sinek, social media