Government funding body Screen Australia and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) are about to give domestic kids content producers with digital-first projects a leg up.
On September 19, the partners will open an application window for a new kids IP incubator that will give up to eight teams of emerging or established creators access to development funding, creative tools and other resources to help them deliver digital-first projects for YouTube, Roblox, AVOD channels or some other form of digital platform.
The three-month initiative is set to roll out in three phases, beginning with a September 26 Zoom information webinar hosted by Screen Australia and the ACTF that will offer advice to applicants on how to create a strong pitch for the incubator, plus insights on digital-first IP optimization and online trends.
Once the finalists are selected, each team will receive up to US$13,566 in development funding, as well as participating in a three-day workshop at the ACTF’s Melbourne office in March 2025 and several online master classes to be run by a group of industry experts. Then another in-person workshop will be offered at the end of the three-month program to help teams fine-tune their pitches in order to apply for a second round of development funding.
Full guidelines should be available on Screen Australia’s website on September 19. This incubator initiative follows on the heels of the org launching a Skip Ahead program and committing to fund a new kids YouTube project called Rainbow Bop, as well as granting ACTF a US$9.6-million funding boost to support domestic kids content.