Miguel Sabino is the founder of Thumb Media, one of Portugal’s leading YouTube channels.
MIPBlog: What’s the most innovative thing in kids entertainment right now in your opinion, and why?
Miguel Sabino: Well, we’re living some pretty exciting times in kids entertainment right now, and not just with kids, but with entertainment in general. In the past 5-6 years we have witnessed great technological advances; seen these technologies begin to mature; and be used on different devices. The most innovative things in kids entertainment are definitely in the brands that are exploring this blending of digital platforms, television and technology. As such, it’s only natural that the brands that are on the forefront of innovation today are digital brands like Moshi Monsters and Rovio’s Angry Birds franchise. I think in the near future we’ll see the traditional kids’ brands catching up to the innovation trends, but right now the digital brands are leading it.
> Why does kids TV have such potential for innovation? Do kids have a different relationship with technology than adults?
We adults have had to adapt to the technology as it was presented to us and we’ve adjusted ourselves to it. It just wasn’t around when we were growing up. But children are born into it, it’s like a second skin to them and they obviously feel very comfortable in it. And again this is regarding to all aspects of modern life, and not just with entertainment.
> What is your favourite kids IP right now, and why?
Well I have to say that Angry Birds has been a personal favourite for some time and I’ve been able to follow what they’ve done with Toons TV and I think it was one of the cleverest moves in entertainment in recent years.
> How do you see the (near) future of kids entertainment?
There are two main points to consider in my opinion: on one hand, there’s the integration between platforms and devices, and we’ll see this improve and grow in the near future. On the other hand, we have a challenge to develop content adjusted to the different platforms and to different devices, so I think it will be very interesting to see how brands deal with this challenge.
> How do you see Thumb Media fitting into the current children’s media landscape?
Thumb Media is positioning itself to bring together two very important aspects of children’s entertainment these days. Parent/child time and digital platforms. We’ve seen that parents are keen on introducing the brands that they’ve grown up with to their children and we are in the position to provide that to them in a digital, modern environment that their children also understand.
Miguel Sabino is one of our pre-MIPJunior 2014 kids entertainment ambassadors. These posts are coordinated by Debbie Macdonald, a children’s media consultant. She was formerly VP, programming director at Nickelodeon UK, having worked in acquisitions at the BBC. You can find her on LinkedIn here.
Top photo via iStock – Brendan Delany
