On the second day of MIPJunior, the Disney Kids & Family team explained how the company is adapting its strategy to changing viewing habits among children, combining beloved characters, multiple formats, digital creators, and franchises designed to accompany young audiences from preschool through adolescence.
*with reporting by Carolina Mussio and Ana Paula Carreira from Cannes, France
In a kids’ entertainment landscape marked by increasingly fragmented audiences and evolving viewing habits, Disney Kids & Family is adapting its strategy to meet children wherever they are, with content designed for different ages, formats, and platforms.
That was one of the main messages of From First Favorites to Lasting Fandom: Disney’s Approach to Kids & Family, a session held on Sunday, during the second day of MIPJunior, at the Verrière Grand Auditorium Lounge. The session featured Emily Horgan alongside Ayo Davis, Alyssa Sapire, Charlie Andrews, Zack Olin, and Gino Guzzardo from Disney Kids & Family. Following the panel, Disney hosted a cocktail lunch for attendees at the same venue.
“There has been a lot of disruption in the kids’ space. Children watch everything and anything,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. “We had to change our strategy, take another look at how we tell stories and connect with audiences through new formats, and consider how our content appears across screens and platforms.”
For Davis, the ability to evolve will remain essential. “We had to change and evolve to ensure our stories connect with our audiences. Change is the new normal,” she summarized.
One of the pillars of this strategy is building relationships with audiences from an early age and developing properties that can grow alongside them. In the preschool segment, Alyssa Sapire highlighted SuperKitties as an example of a franchise Disney is developing with a long-term vision.
“We are always looking for new stories and storytellers based on what we know about preschoolers and where they are developmentally,” she explained. “SuperKitties is a great example. It is growing into a franchise, and we are in it for the long game, with specials, shorts, long-form series, toys, and other extensions.”
That journey continues as children grow older. Charlie Andrews explained that the goal is to accompany the same generation from its earliest viewing experiences into more sophisticated live-action programming, drawing on both new stories and familiar IP.
“We are obsessed with generations,” he said. “My job is to bring them into live action five years later, with familiar IP they already love, but adapted to their new age. It starts when they are little and grows with them.”
For the 6-to-12 demographic, Zack Olin emphasized the importance of listening to audiences rather than trying to anticipate their interests from an adult perspective. “That is when kids begin defining their own interests,” he explained. “We cannot simply deliver what we think they want. It is about listening to them. With compelling stories, we can reach the hearts of kids and their families.”
The strategy also has a strong multigenerational dimension. Andrews particularly highlighted the value of DCOMs (Disney Channel Original Movies), a brand that allows Disney to reach new audiences while tapping into the nostalgia of viewers who grew up with those productions.
“DCOMs are one of our favorite things. They have music, fantasy, friendship, everything you want as a kid and also as an adult,” Andrews said. “Kids see the characters they love, while teenagers and adults experience that nostalgia for the characters they grew up with.”
Short-form content is another key element of the strategy. Gino Guzzardo recalled that shorts have been part of Disney’s DNA since the days of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, while noting that they now serve a specific role in today’s multiplatform ecosystem.
As an example, he pointed to Locker Diaries, approximately three-minute installments produced in runs of six to 12 episodes. The format offers audiences a quick entry point into the worlds of Disney franchises, bringing them closer to familiar characters through short stories, comedy, and musical numbers.
Disney is also incorporating digital creators into its strategy. Davis emphasized the importance of partnering with talent who bring an authentic connection with their communities while remaining aligned with the company’s values and storytelling.
She cited Dhar Mann and Nastya as examples, while Sapire revealed that Disney is developing a new project with Nastya, whose emphasis on creative play is particularly relevant to preschool audiences.
Despite all these changes in formats, platforms, and consumption habits, Davis concluded the session by emphasizing that the heart of Disney’s strategy remains unchanged.
“We are building for the next generation. Our core audience is kids,” she said. “Change is constant, but great characters are constant, too. We will continue bringing great characters to life.”
