Raphaëlle Mathieu, COO of Cyber Group Studios, spoke to ttvnews about the importance of being creative in today’s entertainment industry and offering high-quality, innovative titles, such as Gigantosaurus and Alex Player.
There’s no denying the entertainment industry is going through a rough patch, with bigger competition, smaller budgets and new challenges for content producers and distributors across the globe.
But it’s those who are able to be innovative, creative and resilient who will ultimately power through. As explained by Raphaëlle Mathieu, COO of Cyber Group Studios: “It’s time for innovation.”
In the following interview with ttvnews, the COO shares his vision of the current state of the entertainment industry, the challenges of creating and distributing kids’ content, and the starts of his current catalog.
What is your current outlook on the kids’ content industry?
The current situation is a very difficult and challenged market place. The market will probably remain a bit on hold for 2026. Less commissions, less acquisitions on linear and non linear.
However kids are not going to stop watching screens and animated series. So I do believe in the rebound of our industry, we “just” need to hold on long enough and keep on being creative and innovative in every single aspect of our industry
What do you believe will be the main trends in terms of genres and productions for 2025?
Not sure we can actually talk in terms of trends right now. However, series around today’s or tomorrow’s practices such as e-sports or AI keep on growing in the story telling to adapt to today’s lifestyle. On another note, we see more and more stories related to ecology or well-being.
What are the main challenges of producing kids’ content today?
I do believe we must find ways to produce content that are really less expensive while keeping excellence and quality kids deserve. This is a challenge most producer and studios have to face. It is time for innovation.
What do you look for when it comes to selecting projects for your catalog?
I look for content to complement my existing catalog and that has I trust has a global potential.
Which are the star titles from your current catalog for the international market?
Gigantosaurus is without a doubt our star and is travelling worldwide. And I am very proud of Alex Player that was launched on France Télévisions and RAI in Italy a few weeks ago and that is a great success in both territories.
Unlike older generations, who accessed content solely on linear TV, having content available whenever-wherever they want is the norm for kids today. How do you think the streaming evolution has changed the business of how kids content is distributed?
Kids are more than ever used to getting what they want when they want it. This means their favorite shows and/or heroes must be available both on linear and non-linear. However it does not need to be in the same way.
In this regard, which platforms and territories do you currently work with? Which regions do you believe have the biggest potential for your content to grow in?
There are several types of platforms that are very different from one other. “Traditional” SVOD platforms that acquire content against a licence fee. Usually when we make deals with them they are global deal or a least regional. Gigantosaurus for example is on both Disney and Netflix worldwide.
Local AVOD platform such as Kartoon Channel, Kiddoodle or Sensical. These are curated services and safe platforms and/or apps for kids. Usually the content avail on These platform is different from the content avail on SVOD and locally.
Last but not least Youtube that is now probably the biggest platform. We have to be present there and we are proud to be curating our own content on our channels. This is even more strategical than it gives us an ability to be directly connected to the consumer and to better understand the needs of our fans.
How do you see kids’ content and younger audiences evolving in the coming years?
I trust that next to tentpole linear/SVOD content we will have to create an ecosystem and content to optimize exposure of the content/brand. To me this is the big challenge if we want to create and develop brands that will stay and grow on the market.
