Sky Kids Shuts Down Creative Engines: Goodbye to Original Production
In a move that has shaken the British industry, Sky Kids has announced the cessation of its original production, opting for a model based exclusively on acquisitions. This decision leaves local children's animation in a precarious position, just when it needed support most in the face of the tsunami of low-cost content from digital platforms 🚨.
"A depressing and shortsighted decision" - this is how the Children's Media Foundation describes this strategic shift that threatens diversity in British children's programming.
The Immediate Consequences
- Loss of Commissions: Sky Kids was one of the main buyers of original content
- Reduction of Opportunities: Fewer projects for local animation studios
- Cultural Impoverishment: Fewer stories that reflect British reality
Who Fills the Void?
With this withdrawal, only BBC and Five's Milkshake! remain as major commissioners of original children's content in the UK. A worrying landscape when:
- YouTube dominates with massive but little-regulated content
- Global platforms prioritize international productions
- Local voices and cultural diversity are lost
Greg Childs from CMF sums it up well: "Giving up on young people is not the solution". In an era where algorithms dictate what children see, abandoning original production is equivalent to letting others tell our stories... or worse, not telling them at all 🎭.
While financial statements celebrate the savings, creators wonder how to explain that British children deserve to see more than reruns and generic content. But of course, who needs cultural identity when you can have higher margins? 💼 (Note: that last part was irony, in case any Sky executive is reading).