done well. But programs with a girl in the lead are still often a tougher sell. If you feel that
girls need good, strong role models, give it a try anyway.
Time slots for programming are important for kids just as they are for adults. Research
has shown that boys watch animation more consistently on weekdays than do girls. The pop-
ularity of games may be changing that. Preschoolers watch their own shows when older kids
aren’t around, early mornings before others wake up, and during school. The older child
usually has control of the remote. The audience late on Saturday mornings has traditionally
consisted of many adults. Of course, the late evenings are primarily for adult viewing, but
there are a few kids who watch TV at all hours.
As a developer, you may want to layer your concept with elements for younger kids,
older kids, and adults. Some buyers prefer that you not limit your audience to a target age,
allowing for as wide a viewing audience as possible. Other buyers want a program that’s
targeted specifically at only one age group or gender. Attitude and point of view are all-
important in connecting with different age groups. Preschoolers like to be nurtured, young
children like things that are silly, and older kids like wit and sarcasm. Tweens are more
particular in what they watch than the younger audience and teens generally want programs
that are edgy.
Programmers are finding that kids are outgrowing programming for their age groups
earlier and earlier each year. Recent studies have shown that someolder kids will continue
to watch a favorite show even though they’ve outgrown that age group and that older sib-
lings may come back to a show and watch it with a younger brother or sister, especially if a
parent controls the remote. Kids will watch shows with older characters, but they won’t
“watch down” (watch shows with younger heroes or heroines), at least not when they’re
with their peers. Tougher censorship at some networks may tend to limit older audiences
that cable and satellite networks with looser standards may pick up.
Animation isn’t necessarily just for kids, and the adult audience seems to be growing,
especially in prime time. Japan has had a large adult animation audience for many years and
develops programming accordingly. Individual broadcasters are constantly realigning their
audience as new channels start up and old ones change and find a new target audience.
Buyers look for ideas that stand out. Many concepts were sold because they’re fresh
and didn’t follow the rules. Watch for hot concepts. Read magazines. Clip from newspapers
and trade magazines stories about what’s hot. Study commercials for concepts and charac-
ters that are getting the most exposure and marketing push. You have to be at the start of
a trend or ahead of it. Forget the trend that’s on its way out. Make your own trends. Remem-
ber that for a series to stay on the air or a feature to remain in the theaters, it has to have
an audience and make money.
Market Testing
If you wish to develop a television project yourself, research the program idea. Use books
and magazines at the library, research on the Internet, watch other animated programming
and films, and talk to people in the target audience. If this is a kids’ concept, immerse your-
self in kid culture. Talk to kids in the target age group. What makes them laugh? Check out
their interest in a genre or type of animation as well as in specific concepts. Study levels of
enthusiasm. Watch kids at play. If you don’t have children of your own, borrow a child!
Development and the Animation Bible 81