Paris, Thursday 25 July 2013 – MIPJunior today announces that Sandy Wax, Head of US pre-school channel Sprout, Brian Robbins, CEO of multi-channel network AwesomenessTV, and Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy, the creators of Moshi Monsters, will deliver three MIPJunior keynotes on Sunday 6 October 2013, as part of the Digital Kids conference programme.
Organised by Reed MIDEM, MIPJunior is the world’s showcase for kids’ programming which runs in Cannes from 5-6 October, ahead of the MIPCOM international content market (7-10 October).
All three headliners are at the heart of the converging worlds of television and digital, and central to the transformation of the kids entertainment industry.
Sandy Wax, President and General Manager of Sprout, is the leading children’s television expert at NBCUniversal, which co-owns Sprout. Wax oversees the 24-hour pre-school channel’s overall cross-platform programming strategy and its new business initiatives, marketing and digital efforts. Wax leads NBC’s newly rebranded Saturday morning preschool broadcast block.
Having held several senior management positions at Disney ABC Cable Networks and Discovery Communications, Wax is one of the industry’s leading authorities in the children’s entertainment arena. Wax was honoured for her industry achievements, being named as one of the 2012 CableFAX Most Powerful Women in Cable.
Also keynoting to MIPJunior will be Brian Robbins, Founder and CEO of AwesomenessTV, a multi-channel network which embodies the transformation of the TV/video ecosystem. One of the entertainment industry’s most prolific producers, Robbins launched AwesomenessTV in July 2012, and it quickly became one of the fastest growing teen and tween destinations on YouTube. It was acquired by DreamWorks Animation in May of 2013.
Robbins is best known for executive producing numerous hit series aimed at teens and young audiences, including the long-running CW series Smallville. Robbins has directed and/or produced a string of feature films for various Hollywood studios. He also financed, produced and distributed the feature film FRED: The Movie, based on teenager Lucas Cruikshank’s record-breaking series of FRED videos on YouTube, and produced its various sequels.
Once described as “a rock star version of Willy Wonka,” Michael Acton Smith is the CEO and Founder of Mind Candy. Acton Smith is the creator of the global kids’ phenomenon Moshi Monsters, an online world for children with more than 80 million registered users that has recently expanded offline to include books, magazines, toys, video games, music, mobile apps and cartoons.
Voted 5th in Wired Magazine’s Top 100 of Britain’s Digital Power List, Acton Smith also co-founded online retailer Firebox.com, the secret music festival Berwickstock, and the networking event Silicon Drinkabout. In 2004, Mind Candy launched the alternate reality game Perplex City, a pioneering cross-platform game involving a £100,000 buried somewhere in the world.
Hosted at the Carlton Hotel, MIPJunior will welcome some 1,200 participants representing 700 companies, including more than 500 buyers. The keynotes are part of a rich MIPJunior conference programme, providing a 360° guide to kids’ entertainment including workshops, matchmaking and screenings.
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About MIPCOM – MIPCOM is the year’s most anticipated global market for entertainment content across all platforms. Each Autumn, the industry’s international heavy hitters – from TV and film – converge in Cannes to create a new world of entertainment. MIPCOM turns every moment into an opportunity, transforming four days of meetings, screenings and conferences into deals – from blockbuster programming to ground-breaking partnerships. And the children’s entertainment industry gets an early start at MIPJunior, where key international buyers, sellers and producers gather to present, discover and screen content at the world’s showcase for kids programming. Please visit www.mipcom.com
