At Toulouse’s Cartoon Forum, the executive talked us through some of the details of the EBU’s brand-new Co-Development Initiative

(© European Broadcasting Union)

At Toulouse’s Cartoon Forum (16-19 September), we caught up with Wouter Quartier, head of Digital, Transformation and Platforms at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). During our chat, we spoke about the organisation’s brand-new Co-Development Initiative, a collaboration opportunity that aims to secure the most exciting new content for young audiences in the highly competitive market of animation.

Cineuropa: Could you please touch on the EBU Co-Development Initiative’s aims and the activities surrounding its launch?
Wouter Quartier: The European Broadcasting Union, France Télévisions and Cartoon have joined forces to work on a new, collaborative model for animation. The effort is centred on the collective financing of a pilot project selected by EBU members from a range of pitches presented at Cartoon Forum.

In 2023, a group of 15 public broadcasters gathered at the event and chose two series from over 70 projects: the Belgian production Ray & Ruby and the Danish concept Pig & Andersen. The broadcasters have committed over €130,000 to their development. The producers will present the initial stages of development for both projects here at Cartoon Forum.

The initiative has been renewed this year, with the selection of at least one more project, continuing the EBU network’s longstanding commitment to animated television programming and reflecting the current priority of engaging young audiences across member territories.

How does the selection process work?
EBU’s members will make a pre-selection of development titles at the end of this year’s Cartoon Forum, which will be shortened to one or two titles following a process of discussion and voting by the participating broadcasters. EBU itself doesn’t take part in the decision-making process.

What about EBU’s main activities at this year’s Cartoon Forum?
We will be focusing on overseeing the second round of the Co-Development Initiative. In addition, we’ll be presenting the results of last year’s projects and discussing their production financing plans with broadcasters.

The effort has been renewed for one more year – will there be any changes that we should expect?
No, the framework remains the same.

What types of projects do you prioritise?
We prioritise animated series for kids in early development.

Do you foresee an evolution or expansion of the Co-Development Initiative in the long term? If so, will it simply be quantitative, or will it affect other areas, such as production or broadcasting?
The projects developed in 2023-24 are now ready to enter production, and there will be a focus on that process, with the aim of keeping as many EBU broadcasters on board and as many co-producers as possible.

To date, 15 broadcasters are backing the initiative: ARD/SWR in Germany, the BBC in the UK, DR in Denmark, France Télévisions in France, LTV in Latvia, NPO in the Netherlands, RAI in Italy, RTÉ in Ireland, RTP in Portugal, RTVE in Spain, STVR in Slovakia, SVT in Sweden, UA:PBC in Ukraine, VRT in Belgium and YLE in Finland.

Are you willing to expand that number within EBU, or are you open to external players?
All EBU member broadcasters are eligible and were invited to participate in the scheme. The participation of non-EBU members as co-development partners is not possible, but of course, the broadcasters work closely with the production companies whose projects are selected.