European Public Broadcasters support animation at Cartoon Forum

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), France Télévisions and CARTOON have joined forces to work on a new collaborative model for animation, centered on the collective financing of a pilot project selected by EBU Members from a range of pitches presented at Cartoon Forum.

Following the launch in 2023, this initiative will be renewed in 2024 with the selection of at least one project, reinforcing the EBU network’s longstanding commitment to animated television programming and reflecting the current priority of engaging young audiences across Member territories. 15 European public broadcasters have already confirmed their participation in the initiative.

For many decades EBU Mem­bers have been col­lab­o­rat­ing on glob­al­ly-loved ani­ma­tion series, per­haps most famous­ly with ​‘The Ani­mals of Far­thing Wood’ sev­er­al years ago. This new ini­tia­tive shows our Mem­bers renew­ing this spir­it of col­lab­o­ra­tion to secure the most excit­ing new con­tent for young audi­ences in a com­pet­i­tive market – Matthew Trustram, Head of Television, EBU

Cartoon Forum participants will have the opportunity to see the materials developed for last year’s selected projects, Pig & Andersen (Fleng Entertainment – Denmark) and Ray & Ruby (Creative Conspiracy – Belgium), on Thursday afternoon.

Following the event, the participating broadcasters will gather to select their top 10 projects. To achieve the final selection of the one or two winning projects that will receive development financing, EBU may reach out to the producers of the 10 preselected projects for additional material, in order to help broadcasters catch up on any missed pitches and form a better opinion.