Children’s Media Production: Where do we Stand?
From May to July this year, CMF Executive members Dr Ashley Woodfall, Associate Professor in Children’s Media and Deputy Head of the Centre of Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP) at Bournemouth University, and award-winning producer Terri Langan, Head of Hello Halo Kids, asked people working in UK’s children’s media what they thought about the general state of the sector. The findings shared in this article will come as no surprise to Children’s Media Foundation supporters.
Survey responses from 14 participants revealed a sector under significant strain. The most consistent theme being layoffs, shrinking budgets and a “massive slowdown in commissioning”, particularly for live-action, factual entertainment and unscripted content. The BBC remains the dominant commissioner, with many of the participants describing a pivot toward animation, driven by cost efficiencies and global competition.
Participants also highlight platform disruption: YouTube, TikTok and other social media channels dominating children’s attention, but their algorithms raised concerns about addictive behaviours and declining content quality. Participants noted the need to “to do more with less” and that the “quality of the content is not what it was”, and there is “an acceptance of lower standards in production values”.
Personal Experiences
Behind these structural changes lie some stark human stories. Freelance and fixed-term contract work (the norm across the sector in most roles) fosters job insecurity, with “projects on hold for months” or cancelled due to funding gaps. One producer noting that “smaller budgets have meant that schedules and staffing are squeezed to a point of breaking.” Another wrote, “I am so saddened that so many exceptionally talented and experienced colleagues, who have dedicated their lives to making children’s content, are currently out of work.” Mental health pressures were a recurring theme, linked to longer hours, tighter budgets and the emotional toll of an uncertain future. With participants fearful that these conditions will deter new entrants to the field and erode creativity.
Concerns and Opportunities
Participants questioned whether traditional commissioning models can survive in an era dominated by global streamers and algorithm-driven platforms. There was also anxiety about cultural identity, with UK-specific content being lost amid internationalised formats. Several participants called for urgent regulation and stronger public service obligations to ensure the discoverability of UK-originated content.
Participants were generally quite cynical about new opportunities in the sector. There was however mention of it being “easier to make your own content (if you have the skills)” and being able to “reach your audience directly (if you know how)” as well as leveraging multiplatform strategies, such as episodic TikTok content linked to longer-form programming. Podcasts and YouTube channels were noted as offering opportunities, but monetisation being a challenge. AI was seen as potentially democratising production, but also as being problematic when used as a tool to shortcut the creative talent of individuals.
Despite the turbulence, one sentiment shines through: a deep commitment to children’s media as a cultural cornerstone. As one respondent put it, “I love children’s TV and love our culture. I don’t want it to disappear – the legacy is too important.”
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