Yago Fandiño, Director of Children’s Content at RTVE / Clan TV, talked recently with Prensarrio, where analyzed the main programming challenges currently facing public television. In an ecosystem where children’s attention fluctuates drastically and disperses across digital platforms, the Spanish network executive emphasized that the greatest challenge for the sector is finding productions capable of connecting with the over-seven target audience, a segment that urgently requires a renewal of narratives.
Fandiño explained that he took advantage of the industry sessions in the Canary Islands, during Premios Quirino last month, to participate in strategic meetings with Spanish animation institutions, aiming to streamline operational procedures and timelines to facilitate the work of production companies. In this collaborative context, the executive praised the strong Latin American presence at the event, viewing it as a vital space for co-development. This editorial openness is reflected in RTVE‘s backing of feature films nominated this year, such as Decorado and Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake (Olivia y el terremoto invisible), projects which, according to Fandiño, ‘demonstrate the balance the network seeks between commercially viable bets and works with a strong authorial or social stamp’.
When addressing the acquisition and co-production needs for Clan TV’s programming grid, the director was categorical: ‘The primary objective of European public media today is to reconnect with children older than seven’. For the executive, the global success of Asian animation offers a clear roadmap. ‘Anime is reaching that target audience very well due to its character development, narrative structures, imagination, and humor’, he explained. However, given that fitting traditional anime within the strict values of a public television grid is complex, RTVE is actively searching for Ibero-American projects that can assimilate that narrative depth to captivate children whose audiovisual consumption is radically different from what it was five years ago.
Currently, Clan’s linear grid is experiencing high volatility, with audience performance fluctuating from week to week. While the preschool slot remains robust and well-supplied with global hits (Bluey, Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol) and local successes (Momonsters, Super Things), the gap persists among the older children’s audience. For this group, the network sustains its ratings by relying on US productions such as Big City Greens (Los Green en la gran ciudad) or The Loud House (Una casa de locos). ‘The current mandate for producers approaching RTVE is clear: develop intellectual properties with a Spanish or Latin American soul that can commercially and narratively replace these North American series’, the executive explained.
Following successes like Samuel, Fandiño also revealed that RTVE plans to expand its search spectrum for animated content. ‘The upcoming animation calls for submissions will not be restricted exclusively to Clan content, but will open up the range to supply our digital service (RTVE Play) with projects aimed at youth and adults. The strategy aims to capture those audiences that do not find their place in traditional mainstream animation and demand innovative formats within the public channel’s digital ecosystem’.
