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Moonbug Entertainment has been outgrowing its London office space as it aims to grow the 29 brands within its portfolio and acquire more intellectual property, managing director of EMEA and APAC Nicolas Eglau tells Kerry.

Why it matters: Owned by Blackstone-backed Candle Media, the media startup has become a powerhouse of children's programming and a top acquirer of YouTube channels serving that demographic.

Catch up quick: Founded in 2018, Moonbug owns several popular franchises like CoComelon, Little Baby Bum and Blippi. Eglau joined in 2019 after working at ProSiebenSat.1 Group, A+E Networks and RTL Group. Candle Media acquired Moonbug for reportedly $3 billion in 2021.

Moonbug has more than 500 employees, with main offices in London, Los Angeles and Singapore and a small one in New York.

Details: Moonbug's office in Camden is bustling with about 300 workers — the majority of whom are 20-something — who spend their days analyzing and creating kids' programming. Some design YouTube thumbnails. Others record songs in a music studio. Another team localizes videos into different markets.

Eglau's mandate when he joined was to scale IPs beyond YouTube and into other channels, including ad-supported and subscription streaming platforms and linear TV, he says. Moonbug is now on 150 platforms.

But YouTube is still king. "Every piece of content — except originals, exclusives — it starts on YouTube. It's really important for us. We believe that YouTube is the one platform in the world where you can really build fan bases and audiences," Eglau says.

"We start on YouTube. We expand to other platforms, but it never goes at the cost of YouTube or another platform," Eglau adds.

What's next: Eglau says he doesn't operate under a mandate of acquiring a certain number of IPs in a set time period but his team is always monitoring YouTube for potential acquisitions and taking calls.

"We're not jumping on anything," Eglau says. "A lot of people know we are acquiring so they come to us, but not every IP makes sense. We're very selective."

Moonbug is interested in IP that expands its portfolio to a slightly older demographic (ages 6 to 8) or adds a new genre. Its most recent acquisition, Singapore-based One Animation, filled the "gap of non-dialogue" content with the series "Oddbods," Eglau says.

Its prior acquisition, Little Angel, met Moonbug's checklist of having a massive audience on YouTube but with untapped potential for expanding to other platforms. It's now on Netflix and has made it into its Top 10. "It has the potential to become another CoComelon," Eglau says.

1 big thing: YouTube mastery in London

Photo illustration of Nicolas Eglau surrounded by abstract shapes and the Moonbug logo.

Photo illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios. Photo: courtesy of Moonbug

Disney and Charter are closing in on a last-minute distribution deal that would avert a blackout of "Monday Night Football's" season kickoff on ESPN for nearly 15 million Charter Spectrum customers.

Why it's the BFD: If the dispute isn't resolved, it will mark the beginning of the unwinding of the decades-old cable bundle that for years has kept floundering networks from sinking, Sara Fischer writes.

The latest: A deal would avoid a "Monday Night Football" blackout tonight, CNBC's David Faber reported this morning. The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that an agreement had been reached, though neither Disney nor Charter has commented publicly yet. 

The big picture: If a deal is brokered in the 11th hour, it suggests Charter's threats to leave the pay-TV business weren't that serious.

ESPN's "Monday Night Football" kickoff is probably Disney's greatest leverage point to get a deal done.

Adding to the intrigue is that tonight is the New York Jets' debut of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and many of Charter's subscribers reside in the New York metro area. 

Catch up quick: Disney networks first became unavailable to Charter's Spectrum cable customers Aug. 31, when a four-year contract between the two sides officially ended without a renewal agreement.

Rather than simply bash Disney for asking for too much money, Charter told its investors that the entire cable model was "broken" and that it needs to either rethink the cable bundle or get out of that business entirely. It began urging viewers to sign up for fubo, a live TV alternative.

Disney, in response, began urging Spectrum viewers to instead use its live TV alternative — Hulu with Live TV — leveraging its biggest stars as megaphones and pushing discounts.

Zoom out: Channel blackouts have become more frequent in recent years as TV companies push to charge more for their content than cable and satellite providers want to pay.

Sports networks like ESPN are typically the costliest networks within the cable bundle and are usually the center of such carriage disputes.

ESPN holds exclusive rights to broadcast "Monday Night Football."

Disney, Charter reach 11th-hour deal to avoid "Monday Night Football" blackout

2. The BFD: Monday Night Countdown

Illustration of a person throwing a football, but their head is a TV with a hypnotic pattern.

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• Ello, a literacy app for kids, raised $15m in Series A funding. Goodwater Capital led and was joined by Reed Hastings, Common Sense Growth, Homebrew and Ravensburger. https://axios.link/3Lhc1Pb

• GoCharlie, a marketing tech startup developing generative AI models, raised a $2m seed round from Goodwater Capital, SRI International, XRC Ventures, Geek Ventures, Textbook.vc and Hawke Ventures, Axios Pro's Kimberly Chin exclusively reports. https://axios.link/48cMBMv

• Arm, the U.K.-based chip design giant, is expected to price its IPO on Wednesday night and begin trading Thursday on the NYSE. https://axios.link/3qZ1ukQ

• Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) signed a three-year deal with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to supply 5G communications chips. https://axios.link/3Pw3wCj

• Google pledged $20m for Digital Futures Project, a responsible AI fund, Axios AI+'s Ina Fried exclusively reports. https://axios.link/463eip0

3. Deal flow

• Susan Rice, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. National Security adviser, is rejoining Netflix's board. https://axios.link/3EwsNWE 

• Crunchyroll shake-up: CMO Gita Rebbapragada was named COO as Brady McCollum leaves. Barb Bidan was named chief people experience officer and Charles Valentine was hired as SVP, leading the information technology and security teams. https://axios.link/3PbB47o

• Kai Finke, formerly of Netflix, was named CCO of SkyShowtime. Jon Farrar, head of programming, is leaving. https://axios.link/3Zf6Vsz

• Chunguang Yu joined Disney as SVP, data, measurement and advanced analytics for Disney Entertainment Television, Networks and TV Business Operations. She previously led the measurement innovation and data science team at NBCUniversal. https://axios.link/3EAz6IE

• Daniel Pearl will join All3Media-owned production outfit Lion TV as creative director. He spent the past six years at Paramount UK. https://axios.link/3r5heCP

4. Movin' on up (or out)

📱What to expect from Apple's iPhone 15 event on Tuesday (Axios)

"The company is expected to keep its iPhone lineup largely similar in structure, though reports suggest the highest-end devices could see a $100 price increase. In addition to the new USB-C connector, reports suggest the highest-end iPhone 15 model could get a more capable optical zoom, offering perhaps as much as 6x magnification via a 'periscope' lens," Ina writes.

📺 This cable company stopped marketing TV to its customers. Here's what happened. (THR)

"Frontier began referring new customers to YouTube TV beginning in 2021, and earlier this year rolled out billing integration, where the YouTube TV service is included in the customer's internet bill. 'We said we really want to go deep with one player that we think is best positioned and going to win,' [Frontier's EVP of consumer John] Harrobin says," Alex Weprin writes. 

🏈 Can a bunch of influencers make the NFL even more popular? (Bloomberg)

"YouTube can reach a much larger and diverse customer base, but you have to be a real diehard to want to pay more than $250 a year to watch games that aren't included in your local TV package. About two million people paid for the Sunday Ticket on DirecTV. The league says YouTube has already boosted the number of people paying for subscriptions, though it declined to provide details," Lucas Shaw reports.

5. Channel surfing

Illustration of a remote control in the shape of a surfboard leaning against a VW bus.

College Fashionista, the college-oriented media company acquired by Her Campus Media in 2019, hosted Creators Loft over the weekend, with more than 1,500 members of its 20,000-plus community registering to attend. 

Why it matters: Post-pandemic events have provided meaningful revenue sources for media companies — directly through sponsorships and as marketing vehicles to cultivate their communities.

Details: Kerry checked out the event space Friday in Soho, where College Fashionista members rented  Kate Spade purses, got their hair touched up by TRESemmé and learned about CeraVe's skin care products. 

The weekend, tied to New York Fashion Week, also featured panels about content creation and brand deals.

Her Campus Media CEO Stephanie Kaplan Lewis says the event gave "Gen Z a space during fashion's biggest week," which "isn't always the most accessible" due to the invite-only nature. 

"We wanted to create opportunities for connection, for networking, for learning," she adds. "And for them to just have a spot where they can hang out, they can create content, they can get better at what they do."

👜 1 fun thing: College Fashionista at NYFW

A member of College Fashionista holding a Kate Spade purse and posing in front of a green wall filled with Kate Spade purses

Attendee poses with a Kate Spade purse at College Fashionista's Creators Loft. Photo: Kerry Flynn/Axios

💰 Situational awareness: Marketing automation software provider Klaviyo launched its roadshow today as companies cautiously proceed with IPOs, Dan Primack writes.

@tim_bays: Bills vs. Jets on ESPN. Aaron Rodgers already scored his first win in New York with Disney-Charter resolving their dispute. 

@kerrymflynn: "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" on TBS. The final season of "Miracle Workers" (I will miss it so much!) pays tribute to this movie, which I'd never seen. Fixed that last night. 

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

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September 11, 2023

1 big thing: YouTube mastery in London