By Ken Faier

To mark Kidscreen‘s 30th anniversary, we’re pausing to look back—and to look ahead—at an industry shaped by constant change, creative risk and a stubborn belief that what we do matters deeply. Please join us as we celebrate three decades of proudly supporting that. And here’s to bravely embracing whatever comes next.

It feels like just yesterday I wrote the 20th-anniversary article about the launch of Kidscreen magazine. Well, here I am 10 years later, maybe wiser, but certainly older. I want to start by saying that I still love what I get to do every day in this wonderful world we call the kids entertainment industry. That said, I’m not 100% sure how to define what “the industry” is anymore.

One thing I know is that when I wrote about the 20th anniversary 10 years ago, I wasn’t thinking about the impact of AI. Or the dramatic speed at which traditional television would decline while streaming and creator platforms became the dominant force. I wasn’t thinking about Roblox or TikTok or Steal a Brainrot. Or the speed at which trends explode into our consciousness and fade months later. Or how today’s kids are talking about things that I sometimes have never heard of, let alone fully understand.

I even wonder if they still like what we call traditional storytelling. I think they do—but they also like other things. And that coexistence feels like one of the defining truths of where we are now.

Where it all started
Let me start at the beginning. Back in 1995, Brunico’s founder Jim Shenkman had an idea. I had joined the company straight out of university in 1989 and was working closely with Jim, often serving as his shadow and doing my best to keep up with him. It was already an amazing journey—one that gave me the opportunity to meet and learn from key leaders across the film and TV industry. That experience also gave me a front-row seat to how the kids business really worked.

The idea for the magazine was to create a platform that brought together execs from disparate industries who were all engaging kids and their families—whether with content, products or services. The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Broadcast and others didn’t really cover the kids industry in a meaningful or consistent way, unless it was from a big-studio perspective.

There was no single place where the kids business, in all its complexity, could see itself reflected. So there was an opportunity. The foundation of the kids industry has always been independent producers and creators, who brought something fresh to the world of kids. Looking back over 30 years, some of the biggest IPs came from these indies: Power Rangers (kind of), Bananas in Pyjamas, Peppa Pig, Bluey, Miraculous, even PAW Patrol. Many of the biggest hits were not generated inside the studio system.

Of course, there have also been lots of successes from Hollywood, but the true breakouts often came from an indie mindset. And Kidscreen was built to support that creative core.

Kidscreen brought the global kids industry together into a cohesive whole, sharing one context. It was about reaching children through entertainment. And it gave us all a platform to share our successes and failures—and to learn from each other. In many ways, it helped turn a fragmented business into a connected community.

With Mark Smyka as the founding editor and me as the founding publisher, along with Jim’s business plan and head of sales Joan Lambur in place, off we went in 1995 to talk to people about it. And the first issue of the magazine came out the following year.

When we launched, it was in the middle of a global proliferation of dedicated kids channels from major networks in the US—namely Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney Channel. Their expansion into hundreds of countries drove the beginning of the golden age of the kids business. This led to the rise of mini-majors that went on to generate billions of dollars in economic value across the supply chain, from creation through distribution, and then onto consumer products, services and experiences. It was a period defined by growth, optimism and scale.

Along the way, the industry gained more knowledge about trends and where things were heading. Kidscreen played a meaningful role in that gathering and sharing of intel. It became a place where the business could pause, compare notes and look ahead.

Change as the only constant
I recall when PVRs came out, allowing people to record content and watch later. I thought, “Uh-oh—that could change things.” When the iPhone came out, I thought the same thing. Then it was YouTube. And now it’s AI. Each shift felt disruptive at the time—and each one reshaped how kids discovered, engaged with and loved content. But in hindsight, those moments now feel less like disruptions and more like signposts.

We have gone from a world where we pitched buyers as gatekeepers to one where we need to think about how we can go direct to the consumer. What does it all mean? How do we stay relevant in these new realities?

Change has always reshaped our industry, and kids are not afraid of change. They love new things. They also love being fans. That hasn’t changed. That’s what we need to remember. Our job is to create and serve fans. For me, it has always been about working with creators to achieve that goal. Everything else is just execution.

I asked ChatGPT about the next decade, and here’s what it said: “Ten years from now, a hit kids property won’t be a show—it will be a persistent universe. It will live in the cloud; be playable on any screen (or no screen, via AR glasses); offer both linear narrative and infinite-play options; and its value will be measured less by viewing hours and more by time spent creating within it.”

I spent the holidays thinking about that. When I look at recent headlines about Disney investing in OpenAI and allowing (with guardrails) fans to create content with Disney characters that could end up on Disney+, it struck me as a brave move. There has been pushback, but the reality is that Disney is testing new ways to invite fans into the creation loop.

I have also had to force myself to stay open to new ways of doing things. Someone once told me that innovation is about looking at a challenge without blinders on. Instead of saying “no way,” stop for a second and ask “why not?”

That mindset helped guide Epic Story Media, the company I launched almost nine years ago in partnership with my co-CEO Steve Couture and our core team. We have continued to add new divisions—including a mobile game company, a Roblox game development division and, most recently, a toy company—in order to be as 360 as possible. Our goal is to help creators and IP owners better serve their fans, wherever those fans choose to engage.

That sounds easy. It’s not. But after 30 years in this business, I’ve learned that the hard things are often the ones that are the most worth doing.

So here’s to the next 30 years of asking “why not?”

Ken Faier was the founding publisher of Kidscreen magazine, and is now CEO of Epic Story Media and its various subsidiaries, including Night Market Games.

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen’s Q1 2026 magazine issue.