Nick Walters


TBI Kids: Year in Review

Undeniably, 2016 was the year digital platforms established themselves as key kids entertainment market gamechangers. “Netflix, without a doubt” was the network that made the biggest impression across the year, says Halle Stanford, executive VP of children’s entertainment at The Jim Henson Company. Many others agree with her – Andrew Cole-Bulgin of Komixx Media Group […]

TBI Kids Survey 2016: which digital service has the most potential?

It seems fair to throw this question to the people running digital services first. Hopster’s Nick Walters selects his own service as the one with most potential, but also sees promise elsewhere. “I think PopJam is really interesting and a promising take on doing social for kids in a way that’s cool, doesn’t condescend, but […]

TBI Kids Survey 2016: What is the biggest issue facing the industry?

TBI asks the the most influential players in the kids business for their views on the hot-button topics that are defining the sector in 2016 and beyond Asking folks in the kids industry about the biggest challenge they face elicits a range of responses, most of which can be filed into two areas: funding and […]

TV’s Big Questions: have direct-to-consumer services affected the market?

Many believe 2015 was the year traditional pay TV broadcasters finally accepted they would need to go over-the-top to gain the dollars of the binge-watching, ‘cord-nevers’ generation. Here senior executive offer analysis on how this new trend has changed the market. The announcement of the launch of HBO Now was hailed as a watershed moment […]

Hopster SVOD goes French, adds execs

Kids SVOD service Hopster is launching a dedicated French language service. The company has also added three new staff to its executive ranks, as it pushes ahead with it international roll out plans. The French-language Hopster app will launch for an introductory monthly fee of €1.99 (US$2.24). The preschool service has secured French versions of […]

Kids SVOD service goes global

Educational content-focused app Hopster is to launch internationally through Apple TV. The subscription on-demand platform, which offers hundreds of preschool programmes, launched in the UK on Apple TV in May, and will now go out in more than 100 territories. It is already live in Australia, the Middle East, southeast Asia and India. In the […]

Kids SVOD service hops onto Apple

Preschool kids SVOD service Hopster has launched on Apple TV. The on-demand service, which started in the UK but is rolling out internationally, is available on Apple’s TV service in the UK for £3.99 (US$6.07) a month. There is also a week-long free trial available. Existing Hopster subs can also use the service on Apple. […]

Hopster strikes DreamWorks deal, preps launches

Hopster has struck a programming deal with DreamWorks and is about to launch on Android. The kids OTT service is currently available in the UK and Ireland, but has picked up multi-territory right to the DreamWorks fare and, following a successful funding round, is expected to roll out in new territories in the first half […]

The state of the kids VOD industry

Nick Walters, founder and CEO of kids SVOD service Hopster, identifies the trends driving the children’s content on-demand market. To sum up the state of the kids VOD industry in one word I would say: busy. When we started Hopster almost three years ago, we thought there was a dearth of innovation in TV for kids. […]