BAFTA merges Children's Awards with main event for 2025—here's why
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced its intention to merge its Children's Awards with the more high-profile and prominent Film, Games, and TV Awards starting in 2025. This decision is reportedly in response to a consistent decline in both the number of entries and overall engagement observed in the Children's Awards category in recent years. Notably, the last Children's Awards ceremony took place in November 2022, after a two-year hiatus.
Why does this story matter?
The British Academy Children's Awards have celebrated children's content annually since their inaugural presentation in 1996. Before the establishment of these dedicated awards, productions tailored for young audiences were integrated into the broader British Academy Television Awards—which continued from 1983 to 1996. During this tenure, two distinct categories were introduced, namely "Children's Programme - Factual" and "Children's Programme - Fiction or Entertainment," which recognized outstanding contributions to this genre.
'Young BAFTA': New brand to incorporate outreach programs
The BAFTA has said that its commitment to the children's film industry and its ever-expanding and ongoing educational initiatives will now operate under a fresh brand known as "Young BAFTA." This initiative will be guided by a cross-industry Young BAFTA Advisory Group, led by Andrew Miller, a distinguished BAFTA board member recognized for his role in hosting the Channel 4 series Boom! The group aims to offer better assistance to the upcoming generation of creatives.
BAFTA's Advisory Group aims to elevate creative minds, children's content
The BAFTA Advisory Group is poised to build upon prior efforts with a multifaceted mission. This dynamic group aims to elevate both children's content and the creative minds behind it by granting greater prominence to their achievements within BAFTA's Film, Game, and TV Awards. Beyond awards recognition, the group will play a crucial part in steering BAFTA's year-round programs dedicated to young people.
Declining interest spurs strategic move
The BAFTA's decision to merge its Children's Awards with the film and TV events reportedly follows a noticeable drop in participation and interest. "The move to present children's awards in the annual film, games, and television BAFTAs is an evolution of the former Children and Young People awards ceremony which has seen a consistent drop in entries and engagement in recent years," the BAFTA said in a statement, per Variety.
