French animation studio Xilam Group has launched “Toon Box,” a direct-to-consumer (D2C) streaming application available in 11 markets: the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, India, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia. Unlike the prevailing industry shift toward Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST), this is a paid Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) service offering ad-free viewing, offline downloads, and games. The app aggregates over 1,000 assets from Xilam’s library, including Oggy and the Cockroaches and Zig & Sharko, targeting children aged 3–10. The launch is mobile-first (iOS currently; Android in 2026) with a “freemium” entry point (free first month) followed by monthly or annual subscriptions.

Xilam Animation (Paris: XIL) is the sole proprietor and content supplier. Marc du Pontavice, Founder and CEO of Xilam, led the initiative, positioning it as a strategic milestone to monetize their massive social footprint directly. The platform technology was developed with “tightly controlled investment,” avoiding the massive capex traps that plagued early studio streamers. The content strategy leverages Xilam’s catalogue of non-dialogue animation, which significantly lowers localization barriers for this multi-territory rollout.

Xilam is moving against the current. While Netflix and Disney+ embrace AVOD (advertising) and most IP owners flock to FAST channels, Xilam chose a paid “walled garden.”

• Escaping the “Adpocalypse”: Since COPPA regulations banned targeted advertising on kids’ content, YouTube revenue (CPM) for animation has plummeted. A subscriber model offers higher, predictable Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) compared to the volatility of kid-safe ad inventories.

• Safety as a Product: On YouTube, parents fight algorithms that can drift into inappropriate content. Xilam is selling “safety” and “peace of mind” as much as cartoons. Parents will pay a premium to remove ads and ensure a closed loop of verified content.

• Data Ownership: On YouTube or Netflix, Xilam rents the audience. With a D2C app, they own the customer data, billing relationship, and first-party insights, allowing them to retarget their 125 million social followers with high precision.

Xilam’s move is starkly contrarian. Most mid-sized studios are abandoning standalone apps to cut costs, making Toon Box a unique “David vs. Goliath” bet.

• The Cautionary Tales: The market is littered with recent failures. Paramount shut down its Noggin app in early 2024 (despite 2.5M subs at peak) to cut costs. Warner Bros. Discovery shuttered the Boomerang app in September 2024 to merge it into Max. The Pokémon Company sunset Pokémon TV in March 2024.

• Competition: Xilam isn’t just competing with Disney+; they are competing with “subscription fatigue.” Parents are canceling apps, not adding them. Xilam’s advantage is the specific affinity for Oggy and the offline utility (peace of mind during travel) that YouTube cannot offer.

This launch signals a shift from “Licensing Reliance” to “Inventory Utilization.” Major streamers (Netflix, Max) are consolidating their budgets—buying fewer, bigger hits rather than bulk library volume. Xilam’s move allows them to monetize 100% of their inventory immediately, rather than letting 90% of their library sit idle while waiting for a licensing deal that may never come. Operationally, this forces Xilam to pivot from B2B delivery (sending master files to Netflix) to B2C logistics: managing real-time customer billing, CDNs, and app store compliance across 11 distinct legal jurisdictions.

Xilam is taking a high-risk, high-reward bet. The Risk: Churn. Without the breadth of a bundle (like Disney+), families may binge Oggy for one month and cancel. The cost of acquiring a subscriber (CAC) could easily exceed their lifetime value. The Upside: If Xilam converts even a tiny fraction (0.1%) of their 125M social followers, they create a high-margin, recurring revenue stream that Wall Street values at 15x–20x multiples (tech/platform valuation) rather than the 6x–8x multiples typical for production studios. However, the risk is real: standalone apps lack the churn-reduction power of a bundle, and converting “free” social fans to “paid” subscribers remains a notoriously steep hurdle.