License! Global and MipJunior have released the kids' programming finalists for this year's Licensing Challenge, a pitching session designed to showcase the TV property with the greatest licensing potential.

This year's finalists are:

A winner will be selected from the group of finalists during a live session at MipJunior on Oct. 2 in Cannes. Selection criteria was based on uniqueness and overall appeal of the property (innovation, character development); the look, story and themes of the show; distribution and/or broadcast plans; clear potential for licensing (franchise potential); suitability/match of property with identified audience target; and merchandising potential. The Licensing Challenge is moderated by Tony Lisanti, global editorial director of License! Global.

The winner will be offered advice on how to expand and develop the property. The Hive, a 2009 finalist, was recently picked up for broadcast on Playhouse Disney across 150 territories. The new CGI-preschool animated series comes from U.K. production company The Hive Enterprises and its distributor Bejuba.

The jurors for the competition include Patricia de Wilde, director of licensing, Marathon Media; Holly Stein, vice president of licensing acquisitions, Mattel; Jennifer Lawlor, vice president of emerging markets and business development, Nickelodeon Consumer Products; Maura Regan, senior vice president and general manager of global consumer products, Sesame Workshop; Mary Carmen Rotter, director of consumer products, Televisa International; and Sandra Sheppard, director and executive producer of children's and educational programming, PBS Thirteen/WNET New York.

Click here to learn more about the Licensing Challenge.