Tag Archives: Children’s TV

The Oddbods are coming to a fish and chip shop near you, thanks to Keco Ltd partnership

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The cast of the popular animated pre-school series, Oddbods, will be coming to a fish and chip shop near you.

The content creation and licensing studio, One Animation, has secured a new partnership with the packaging manufacturer Keco Ltd to the launch of bespoke, sustainable, and responsibly sourced children’s meal boxes inspired by the animated pre-school series, Oddbods.

Launching this month, the premium takeaway meal boxes will be available at 7,000 fish and chip shops across the UK and will feature an Oddbods pop-out character for children to play with. The boxes will be plastic free and use only FSC sustainably sourced paperboard.

Rob Spindley, SVP commercial development USA and EMEA, One Animation, said: “As we continue to extend the global footprint of Oddbods, bringing sustainable and plastic free products to the market is very important to us. We are very much looking forward to working with the team at Keco Ltd to create an engaging and fun meal time experience in an environmentally responsible way.”

Jamie Kearns, managing director at Keco Ltd, added: “Keco is excited to be working with One Animation to showcase the globally renowned series, Oddbods. Children throughout the UK and Ireland will be able to engage with the characters as they invent their own storylines or recreate scenes from this much-loved, Emmy Award-nominated animated series.

“These takeaway branded meal boxes will perfectly capture Oddbods and children will enjoy assembling and playing with their favourite characters, safe in the knowledge that all materials used are both plastic free and sustainably sourced.”

Oddbods is a three-time Emmy Award-nominated, non-dialogue comedy featuring seven adorable, highly unique pals. Together, despite their differences, they survive the perils of everyday life, unintentionally turning ordinary situations into unexpected, extraordinary and always humorous events.

The quirky but charming Oddbods celebrate individuality in a funny, warm and unexpected way. Oddbods’ innovative app Oddbods Oddlife, designed with facial recognition technology to help kids learn healthy habits, has recently been nominated for a Kidscreen Award in the Best Game App – Original category.

Rocket Licensing named UK agency for hit pre-school series Floogals

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Rocket Licensing has been named the UK licensing agency for the BAFTA and Emmy nominated pre-school animated TV series, Floogals, with plans for a consumer products programme encompassing toys, apparel, publishing, gifting, homewares, and food.

The programme, developed by Nevision, follows the adventures of Fleeker, Flo and Boomer – three pocket-sized aliens from the Planet Floog. The trio embark on a voyage of discovery of the world and its ‘hooman’ inhabitants.

Floogals series one to three airs daily on rotation on Milkshake! where it has ranked as the number three show on the channel in 2020, with a 721,000 reach and 70,000 average audience. Series two of the show also enjoys a daily slot on Nick Jr Too, where it took the number six spot in February and March 2020.

Series one to three of the show are also available on Universal Kids and on demand on Amazon Prime and YouTube Kids, reaching a wide audience of pre-schoolers globally.

Overall, the co-production between NBCUniversal’s Sprout channel, Zodiak Kids and Nevision, offers 130 x 11” episodes over its three series and is created by a prestigious team, including Nevision’s Nigel Pickard, Matt Porter and Ceri Barnes.

To date, Floogals has reached in excess of 11.5 million viewers in the UK, and since its launch, has reached over half of households in the UK with young children and over 60 per cent of four to five year-olds. It has also been sold to broadcasters in more than 50 territories worldwide by Zodiak Kids and Universal.

The brand is supported with an engaged and active social media strategy, and Rocket will be working on marketing partnerships as part of its licensing campaign.

Nevision’s Nigel Pickard said: “We are delighted to be working with Rocket Licensing who have such a great reputation in the licensing business and have delivered so successfully for all the brands they work with.”

Rocket Licensing is planning to work its usual magic on the consumer products programme for the Floogals brand, leading with toys, apparel, publishing, gifting, homewares and food.

Charlie Donaldson, joint-MD, Rocket Licensing, said: “Floogals has a uniquely attractive blend of live action and animation and its appeal can be seen in its huge success as a broadcast programme. This success gives us great scope for developing consumer products and promotional campaigns. 

“We’re really excited to roll out products for this fun, bright, popular brand and so far, we have had an overwhelmingly positive response from both licensees and retailers alike.”

Toy maker Melissa & Doug lands ‘biggest licensing deal ever’ with PAW Patrol and Blues Clues & You

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The global toy brand Melissa and Doug, has signed an exclusive licensing partnership with ViacomCBS Consumer Products to develop and launch a range of PAW Patrol and Blue’s Clues & You co-branded toys for autumn next year.

The toys will be designed to educate and empower pre-schoolers through active engagement, with a focus on problem solving and creative thinking.

The global partnership with ViacomCBS marks a major milestone for Melissa & Doug as it is the largest licensing agreement the toy maker has ever signed. Through the partnership, Melissa & Doug will bring innovative and imaginative toys to retail that will span multiple categories focused on learning and education.

“Melissa & Doug has been at the forefront of children’s toys for over 30 years. We are thrilled to collaborate with them to create products based on the beloved PAW Patrol and Blue’s Clues & You! IP that continue to inspire imagination and hugely impact children’s growth and learning,” said Dion Vlachos, executive vice president, licensing and retail, ViacomCBS.

Melissa & Doug is a purpose-driven company committed to providing a launch pad to ignite imagination and a sense of wonder in all children so they can discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose. Recently, Melissa & Doug announced their alliance with the American Academy of Pediatrics to champion the health benefits of open-ended play and provide tools and resources for parents to make it an essential part of children’s everyday lives.

“We’re excited to work with a company as iconic as Nickelodeon, one that shares in our mission to make the world a more playful place through thoughtfully researched and designed products and content,” said David Henderson, chief commercial officer of Melissa & Doug. “The characters of PAW Patrol and Blue’s Clues & You! will help us introduce our hands-on, skill-building toys to an even greater number of children.”

Jazwares teams with Gaumont to launch toy line based on musical pre-school series Do, Re & Mi

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Jazwares has been named toy partner for the Amazon Studios and Gaumont animated pre-school series, Do, Re & Mi, a musical adventure series that follows three birds, featuring the vocal talents of Kristen Bell and Jackie Tohn.

The firm will develop a range of toys, each featuring the show’s cast of characters, and themed around Do, Re & Mi’s key pillars of friendship, fun, and adventure, as well as the power of the music. The toy line will hit retail in conjunction with the launch of the series in 2021.

Plush toys, musical instruments, figures, and play-sets aimed at the pre-school market will all feature in the range, all of which will aim to channel the personalities of the show’s three main characters, including the inventive brain of Do the owl, the busy and energetic personality of Re the hummingbird, and the outgoing demeanor of Mi the blue jay.

“Do, Re & Mi is sure to enthrall little ones and it’s the kind of high quality, enriching content that lends itself well to pre-school toys,” said Laura Zebersky, chief commercial officer at Jazwares.

“We are looking forward to working with Gaumont and Amazon Studios on developing the line so that it captures the magic of this highly anticipated animated series.”

Nicolas Atlan, president of Gaumont US, added: “We’re excited to work with Jazwares to further expand the musical world of Do, Re & Mi.

“It’s thrilling to see how Amazon Studios has approached Do, Re & Mi, elevating it beyond our expectations. We look forward to offering parents and children the ability to discover and appreciate the power of music, in a fun and meaningful way through the engaging storytelling of the series and beyond the screen by making their own music through play with the exciting toy line Jazwares will bring to the market.”

Do, Re & Mi is a production of Amazon Studios and Gaumont for Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Kids+. The series is executive produced by Bell and Tohn, along with Michael Scharf and Ivan Askwith.

Chefclub to serve up first children’s TV series in France as lockdown fuels new cooking craze

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The popular cooking brand, Chefclub, has signed an exclusive agreement with the French pay-TV channel, TeleToon+ for the first children’s television series Chefclub Kids, We Have Fun in the Kitchen. The new series will begin broadcasting this month, making its debut on October 12th, during the Week of Taste.

The full series will be available on the SVOD platform myCANAL.

Chefclub is recognised as a world leading producer of culinary videos on social networks, with more than a billion views per month worldwide, including more than 200 million in France. It aims to engage viewers with fun and easy recipes that has already inspired a community of more than 90 million followers across the globe, including 8.6 million in France.

Chefclub Kids, We Have Fun in the Kitchen, aims to serve up recipes in a series that offers a ‘cooking spectacle’ to motivate children to take their turn in the kitchen. Through it, children discover a variety of healthy recipes that have been created especially for them.

Chefclub has previously outlined its mission to ‘transform the kitchen into a game.’ Guided by the Chefclub brigade, children will be immersed into a universe designed to help them discover healthy eating habits and cooking autonomously.

These 21 5-minute episodes are also available for international distribution, giving Chefclub programs a new and even more extensive network of broadcasting.

Marie-Laure Marchand, SVP, global consumer products and business development at Chefclub, said: “We are very pleased to collaborate with the Canal+ group and its children’s channel TéléToon+ in France. Following the craze for cooking during lockdown, Chefclub’s cooking videos have known an unprecedented success, particularly the children’s vertical, Chefclub Kids. It seemed natural to us to offer a format adapted for television that will allow us to promote our brand on all media.”

Coolabi’s Clangers eyes new global ventures with Jetpack Distribution worldwide deal

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The independent kids and family content distributor, Jetpack Distribution, has acquired the worldwide rights to Coolabi Group’s popular pre-school stop motion animated show, Clangers in a deal that includes three seasons of the BAFTA-winning show that currently airs on CBeebies in the UK.

The new partnership covers all audio-visual rights for territories worldwide, excluding the UK, Australia and China and arrives as part of Coolabi’s ongoing mission to extend the pre-school brand across the international scene.

The Clangers are a family of lovable, pink, mouse-like creatures who live out in space on their Little Blue Planet. The planet’s surface is peppered with holes topped with metal dustbin lids, which flip open with a ‘Clang!’ to reveal steps down to their home beneath the surface of the planet which contains a series of interconnecting tunnels and caves.

Co-produced by CBeebies, Coolabi Group and Smallfilms, the all new episodes have been animated by Factory (Scream Street, Newzoids)  in the UK.

Jetpack CEO, Dominic Gardiner, said: “Clangers has a timeless magic. It’s truly delightful for young children and their parents. As well as being highly entertaining and making them laugh, it’s helping children appreciate important developmental aspects such as team work.

“Quality content for children is imperative right now. As parents and professionals, we hugely value shows made with heart and soul which nourish young viewers.”

Allison Watkins, director of licensing and TV distribution at Coolabi, commented: “Dominic and his amazing team at Jetpack are recognised as being one of the best children’s content distributors in the world and we are delighted to have the Clangers join their family.”

Molang team Millimages appoints former Walt Disney exec as new senior sales manager and producer

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The French animation studio, Millimages, the producer behind hit animated series such as Molang, Louie, Mouk, and Pirata and Capitano, has reinforced its commercial team with a new senior sales manager and producer in the form of Sépideh Shirazi-Moayed.

In her new position, the former Disney acquisitions manager will help to propel the studio’s success by focusing on the production of new series on major video on demand platforms such as Netflix, iTunes and Amazon. She will also be a key player in enhancing exposure on linear and non-linear channels across the US, UK, Germany, and the Middle East.

With a background in law initially,, it was a love for animation that drove Shirazi-Moayed to pursue a master’s degree in Audiovisual Marketing and Distribution, and from that point on her career quickly evolved from programming and acquisitions coordinator at major French channels Canal J and Tiji, to acquisitions, compliance and productions manager at The Walt Disney Company in France.

Throughout her successful career, Shirazi-Moayed has also held roles such as compliance supervisor for Al Jazeera children’s channel, as well as contracts administrator for Canal Plus’ legal department. Her years of experience working with some of the biggest names of the entertainment industry eventually led to her assuming a managing position at Disney.

“I am very excited to join one of the most established independent animation studios in Europe that develops, produces and distributes high quality family entertainment worldwide,” said Shirazi-Moayed. “I am confident that my background in acquisitions will provide me with the right tools to lead Millimages’ commercial activities to new dimensions.”

Roch Lener, CEO, Millimages, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Sépideh to the Millimages team. She will play a pivotal role in maximising the potential of our existing and future commercial success.”

Cyber Group Studios appoints MDL as Italian licensing agent for Gigantosaurus

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Cyber Group Studios has named Maurizio Distefano Licensing Agency its exclusive Italian licensing representative as the firm continues to strengthen its multi-award winning children’s property, Gigantosaurus across the region.

Gigantosaurus, the multi-award winning adventure comedy series produced by Cyber Group Studios, is based on Jonny Duddle’s book of the same name, published by Templar. The book has sold more than 500,000 units worldwide.

The first season is streaming on Netflix and Disney+ globally. The first episodes have been available on Rai Play since September 12th and the series will be broadcast on Rai YoYo as of September 21st. 

Soon to air on Rai (Italy), the series is also currently airing on major international networks throughout 2020, such as Disney Junior worldwide, CCTV in China, Tiny Pop in the UK, Super RTL in Germany, SRC in Canada, SVT in Sweden, and many others.

In addition, seasons two and three have been commissioned by The Walt Disney Company and France Télévisions, while Super RTL (Germany) has acquired season two. 

Buoyed by the series’ on-screen ratings success worldwide, a raft of licensing agreements have been signed with prestigious companies such as Clementoni for puzzles (EMEA), Dino Bikes for bicycles, Templar for books, Play Press for activities and colouring books for kiosks and Witor’s for Easter eggs.

All products will be available in Italy between the end of 2020 and next Easter 2021.

In addition, as part of a global launch, the Master Toy licensee Jakks Pacific Inc will sell a toy line this November in Italy. The Master Toy products are already distributed in the USA, Latin America, Germany, Denmark and Belgium. 

Already available globally and distributed by Bandai in Italy, “Gigantosaurus: The Game” has been designed by Outright Games in collaboration with Cyber Group Studios and developed by Wildsphere Studios. 

Maurizio Distefano CEO of Maurizio Distefano Advisory Srl said: “We truly believe in the strong potential of this series in the Italian territory.

Gigantosaurus has already won the hearts of all children and families globally, thanks to its themes and engaging stories. In each episode, preschoolers jump into a new epic adventure with our four dinosaur friends looking for Gigantosaurus. With the licensing products soon available in Italy, children will be able to recreate these scenes at home with their friends and families.”

Bruno Danzel d’Aumont, International Licensing & Marketing Vice President, Cyber Group Studios, added: “Gigantosaurus is a great global and long-term upper preschool property. I am very confident that Gigantosaurus will be successfully launched in Italy under Maurizio’s leadership by working with the major key players and major retailers.

“Maurizio Distefano has impressive experience in the licensing business that goes back many years and is recognized as such in the Italian market. It is a great pleasure to have Maurizio and his team on board and have them as our brand ambassador in Italy.”

Bing goes big in the Benelux as Acamar Films extends broadcast and licensing partnerships

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Bing is becoming rather big in the Benelux region thanks to a raft of new licensing partnerships that follow the news that Acamar Films has landed a live stage production of the popular pre-school IP in the Netherlands and Belgium for the first time.

Detailed just this week, the hit pre-school series will now air on the region’s major broadcaster Ketnet, where the newest series of Bing – series four – will premiere in the coming months. The 26 episode will be in Flemish for local audiences. In the Netherlands, all 104 episodes of Bing series one to four are already available on NPO Zappelin.

Meanwhile, thanks to Acamar Films and its Benelux agent, License Connections, Bing is currently enjoying rapid growth and momentum in the region. Following the success of the core toy launch in AW 2019, Bing’s homeware, publishing, and toy and games ancillary categories have expanded with new and extended licensing deals.

New partners for the property include, John, Big Balloon and Mepal, with John’s toy range including Bing playing balls due to launch SS 2021 and Big Balloon launching Bing magazines in Q4 2020. Mepal is the number one brand and market leader in Benelux for melamine lunchboxes and drinking cups and will launch the Bing collection in AW 2020.

 Meanwhile, existing partner TM Essentials, with its number one brand Totum, has extended its current Bing range with new wooden toys, puzzles and car accessories launching AW 2020.

These deals are in addition to current partners Vadobag for bags and Aymax for bedding who have been on board since the beginning of the Bing licensing programme in the Benelux region.

Spectron, the local distributor for Golden Bear, has increased its listings to include Belgium following the success of the AW 2019 and SS 2020 launches in the Netherlands, where all toy products sold out within a few weeks. Spectron will be TV advertising to support the AW 2020 range.

John Boeyen, owner and managing director, Spectron, said: “For us, Bing is the fastest growing pre-school brand in the Benelux region. Our toy range was a huge hit in the Netherlands and we are excited to be bringing them to Bingsters in Belgium this autumn, where we are sure they will prove just as popular.”

Daphne Kellerman, founder of License Connection, added: “We are thrilled with the growing success of Bing in Benelux. Bing has really established itself in our local market and has been embraced by both retailers and consumers. We look forward to working very closely with the Acamar team and our local licensees over the coming months, with a particular interest to develop Health & Beauty, Electronic Learning and Wheeled products.”

Acamar Films will be exhibiting, with a virtual Bing booth, at the Festival of Licensing during the European-focused week, 6-8 October 2020. Search for “Acamar Films” or “Bing” in the exhibitor directory.

Boat Rocker Studios’ Love Monster makes strides across Australia and New Zealand with WP Brands

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The popular pre-school series, Love Monster is making strides across Australia and New Zealand thanks to the appointment of the brand marketing and licensing agency, WP Brands.

Love Monster first aired in Australia on ABC in January this year and will soon launch on TVNZ in New Zealand, while a new toy line from Golden Bear – which includes plush, plastic, and role play items, will be distributed in the territory by Jansor from spring next year.

Boat Rocker Studios – the series international rights holder – has now tapped the Melbourne-based WP Brands to head up the property’s licensing programme across Australia and New Zealand. With over 25 years’ experience, WP Brands is an expert in the field, partnering with and managing some of the world’s largest consumer product brand and licenses.

“Love Monster is a fun and exciting brand that holds many opportunities in the Australian / New Zealand markets. The series reminds its viewers of the importance of being kind, respectful and empathetic towards our peers, something that is important in today’s society. We are delighted to be working with Boat Rocker on the show and look forward to a successful relationship,” said managing director, WP Brands, Lim Mi-Kyoung.

Love Monster, a quirky, 2D animated pre-school series which shares life learnings from a unique monster with a huge heart, is based on the bestselling pre-school books by Rachel Bright, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.

The show sees a collaboration between BBC Children’s In-House Productions, Boat Rocker Studios and Chinese production company UYoung. A lovable hairy hero, Love Monster, searches for the right thing to do in a world in which he is one of a kind. Full of heart and helping pre-schoolers understand different emotions, Love Monster showcases the importance of kindness, empathy, connection and instinct.

“With more than 25 years’ experience WP Brands were the ideal choice to represent our beloved Love Monster. The series is already proving a big hit in the UK and we are sure our Australian and New Zealand friends will take it to their hearts too,” said Kate Schlomann, executive vice president of brand management and content marketing, Boat Rocker Studios.

“We look forward to working with WP to maximise its franchise success.”

Boat Rocker Studios is managing the global content distribution and consumer products program for the franchise, excluding China and South East Asia which is managed by UYoung.