Winsing (GOGOBUS, GG Bond) is to launch Team S.T.E.A.M.! Season 3 on all major TV channels and streaming platforms across China on Sept.18. On the same day, Winsing will hold the New Toy Line Release Conference to exhibit the new toys and other products for the show. The English adaptation and dubbing for the program is currently underway, and will debut during MIPCOM/MIP Junior. (https://en.winsing.net)
In the new season, Team S.T.E.A.M.! will face a greater challenge. However, they never fear from the various troubles caused by robots, new inventions or even nature. To solve these problems, the kids utilize all kinds of knowledge, such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Athletics and Arts, and show care for humanity as well as respect for nature.
Benesse Corporation, the Japanese education services company, and the name behind the enormously successful Kodomo Challenge preschool educational course and its star Shimajiro, announced that an episode of the long-running series Shimajiro: A World of WOW! has been honored at the 2021 ContentAsia Awards. The episode “Our Oceans” won the Best Kids TV Program (non-animated) category, a new category introduced this year to supplement the Best 2D Animated Kids TV Program and Best 3D Animated Kids TV Program categories. The episode was produced by Benesse Corporation with live-action production from DASH and animation production from Answer Studio.
Canadian-U.S. multicultural children’s entertainment company bulbKIDZ (Gopher It!) has secured global distribution and licensing & merchandising rights to two premium animated preschool series from Israel’s Twist Animation Studio, led by creators Yossi Dahan and Sarit Ido Schechter. (www.bulbkidz.com / www.twist3d.tv)
- Available in 18 languages, TuTiTu (111 x 11′) has over 7 billion views on YouTube internationally. This 3D-animated educational series focuses on a friendly red hovercraft toy who guides kids in exploring the basic building blocks of the world as colorful toys come to life. The musical content focuses on abstract thinking, learning languages, discovering new animals, singing original songs, and recognizing colors, shapes, letters and numbers. Five subseries: Toys, Languages, Animals, Songs and Preschool.
- NuNi (11 x 4′), another YouTube hit for children 3-6, this character-driven 3D educational comedy series creatively explores familiar childhood dilemmas by helping preschoolers develop social-emotional skills relevant to everyday life and developmental stages. Three-and-a-half-year-old NuNi and her two best friends, impulsive Abbit the Rabbit and the more rational Effi the Giraffe, comically approach everyday issues such as bedtime, sharing, and potty training to collectively resolve any predicament.
Emmy Award-winning French animation production and distribution company Dandelooo has secured several deals for Billy the Cowboy Hamster, a preschool series commissioned by France Televisions. Currently in production at Dandelooo’s animation studio Ooolala in la Cartoucherie, Valence (France) the 52 x 11′ series for kids 4-7 has presold to broadcasters Super RTL (Germany), DR (Denmark), SVT (Sweden), RTS (Switzerland), NRK (Norway), Arte Editions, KMBO (France) and TV5 Monde among others.
Directed by Swiss illustrator Antoine Rota (Kaeeloo) and Caz Murrell, Billy the Cowboy Hamster is based on the books by Dutch author and illustrator Catharina Valckx, published by l’école des loisirs, with over 1 million books sold in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, China, Japan et al. Billy the Cowboy Hamster follows three friends, Billy, Jean-Claude the worm and Suzie the stone marten as they embark on thrill-seeking adventures.
Kids content distributor Federation Kids & Family (part of Federation Entertainment) has struck a series of deals for Presto! School of Magic (52 x 11′). Based on StudioCanal’s theatrical hit The House of Magic, the TeamTO-produced series (in association with La Compagnie Cinématographique, Panache Productions and Thuristar, in co-production with VRT-Ketnet) features a band of talented and curious kids who dream of becoming magicians. Broadcast partners for the production are M6 and Teletoon.
Presto! School of Magic, which was produced with M6 and TéléTOON+, and previously sold to RTBF and VRT (Belgium), has now been picked up by Discovery (Latin America), RTS (Switzerland), Showmax (English-speaking Africa), NRK (Norway) and Quebecor (French-speaking Canada).
Hoho Rights (Hoho Entertainment) is continuing the rapid digital growth of its preschool series Cloudbabies through a further raft of deals with leading providers. Created by award-winning art director Bridget Appleby, the 52 x 10′ series features the adventures of four toddlers whose job it is to look after the Sky and their Sky Friends. Following the recent launch of the new Spanish-language YouTube channel, Cielitos, leading European entertainment outfit Planeta Junior will be showing Cloudbabies on its VOD and OTT services in Spain. Meanwhile, the content will also be launched on children’s VOD channel, El Patio, available on the TV Player video platform owned and operated by The Alchimie company. Future Today has also acquired Cielitos for its dedicated global kids’ channel HappyKids, a top 10 ranked free kids app.
Hoho Rights has also signed a new distribution agreement in China with Beijing Joy Culture Media. BJCM, the exclusive agent for Kid-E-Cats and Sunny Bunnies, will be concentrating specifically on digital distribution with a view to launching consumer products via their own E Commerce sites next year.
Academy Award-nominated French studio Xilam Animation has secured an extensive deal with Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) for its flagship non-dialogue comedy franchise, Oggy and the Cockroaches. From Monday, October 11, SPNI will begin airing the original classic Oggy and the Cockroaches series, which spans seven seasons and 500 episodes, on Sony YAY!.
Oggy and the Cockroaches will be the biggest launch in the second half of the year for Sony YAY! and the channel is planning an exhaustive 360-degree campaign to support its announcement. In the new normal, kids have moved to newer platforms and mediums of Xilam Animation engagement and the channel aims to reach out to them strategically through all relevant touchpoints. In India, Oggy and the Cockroaches continues to celebrate strong success on YouTube with its dedicated local channel achieving 200 million monthly views and 4.4 billion lifetime views.
Zodiak Kids, part of Banijay, has signed a raft of international broadcast and streaming deals across all five seasons of Novel Entertainment’s perennial hit animated series, Horrid Henry (250 x 11’) consolidating its success in global territories.
- Netflix picked up Season 1 for Andorra, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Mauritius; S3-4 for the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Russia, Iceland, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and Samoa; and S4-5 for India.
- Emirates Cable TV snagges S4-5 for the United Arab Emirates, S3 & S5 for the Middle East (exc. Iran and Israel), Pakistan, Northern Africa (exc. Eritrea, Ethiopia) and Mauritania. Sony India picked up rights for S1-5 for its Pay TV channel’ Discovery Networks Asia Pacific has taken the SVOD rights to S3-5 for India and the Indian subcontinent; and Okko Limited has picked up SVOD and TVOD rights to S3-4 for CIS and Mongolia.
- In Europe, S5 has been picked up by Teilifis Na Gaeilge for the U.K. & Eire; Leisradio Oy acquired rights including free TV, pay TV and AVOD to S2 in Finland; and P&P Permissions and Rights picked up rights including free TV, VOD and catch-up to S1 for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Croatia.
- Viacom International Media Networks Africa snagged all free TV, pay TV, AVOD and SVOD rights to S1-3. The DVD, SVOD and TVOD rightsto S4 have been acquired by Asiana Licensing for South Korea.
Lingopie, the new language learning platform, has licensed a range of content including award-winning titles from ZDF Enterprises for the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The dozen German-language series selected cover three genres: drama, unscripted and junior. Among the six kids’ titles are hybrid series Kick It! Great Football Heroes (26 x 7′), animated adventure Knight Rusty (50 x 12′) and preschool favorite Coconut, The Little Dragon (104 x 12′).
