Kids


Kids round-up: Blue Spirit adds to production team; Showlab hires new distribution exec

Blue Spirit Productions has added two artistic producers to its team for separate labels. Caroline Oustlant will work on production for Blue Spirit and initiate new series as well as supporting projects already in development, including The Borrowers, which received positive reception at last year’s Cartoon Forum. Oustlant was most recently at Lagardère Group, where […]

BBC Children’s Jackie Edwards to head up BFI Young Audiences Content Fund

The BBC’s head of children’s acquisitions and animation, Jackie Edwards, has been appointed as head of the British Film Institute’s (BFI) Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF). The YACF is a new pilot delivered by the BFI as part of the UK Government’s support for “distinct, high-quality content” for children and young audiences to be broadcast […]

Apple strikes deal with DHX Media for Peanuts content

Apple has signed a deal with DHX Media for new Peanuts content including new shows, specials and short films about Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the gang. One project for Apple will include an exclusive short-form piece aimed at getting kids into STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects. It will feature Snoopy as an astronaut […]

Netflix strikes major deal with Roald Dahl estate

Netflix has struck a major deal with the estate of well-loved British children’s author Roald Dahl. The tech giant has struck an agreement with The Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the copyright and trademarks of iconic children’s titles such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Twits. The list of titles in the […]

Amazon wins first Children’s BAFTA

Amazon has picked up its first Children’s BAFTA Award, winning the International Pre-School category for Tumble Leaf. Produced by Amazon Studios and Bix Pix Entertainment for Amazon Prime Video, Tumble Leaf follows a blue fox named Fig and his caterpillar friends as they go on adventures to learn about science. The show was created by […]

UKTV Ventures strikes first investment deal with Hopster

UKTV has struck its first deal through its innovation fund, UKTV Ventures, with an airtime-for-equity investment in kids TV app Hopster. UKTV launched The Innovation Fund in April 2017 in partnership with Channel 4’s Commercial Growth Fund to invest and take equity stakes in businesses in return for advertising airtime on UKTV channels. Hopster will […]

UK government unveils details of £60m kids TV fund

The UK government has announced the final details of a £60m (US$78m) fund that aims to halt the decline of UK-produced children’s TV content. First announced in December 2017, the scope of the Contestable Fund has now been confirmed, with up to £57m of the money to be assigned to the Young Audiences Content Fund, […]

MIPJunior round-up: TeamTO strikes copro deal with China’s Uyoung, Taffy

TeamTO has struck a five-series output deal, which will span across a decade, with Chinese kidsco Uyoung. The partnership, which follows Uyoung’s recent acquisitions of TeamTO animated comedies Mighty Mike and My Knight & Me, will kick off with the coproduction of action show Jade Armor. Negotiated through its Beijing office, TeamTO has been rapidly […]