Germany’s Beta Film has partnered with Chinese producer-distributor WeKids to distribute its children’s programming globally. Under the deal, WeKids will take over distribution for Beta’s German animated pre-school series Patchwork Pals (52 x 4 minutes) in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the rest of Asia, as well as English-speaking Canada. The show, which is co-financed […]
Boat Rocker Studios has appointed former Fremantle exec Bob Higgins as executive VP of content for its Kids & Family division. Following its acquisition of Fremantle Kids & Family (FMK) last year, Higgins joined Boat Rocker as has since overseen the creative direction of the acquired programmes, while also collaborating on Boat Rocker’s existing kids’ […]
Canadian entertainment company 9 Story Media Group has acquired full service CGI animation studio PT Bali Animation Studio and PT Bali Animasi Solusi Ekakarsa, collectively known as BASE. Founded in 2015 by Lily Wang and Daniel Harjanto Setyawan, BASE provides high-end animation for global clients and has a staff of 270. 9 Story’s acquisition of […]
China’s children’s channel CCTV-14 has acquired season one and two of Endemol Shine Group’s Mr Bean The Animated Series. The deal, negotiated by Endemol Shine International’s sales executive for Asia, Jasmin Goh, provides CCTV-14 with 104 episodes of the animated hit which features the voice of Rowan Atkinson – the star of the original live-action […]
Entertainment One is launching Chinese new year ‘Year of the Pig’ celebrations with all new episodes of Peppa Pig, set to be broadcast to viewers across markets. The specials centre on Peppa and her friends and family celebrating Chinese New Year and will begin airing on Tuesday 5th February 2019 in the UK, in honour of […]
Lighthouse Studios, the joint venture formed in February 2017 by Canada’s Mercury Filmworks and Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon, has appointed Claire Finn as its new managing director. As MD Finn, who most recently served as head of content/executive producer for London-based Firecracker Films, will be responsible for growing the studio’s development commitments and expanding production projects, […]
Nickelodeon has hired Disney Channels Worldwide exec Paul DeBenedittis as executive VP of programming and content strategy. At Disney DeBenedittis was senior VP of programming strategy across worldwide channels, including Disney Junior and Disney XD. Now at Nick, the exec will lead content and programming strategies, partnerships, acquisitions and media planning for the flagship network, […]
Indie producer-distributor Xilam Animation surpassed 10bn total views across its YouTube videos by the end of 2018. This achievement underscores the rapid growth of Xilam’s digital offering, with a 44% increase in traffic (number of videos viewed) across its YouTube programming, resulting in a total of four billion views in 2018. The majority of the […]
The UK’s ScreenSkills Animation Skills Council, formerly known as Creative Skillset, is set to relaunch in the new year under new leadership. ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen industries – animation, film, games, television including children’s TV and high-end drama, VFX and immersive technology. Tom Box, co-founder and MD of Blue […]
Netflix has signed a multi-year overall deal with Chris Nee, the Peabody, Emmy-winning children’s screenwriter, producer and creator of Doc McStuffins. Doc McStuffins was the first preschool show to feature an animated African American female as a lead character as well as a family led by LGBTQ parents. The title has received numerous awards including a […]
