Anish Mehta. CEO of Indian animation studio Cosmos-Maya is stepping down after a decade at the helm of the company. He is expected to announce a new venture sometime this year. Under Mehta’s leadership, the Mumbai-based firm has expanded from a 30-member team to an animation powerhouse of more than 1,200, behind titles including Selfie […]
WarnerMedia has ordered a new season and four feature-length specials of the kids’ comedy animation Titoo – Har Jawaab Ka Sawaal Hu for its Indian entertainment channel Pogo. Produced by Mumbai-based Cosmos Maya, the new 52 x 30-minute and 4 x 80-minute instalments come following four previous seasons of the original children’s series, which has performed well […]
Hong Kong private equity firm NewQuest Capital Partners has acquired majority ownership of Singapore and Mumbai-based animation studio Cosmos-Maya. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 1996 by Indian filmmakers Deepa Sahi and Ketan Mehta, Cosmos-Maya is well-known as a producer of 2D and 3D children’s animated series, including popular IP such as Motu […]
Streamers are piling investment into India and invigorating local scripted content creation, but regulatory changes could change all that. Mark Layton speaks to producers and streamers about this giant market India is the world’s fastest-growing streaming market, with US SVOD giants trying to carve out a firm foothold in competition with established local leaders, in […]
As Kidscreen gets underway, Helen Dugdale explores the rise in co-productions between Western and Eastern animation companies and finds out what makes the perfect IP for global exploitation. Co-productions in the kids space have been around for years but a variety of recent deals have turned heads and suggested a new wave of global co-operation is […]
HBO Max seeks ‘Squish’ WarnerMedia-owned streamer HBO Max has acquired animated kids’ comedy Squish, following a deal with distributor Federation Kids & Family. The 52 x 11-minute series is due to land on the US SVOD in Q1 of 2021. Produced by Federation-owned Cottonwood Media and Planeta Junior, and executive produced and developed by John Derevlany, the […]
TBI deputy editor Mark Layton takes a deep dive to explore how the global TV industry is working to improve inclusivity and representation in children’s programming, and asks what needs to happen both in front of and behind the camera in order to bring about real change. Every child deserves to see themselves reflected in […]
Gaumont makes family team leadership hires French studio Gaumont is bolstering its commitment to its global animation and family output with two new hires – Karen Vermeulen as SVP of global co-production financing and business development and Cyril Le Pesant as the new head of animation and family at Gaumont Animation. Vermeulen will join in […]
Disney+ Hotstar orders 200+ eps from Cosmos-Maya Indian streaming service Disney+ Hotstar has commissioned an unprecedented 234 episodes of Asian prodco Cosmos-Maya’s animated series Selfie With Bajrangi. The multi-season deal will see Cosmos-Maya produce three series of 78 x 11-minute episodes for the platform. The cartoon, which follows the adventures of the young Ankush and […]
Gaumont, Amsterdam team for ‘Pol The Pirate Mouse’ Gaumont and Amsterdam-based Submarine are partnering on animated series Pol The Pirate Mouse. The co-production is based on the eponymous children’s book written by renowned writer Tingue Dongelman and illustrated by Denise van Leeuven. The project (52 x 11 minutes) was presented by Bruno Felix of Submarine […]
