Latin American distribution specialist Salsa Entertainment returned from MIPCOM 2002 with a slate of program sales for the Latin American region. The Salsa Entertainment catalogue features award-winning products from well known international producers and distributors including TV-Loonland, Scholastic Entertainment, Decode Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company.

Heading home from MIPCOM, Illuminated Films' half-hour animated special WAR GAME is boasting sales in a number of territories. Deals concluded in Cannes included Teletoon in Canada, Television Suisse Romande in Switzerland and NHK/Mico for Japan. The short has already sold to FR3 in France, SVT in Sweden, YLE in Finland and Channel Four in the UK. Most of these countries intend to screen WAR GAME on their national remembrance holidays. Based on the book by Michael Foreman, WAR GAME is the story of three English boys who are members of the same football (soccer) team.

At MIPCOM, EM.TV & Merchandising AG concluded a comprehensive deal with the children’s channel KI.KA that sees the German public broadcaster acquiring at least 300 half-hours of children's and youth programming from EM.TV, for broadcast on the jointly owned ARD-ZDF channel. Under the terms of the deal, KI.KA will receive the first free-TV broadcasting rights for all new shows, which will include POOCHINI, MOMO and WHAT ABOUT MIMI?

5f Chennai, India came out of MIPCOM with two co-production deals for new animated series. MUV has teamed with Comet Entertainment of Toronto, Canada and Lasal of the Canary Islands, Spain to co-produce and provide animation for the CG series TINGUARO, THE SUN LIZARDS. Set in a futuristic world where peace-loving lizards struggle against war-mongering scorpions, TINGUARO is a 13-episode action/adventure series, which is also the first and only series to be supported and funded by the Spanish government, according to Carmen Llanos Acero, Comet COO.

While at MIPCOM, Egmont Imagination signed a distribution deal for the Frederico Vitali series LAVA, LAVA. In a collection of 3-minute stories that take a normal situation and turn it on its head, animation artist Frederico Vitali invites viewers to watch what really happens inside a cuckoo clock when the figurines aren't announcing the time. Or find out what would happen if extra-terrestrials landed on earth and were given a tour by a fanatical goon. A co-production between Les Films du Triangle S.A., La Fabrique S.A.

Millimages has sold the broadcast rights to four of its new animated properties to Australian broadcaster, ABC (Australian Broadcast Corporation). The programs included in the deal are HILLTOP HOSPITAL, CORNEIL & BERNIE, PIGEON BOY and JASPER THE PENGUIN. HILLTOP HOSPITAL is a 39 x 10-minute stop-motion animated series. Described as a "pre-school medical soap opera," the stories focus on a hospital that is run by animals, for animals. Both CORNEIL & BERNIE and PIGEON BOY are Millimages co-productions with France 3.

Egmont Imagination has signed an exclusive worldwide direct marketing agreement with Reader’s Digest to distribute THE FAIRYTALER on video and DVD. Launched this week at MIPCOM Jr., THE FAIRYTALER is a 26 x half-hour animated series that newly illustrates Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tales, which include THE UGLY DUCKLING, THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES, THUMBELINA and THE LITTLE MERMAID. The series is a co-production between Magma Film, Egmont Imagination and fellow Danish companies A. Film and Danmarks Radio, as well as Germany's Super RTL.

On October 6, 2002, MIPCOM Junior wrapped up its 10th year with the market reaching its all-time high in number of buyers. According to organizers, 433 buyers of children’s programs from 53 countries attended the two-day event, with animation remaining the favorite category and scoring the highest number of screenings. The total number of buyers represented a 19.3% increase compared to last year.

CineGroupe has joined with Fox Kids Europe (FKE) to distribute its new animated TV series PIG CITY. The series is a co-production of CineGroupe and AnimaKids (France), in association with Merchandising Munchen and Fox Kids France. The agreement with FKE includes the television, home video and merchandising rights to the series across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. CineGroupe will continue to distribute the series in Canada, the U.S., Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Animakids will handle the rights in France and Merchandising Munchen in Germany.

DECODE Entertainment and Sunwoo USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunwoo Entertainment, have finalized a co-production deal to produce the series B-BOT VS. THE ALIEN POSSE. The deal is being called the first Canadian/Korean co-production based on a property developed by a Korean company. Sunwoo USA developed the show for television from a concept originally created by Sunwoo Entertainment's commercial division for an advertising campaign. The concept was introduced at MIP 2002 and caught the attention of DECODE.