DIVE OLLY DIVE!, the environmentally-conscious preschool series from Taffy Ent. and Mike Young Productions U.K. (MYP), has added two new co-producers, Atlantyca Ent. and Studio 100, as it begins production on a second season. Twenty-six new half hour episodes (52x11) aimed at preschool audiences, have been ordered by Taffy Ent. following continuous great ratings for season one and new international licensing deals.
Atlantyca Ent. and Studio 100 join returning co-producers MYP, KI.KA, ARD of Germany, Telegael of Ireland and China's GDC for the new season. The series was created by the UK's Andrew and Ian Ross and is distributed worldwide by Taffy Entertainment. In the U.S., DIVE OLLY DIVE! airs seven days a week on PBS Sprout. The show is also enjoying success on KI.KA in Germany where it has a 60.7 share in kids 3-5 and is consistently #1 in its timeslot. In the U.K., the series has increased its audience share by 17% since it debuted and is outperforming the prior time period average by 79%. In France (France 5), it outperformed the prior time period average by over 600%.
Coming on the heels of this ratings success and show's increasing number of broadcast territories, new licensing deals for DIVE OLLY DIVE! are also being completed. The latest deals include a worldwide publishing agreement with Atlantyca Ent., an apparel deal with Embassy in France and a kids' charms deal with Prime in France.
DIVE OLLY DIVE! follows the fun-filled underwater escapades of Olly and Beth, two young research submarines-in-training. The two live in a deep-sea research center known as S.U.R.F. -- the Special Underwater Research Facility, where they experience the joys and challenges of life in their underwater world, much in the same way that preschoolers experience life in their world. Created using the latest advances in high-definition 3D CGI animation, the series features an incredibly lifelike underwater world, along with storylines that educate children on the delicate nature of the ecosystems that exist beneath the oceans.
The show is a winner of the 2008 Parents' Choice Award and Hugo Television Award (Certificate of Merit), in addition to being nominated for an Emmy Award, Prix Jeunesse and Best Animated Series at the 2008 Annecy International Festival of Animated Film.
