Press Release from Target Entertainment Group
London: Target Entertainment Group, the international production and rights management company, has sold series one and two of the pre-school animation series FLUFFY GARDENS to GMTV/CiTV in the UK.
The broadcaster will air the series within its Fluffy Club block, which broadcasts at weekends on GMTV 6am to 7.25am. The Fluffy Club also broadcasts on The CiTV Channel and ITV4 during term time weekdays from 8.40am to 9.25am.
Turner Broadcasting's pre-school channel Cartoonito, which currently has the rights to air FLUFFY GARDENS in the UK, will share a window with GMTV/CiTV.
The deal was concluded between Jane Dockery, Target's director of sales and programming, Mark Francis, GMTV's acquisitions and scheduling manager and GMTV executive producer Sue Bowyer.
Other broadcasters already airing FLUFFY GARDENS include Discovery Kids in Latin America, France 5, ABC Australia, Hop in Israel, Norway's NRK, SVT in Sweden, M-Net's kids channel KTV, Cineplex in Thailand, RTV Slovenia and EBS in Korea.
Target has the worldwide TV, licensing and home entertainment rights to FLUFFY GARDENS. A second series of 40x7' episodes is now in production for the commissioning broadcaster, Ireland's RTE.
The additional episodes will make the series more attractive to potential licensing partners.
FLUFFY GARDENS is a 80x7' 2D digital cell animation series aimed at pre-schoolers and specifically children old enough for their first bedtime story. Each episode contains a gently paced story featuring one of the eccentric mix of animal characters who inhabit FLUFFY GARDENS. The menagerie includes: Floella the Fruitbat, Paolo the Cat, Wee Reg the Puppy, Mr Johnson the Panda and many more.
The series was created, written and directed by Jason Tammemagi from Dublin-based Monster Animation & Design.
Helen Howells, director of global brands at Target Entertainment Group, said: FLUFFY GARDENS is an endearing and sweet property which has already captured the attention of broadcasters worldwide. Now, with GMTV/CiTV on board and a second series in production the show really has the potential to become a successful cross platform brand, both in the UK and internationally.
