Los Angeles, CA -- From YouTube sensation to television success, Annoying Orange now has its sights set on global domination. Entertainment management and production company The Collective announced that it has appointed HIP (Henson Independent Properties), The Jim Henson Company’s third party licensing banner, as the exclusive international distributor of the Annoying Orange broadcast series.
The Annoying Orange deal marks HIP’s first third-party property for media distribution and will include television, home entertainment and digital platforms. Through the agreement, HIP recently introduced the hit television program, currently airing its first season on the Cartoon Network in the U.S., to international broadcasters at the MIP Junior and MIPCOM markets where it received an overwhelming worldwide response. HIP will also bring Annoying Orange to Singapore’s Asian Television Forum in December.
Annoying Orange took the Internet by storm when it debuted on YouTube in October 2009 and since then has quickly racked up more than one billion total views with over 2.4 million YouTube channel subscribers. The popularity has also translated over 11 million likes on Facebook and to its official web site, www.annoyingorange.com [1], which generates nearly four million page views each month. In June, Annoying Orange embarked on a new adventure with the debut of its animated television series, which airs Mondays at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT on Cartoon Network, and became an instant hit in the U.S. continually ranking amongst the top shows for boys in the time period.
“Given their strong portfolio and track record, we feel that Henson Independent Properties is the perfect choice to help us expand Annoying Orange’s presence on a global scale,” said Reza Izad, partner at The Collective. “With Annoying Orange’s hugely successful launch in the U.S. on Cartoon Network, we can't wait for the rest of the world to see how we transformed the web show into a hit TV series."
“Our company has a long legacy of launching unique and irreverent characters and worlds to the international market,” said Richard Goldsmith, EVP, Global Distribution for The Jim Henson Company. “Annoying Orange has a fresh visual look and a distinctive writing style that has already proved itself to resonate with viewers. It is sure to attract a great deal of interest from program buyers and audiences everywhere.”
The Annoying Orange television series follows Orange and his produce pals including the level-headed Pear, potential paramour Passion Fruit, resident goody goody Apple, the always upbeat Marshmallow, and Orange’s nemesis the hulking Grapefruit as they go on an array of high fructose adventures. The only human to interact with this veritable fruit salad is Nerville, played by YouTube star Toby Turner, as the proprietor of the fruit cart where Orange and his crew “reside.” Boedigheimer and Tom Sheppard (Pinky and the Brain) co-created the television series while The Collective developed and produced the project. Conrad Vernon (Madagascar 3, Monsters vs. Aliens) serves as executive producer along with Gary Binkow and Dan Weinstein of The Collective.
The global television distribution comes as The Collective also expands the red-hot licensing program for Annoying Orange internationally with several new deals to be unveiled in the coming weeks. An “a-peeling” line of Annoying Orange products including toys, apparel, graphic novels, accessories and novelties, among other items have been a huge draw at U.S. retailers such as Toys “R” Us and JCPenney since launching last year.
Source: Henson Independent Properties
Links:
[1] http://www.annoyingorange.com