DHX Media has sold the fourth season of the popular series Martha Speaks to British Columbia’s Knowledge Network, with the broadcaster also acquiring the preschool show Rastamouse for its Canadian channel, BBC Kids.
Craig McGillivray, Territory Manager at DHX Media said: “Rastamouse is performing extremely well for us in the UK and in key international territories and we’re pleased to extend its reach into Canada with BBC Kids, while Martha Speaks continues to be consistently popular. This deal highlights the strength of our preschool slate across both newer and more established programming.”
The Canadian broadcast deal for Rastamouse comes hot on the heels of a deal with BBC Worldwide Channels for its feeds in Hispanic US, Latin America and Africa, and as production is underway on a second season of the hit, stop-motion animated, preschool show featuring the skateboarding, music-loving and mystery-solving character and his band Da Easy Crew. Commissioned by CBeebies in the UK, Rastamouse also airs in 40 territories around world and is supported by an extensive licensing programme.
Based on the critically acclaimed books by Genevieve Webster and Michael De Souza, Rastamouse launched on CBeebies in January 2011 and has since engaged a following of preschoolers and parents alike. The series features Rastamouse, Scratchy and Zoomer of Da Easy Crew, the mystery-solving, reggae-playing band who always make a bad ting good and live by their motto "redemption, not retribution."
A Rastamouse Company Production for CBeebies, Rastamouse is produced by Greg Boardman and Eugenio Perez of Three Stones Media, in association with Wales’s Dinamo Productions, London-based Little Roots and DHX Media, which handles worldwide TV sales (excluding the UK) and worldwide licensing and merchandising.
A co-production from WGBH Boston and DHX Media, airing on PBS Kids, Martha Speaks is an animated show aimed at 4-7 year olds. It is based on the best-selling books by Susan Meddaugh, which have sold nearly one million copies in the U.S. and been widely translated throughout the world. DHX Media represents worldwide television and home entertainment rights outside of the United States.
Internationally, DHX Media has sold Martha Speaks to CBBC, Italy’s preschool channel JimJam, France 5, Sun TV in India, Nick Junior in Australia, Discovery Kids Latin America, Canal+ Cyfrowy Sp. z o.o. and OP Art in Poland, Noga Communication's Logi Channel in Israel and Minimax in Central and Eastern Europe. Al Jazeera Children’s Channel for the Arabic countries and Finland’s YLE have also signed up for the series, along with a trio of Canadian broadcasters: TVO, Knowledge Network and SCN.
The series follows the adventures of Martha, a loveable dog whose appetite for alphabet soup gives her the power of human speech. Using her speaking abilities, Martha gets jobs, foils bad guys, wins contests, runs for office and orders lots of pizza! A dog’s breakfast of messes and hilarious entanglements ensue for Martha, her family and the unsuspecting people of her town who make up the comic heart of the series.
Source: DHX Media