Press Release by Spellbound Entertainment
London -- Spellbound Entertainment, the UK’s children's rights owner and producer, today announced that it has secured an ongoing commitment from premium children’s channel, CBeebies, for the popular pre-school series, The Koala Brothers.
With the new commitment, the BBC will re-license The Koala Brothers series 1-3 as well as a 46 minute Christmas Special, The Koala Brothers Outback Christmas. The partnership ensures The Koala Brothers presence across CBeebies, BBC iPlayer, the CBeebies website and CBeebies Radio for a further 6 years through 2018. The series currently airs daily at 7am on the CBeebies channel.
Peter Curtis, Joint Managing Director, Spellbound Entertainment said: "We are delighted to have secured a further commitment from the BBC for The Koala Brothers. Having aired exclusively on the channel in the UK for the past 7 years, The Koala Brothers have become firm favourites with pre-schoolers here. It is fantastic to see the brand stay on air with BBC for a further 6 years to 2018”
Alison Stewart, Head of CBeebies Production, Animation and Acquisitions said: "We are so pleased to continue our long standing relationship with The Koala Brothers. It is a beautiful series and I am sure it will continue to be a firm favourite with the CBeebies audience for years to come”
CBeebies was the first broadcaster to acquire The Koala Brothers for the UK market when Spellbound started production in 2002. The renewal ensures that all 78 x 10 minute episodes and the Christmas Special remain under license to the channel without a break.
The Koala Brothers first launched on CBeebies in 2004 and was swiftly picked up by Disney Channel in the US, ABC in Australia and Super RTL in Germany. The series is produced entirely in the UK and has now been sold to over 50 broadcasters in 150 territories worldwide.
More about The Koala Brothers:
The Koala Brothers won the award for Best Pre-School Series at the British Animation Awards 2004 and The Koala Brothers Christmas Special won the Writers Award at the British Animation Awards 2006. The series has also been nominated for 4 BAFTA awards.
The Koala Brothers was created by Australian born animation producer/director, David Johnson. It has now been acquired by over 50 broadcasters covering 150 territories worldwide, including Disney Channel in the US and Japan; Treehouse and Tele-Quebec in Canada; Discovery Kids in Latin America; Super RTL and EMTV in Germany; France 5 and Canal J in France; ABC in Australia; RTL Telekids in Holland; VTM Kazoom in Begium; TVE and Cartoon Network in Spain; RTP and Canal Panda in Portugal; Denmark's TV2; Norway’s TV2; Sweden’s TV4 and Finland’s MTV Oy.
About Spellbound Entertainment
Spellbound Entertainment Limited was formed in 2002 by Peter Curtis, previous Head of Creative Development at HIT Entertainment, and Nick Barrington, a former executive at Endemol UK.
Spellbound Entertainment, a fully-integrated global brand management company, is dedicated to creating, developing, producing, distributing, marketing and merchandising children’s and family-based intellectual properties.
Curtis, whose credits include serving as the Executive Producer of Bob the Builder and creator of Rubbadubbers, is Executive Producer of Spellbound Entertainment’s The Koala Brothers and the company’s Joint Managing Director.
Spellbound Entertainment controls all rights to The Koala Brothers brand internationally and manages all TV distribution, home entertainment, publishing and licensing.
As a pre-eminent supplier of kid’s programming worldwide, Spellbound has developed strategic partnerships with key domestic and international broadcast partners throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Australia. Spellbound is headquartered in London.
About CBeebies
CBeebies is a multi-platform pre-school channel for children aged six years and under with a programme schedule that has an emphasis on educational entertainment and supported by the core BBC values that make the channel trustworthy, reliable, informative and educational. In the UK, CBeebies offers a mix of new and landmark, high-quality, UK-produced programmes to educate and entertain the BBC's youngest audiences. The service provides a range of pre-school programming designed to encourage learning through play for children aged six and under, in a consistently safe environment.