Fox Kids Europe (FKE) is at MIP-TV this week and has already acquired 26 half-hour episodes of the new animated series ROBOROACH and 52 episodes of the animated series HAMTARO. ROBOROACH, starring a cockroach superhero named Rube who can morph into almost anything, and Reg, Rube's street-smart big brother, is a co-production between RTV Family Entertainment AG and Canadian producer-distributor Portfolio Entertainment. The agreement grants FKE the long-term rights to all forms of television (both exhibition and distribution rights), home video and merchandising worldwide, excluding North America and Germany. As part of the agreement FKE will obtain the pay-TV rights in Germany. HAMTARO, acquired from Japan-based Shogakukan Production and TMS Entertainment, features the adventures of a curious golden hamster, his young owner and a bunch of quirky hamster pals, known as the "Ham-Hams." The pan-European agreement grants FKE the rights to HAMTARO in the UK, France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, Poland and Israel. HAMTARO is a popular anime property in Japan, where over $2.5 billion in retail merchandise sales has been generated since the property's launch in July 2000.
