The Jim Henson Company’s third party distribution and licensing banner, HIP, announces new international deals for The Annoying Orange and Driftwood Bay.
Los Angeles, CA -- HIP, The Jim Henson Company’s third party distribution and licensing banner, is rapidly expanding its global business base through the representation of diverse content offerings from preschool, children and family programming to tween, teen and young adult brands. As such, the Company is in a position to offer broadcasters around the globe a full complement of genres of unique entertainment content including properties such as the long-form series based on Internet phenomenon Annoying Orange and the innovative new preschool series Driftwood Bay, for both of which the Company recently signed a raft of new international broadcast agreements.
“HIP is committed to serving the needs of our clients, both the producers whose content we represent and the broadcasters whose programming needs are a top priority,” said Richard Goldsmith, EVP, Global Distribution for The Jim Henson Company. “Our diverse programming has allowed us to grow our business while augmenting the opportunities for both our programming partners and our distribution clients. The more variety there is in our catalog, the more broadcasters we’re able to work with and supply top notch content.”
HIP serves as the exclusive worldwide distributor of the new series, Annoying Orange, which stars a sharp tongued and obnoxious anthropomorphic citrus fruit. Currently airing on the Cartoon Network in the U.S. and ABC in Australia, HIP has licensed the international broadcast rights to Teletoon in Canada, Cartoon Network in Latin America, Nelonen in Finland, NOGA in Israel and to CJ E&M’s anime channel, Tooniverse, in South Korea. HIP, also handles home entertainment and digital platform distribution for the property, and has signed a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) deal for South East Asia with Tune Box and has licensed the series for DVD distribution to Pony Canyon in Japan.
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. Dane 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 Collective Digital Studio.
The endearing mixed media children’s series, Driftwood Bay, comes to HIP through an extension of The Jim Henson Company’s ongoing partnership with Sixteen South Television (the two produce the successful children’s series Pajanimals). Produced by Colin Williams (Pajanimals, Big & Small), Directed by Darren Vandenburg and script edited by Sam Barlow (Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder), the series features characters and environments completely created from items washed up on the beach. HIP has licensed Driftwood Bay to European broadcasters, including MTV and YLE in Finland, NRK in Norway, SVT in Sweden, and HOP! in Israel.
In the Driftwood Bay television series, each day Lily uses her creativity and imagination to craft wonderful adventures and colorful characters inspired by the extraordinary items that she finds washed ashore on the island’s beach. With her trusted friend Gull, a clever seagull, by her side, Lily travels to Driftwood Bay, the make-believe island Lily sees from the window of the beach hut where she lives, to engage in fabulous adventures with the interesting and unusual characters that inhabit the island. And with each new treasure that washes ashore, Lily invents another exciting adventure based on the item’s importance to her friends living on Driftwood Bay.
Source: The Jim Henson Company
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
