ABC didn't receive coal in its stocking this year, as the half-hour holiday specials SHREK THE HALLS and HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS helped the network win Wednesday night, report the trades. The SHREK special brought in 21.1 million viewers and a 7.2 rating/20 share with adults 18-49, while perennial GRINCH collected 18.7 million viewers and a 6.8 rating/17 share.
The Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore and Canal France International (CFI) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will pave the way for new exchanges between the two countries.
Singapore production house Big Communications will team with South Korean character design shop Sieun Design to bring one of the Seoul firm's brands to TV, reports C21 MEDIA from the Asia TV Forum. RPENG BINI ("Penguin & Bunny") will be launched next April at MipTV, according to Big Communications MD Vincent Lim, who also said the show's two penguin and rabbit characters have already been licensed in Asia.
Singapore-based Scrawl Studios' MILLY MOLLY has been presold to worldwide broadcasters including Australia's ABC, Canada's TV Ontario, Portugal's Aquaris & Auqris (Radiotelev) and Hong Kong's ATV World, according to C21 MEDIA. The coproduction between Scrawl and Australia's Beyond Distribution has previously sold to Nickelodeon Australia and deals are pending with Finland's YLE, Norway's NRK and France's TPS Jeunesse.
Children's TV and online entertainment service qubo announced today that it will broaden its programming lineup next month and will unveil robust new content on qubo.com to further promote literacy, positive values and the possibilities of a child's imagination.
TEEN TITANS is returning to the Kids' WB! on The CW this Saturday, Dec. 1st at 9:30 am ET/PT.
The Dec. 1 airing will feature the first-ever episode of TEEN TITANS, entitled "Divide and Conquer." Subsequent airings will not be in episodic order. To celebrate the new year, Kids' WB! will offer a special two-part, one-hour special episode on Jan. 5, 2008 entitled "Apprentice."
Korea-based Iconix Ent. has closed deals with networks in Italy, Spain, the Middle East and Mexico for its Asian hit PORORO THE LITTLE PENGUIN, reports C21 MEDIA.
Disney Channels EMEA will launch Disney Cinemagic, a premium family HD movie channel covering France and other French-speaking territories, on Friday, Nov. 30, reports KIDSCREEN. Cinemagic HD is the first children's and family HDTV channel in the French market. It will broadcast approximately 50% of its films in native HD in the coming year.
Following its launch in the U.K. in March 2006, Disney Cinemagic expanded into France in September. The channel is exclusive to Canalsat in France and is available to subscribers of the Canalsat Family Pack.
New Zealand-based Weta Prods. and U.K.-based Chapman Ent. are forming a partnership to develop a range of children's television properties. The first venture will be an animated comedy targeted at boys 6-9.
The development project will be jointly led by Martin Baynton and Richard Taylor of Weta and Chapmans Creative Director Keith Chapman. They are working on a selection of 2D and CG animated properties, which will be presented to broadcasters and the licensing community in the near future, with preproduction expected to commence in 2008.
Taffy Ent. announced a slew of new sales with broadcasters in Asia for four of its leading animated series: CODE LYOKO, FANTASTIC FOUR, DIVE OLLY DIVE! and DR. DOG.
FANTASTIC FOUR has been picked up by Asia TV in Hong Kong, ABS-CBN in The Philippines and OBS Korea. Animax in Korea has secured the rights to the first season of CODE LYOKO, along with Starlight in Pakistan. Elsewhere in Asia, DIVE OLLY DIVE! has been bought by Cartoon Network India, Cineplex Thailand and by TPI in Indonesia. DR. DOG has been snapped up by HBO Asia.
BEN 10: RACE AGAINST TIME, an original live-action movie special broadcast on Nov. 21, set new records as the most-watched telecast in Cartoon Network history, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. The 90-minute live-action film delivered 3,987,000 viewers age 2+, out-performing the network's 2002 presentation of DRAGON BALL Z, which previously held the #1 ranking. The outstanding performance propelled BEN 10: RACE AGAINST TIME to the #1 telecast of the day on all television -- both cable and broadcast -- with boys 6-11 and boys 2-11.
Austrian public broadcaster Osterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) has secured exclusive free-TV broadcast rights within the Austrian territory from EM.Ent. GmbH for the series STAINES DOWN DRAINS (German title: FLECKGEFLUTSCHT!) and F.T.P.D. -- FAIRYTALE POLICE DEPARTMENT (German title: F.T.P.D. - DIE MÃRCHENPOLIZEI). The licensing contract encompasses rights usage for five years from Dec. 1, 2007 until Dec. 1, 2012.
Disney Channel Worldwide's Global Original Programming Division today announced deals to develop two new children's television shows in the U.K. with production companies Coolabi and Blue-Zoo Productions. The deals are the first to be announced by Disney Channel's London-based Global Original Programming hub, established in April 2007 to drive forward the investment in and development of live action and animation outside of North America, for both European and global distribution.
DECODE Enterprises has announced the sale of several series to India, Hong Kong and Thailand. The Disney Channel India has acquired CGI animation URBAN VERMIN, while Thailand's True Visions has acquired BO ON THE GO!, produced by DHX subsidiary Halifax Film, and hit preschool series FRANNY'S FEET. DECODE has also sold the first 13 episodes of SUPER WHY, a production of BLUE'S CLUES' producer Out of the Blue Enterprises and DECODE Ent., to ATV Hong Kong.
Dartmouth, Canada-based Huminah Huminah Animation, which until now has focused primarily on service work for other studios, has brought on Jason Hickman as development director of a new division dedicated to developing long-form TV programming. Hickman has worked as a supervisor and director in animation for the past 7 years. The division's first production is I'M A DINOSAUR (52x2), an interprovincial Canadian coproduction with Montreal's Subsequence Ent.
Nickelodeon has unwrapped its annual lineup of holiday programming, featuring five never-before-seen episodes of Nick Jr.'s MAX & RUBY, WOW! WOW! WUBBZY!, YO GABBA GABBA! and Nickelodeon's WAYSIDE.
During "Frosty Fridays" throughout December the network will present new holiday episodes every Friday from 12:00 - 2:00 pm ET/PT that include MAX & RUBY (Dec. 7 and Dec. 28), WOW! WOW! WUBBZY! (Dec. 14) and YO GABBA GABBA! (Dec. 21). The mini-marathons will also include seasonal episodes of THE BACKYARDIGANS, DORA THE EXPLORER, GO, DIEGO, GO!, BLUE'S CLUES and THE WONDER PETS!.
Cake Distribution has licensed SKUNK FU! to Cartoon Network Europe for its EMEA Channels, the company announced today. CN EMEA joins the BBC, Super RTL, Canal J, France 5, RTBF, SVT, NRK, S4C, TG4 and RAISAT in blanketing the continent with the hit comedy action series.
Management firm The Gotham Group has signed a deal with Fox Broadcasting Co. to produce multiple pilots for prime-time animated television projects. Exploiting Gotham's prestigious client roster, the companies hope to produce the next generation of Fox animated hits to match the network's success with THE SIMPSONS and FAMILY GUY. The announcement closely follows Gotham's mega-deal with The Weinstein Co. to produce and distribute animated feature films.
The season that began with apologies to Jesse Jackson, ended with Abe Lincoln and featured the "Imaginationland" trilogy has earned Comedy Central's SOUTH PARK its best ratings since 1998.
Spurred on by "Imaginationland," which will be released by Comedy Central Home Ent. and Paramount Home Ent. in March 2008, the 11th season of SOUTH PARK was watched by 3.6 million total viewers (P2+), up 4% from last year's 10th anniversary season. It was also the most-watched season among total viewers since 1998.
Imira Ent. (formerly Icon Animation), Spain's leading production and distribution company specializing in youth programming, has racked up a number of deals across its library.
Fox has decided to move forward on new episodes of FAMILY GUY without striking creator/exec producer Seth MacFarlane, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. With the last new episode having aired Sunday, the network would have been forced to air reruns if it did not complete the episodes already in the pipeline.
MacFarlane has been quoted as saying, "I hope they don't do it" and that going ahead without him would hurt his relationship with the studio.
Nickelodeon's SPONGEBOB ATLANTIS SQUAREPANTIS, which aired Monday, Nov. 12, 8:00 pm ET/PT, nabbed the series' biggest audience ever, with 8.8 million total viewers (P2+) tuning in to the show's first-ever TV movie.
Scoring even stronger delivery and ratings since its launch last week on Nov. 2, Cartoon Network's new animated series CHOWDER became the network's #1 telecast of the year on Sunday night, Nov. 11 (7:30 pm), according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research.
The latest animated creation from C.H. Greenblatt (SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS) attracted 1,201,000 kids 6-11 and a 4.9 rating -- the top 2007 telecast year-to-date with the key demo. Among boys 6-11, the telecast earned a 5.3 rating and delivered 899,000 viewers, also a new 2007 network record.
The Australian government has promised the Australian Broadcasting Corporation US$74 million to create a dedicated ad-free digital children's channel that will air locally made content, reports C21 MEDIA. The station, which may be called ABC3 or ABC Kids, will be available 15 hours a day and will show programs for children up to 17 years of age. Half of the funding will be for commissioning new content and half will be used for licensing existing programs.
Bilingual broadcaster LATV Networks announced today that it had signed an agreement with Over-Man Productions for the comedic animated series CAESAR AND CHUY. The second animated series in LATV's original programming block, CAESAR AND CHUY will premiere Nov. 8 at 9:30 pm PT.
