ITV

Category: Kids

  • Nadia Belhiba is Fitroy Media director international sales

    MUMBAI: US media property development company Fitzroy Media has appointed Nadia Belhiba as its director of international sales.


    The announcement was made by the company‘s CEO Hamp Hampton.



    Debuting in her new position at Mipcom 2008, Belhiba will be responsible for worldwide sales of FitzRoy’s entire slate of new children’s entertainment properties, which is available for a variety of new and emerging media platforms including mobile, Internet and interactive broadcast television.



    Hampton says, “Nadia Belhiba is a consummate sales and marketing executive whose keen appreciation for the inner workings of the international media business and years of experience in consumer packaged goods will provide a key component to the success of Fitzroy Media and our ambitious slate of innovative entertainment properties”.



    Headlining Fitzroy’s programming slate is BidZerk!, a 21st century auction game show encompassing online, wireless and live action that is poised to become a global children’s brand for kids 9-14 through broadband, broadcast and mobile TV format sales. Also being introduced at Mipcom is Out of My Mind. This is a comedy for tween-aged girls produced in live-action and animation.


    The series features an athletic 14-year-old girl whose animated inner girls influence her everyday choices. An all-new animated series, Funny Face, reprises the characters originally introduced via packets of a drink mix introduced by Pillsbury in 1964. Eight disparate fruit who are catapulted from the back of a produce truck must band together to survive the perils of the side of the road.



    Belhiba joins Fitzroy from the TV division of Reed Midem, which organises Mipcom. She served as Account Manager TV, Digital Media and Advertising in Paris, France.

  • Nick launches James Gyaan Bond contest

    MUMBAI: Nick has launched a contest for kids called ‘James Gyaan Bond‘. Based on general knowledge questions, the contest will run till 2 October.



    Nick will choose winners daily who will become the ‘James Gyaan Bond’ of the day. Answers to the questions will appear the next day on the channel along with the names of the winners.



    Nick India SVP and GM Nina Elavia Jaipuria said, “Through a very unique promotion ‘James Gyaan Bond Nick‘ not only satiates their curiosity for interesting trivia but also gives them an opportunity to be cool dudes by being the ‘James Gyaan Bond’ of the day.”

  • Sol 90’s Great Civilisation to be on AmebaTV.com

    MUMBAI: Ameba, the Winnipeg based IPTV system for kids entertainment, has signed with Barcelona-based Sol 90 to distribute Great Civilizations, a Spanish-language animated series, on AmebaTV.com.


    AmebaTV.com is a portal designed to deliver children‘s entertainment directly to television viewers via the Internet. It will offer the 260-minute animated Great Civilizations in a variety of program lengths from interstitials to full episodes which will be available for quick download and instant viewing.



    “This is an ideal destination for foreign-language content, and for producers and content holders to gain entrance into the North American market. The market is eager for foreign-language entertainment and we are excited to have Sol 90‘s contribution to this important programming category in our developing library. This underscores our mission to offer a wide range of programming in a variety of languages,” said Ameba president Tony Havelka.



    Targeting 8-12 year olds, Great Civilizations was created to inspire children to learn more about the great civilizations of man.



    Ameba is also coming to Mipcom for the first time to introduce AmebaTV.com to distributors and content holders who are seeking new delivery and revenue models for their properties.

  • CBBC to make series drawn from Chinese myths and legends

    MUMBAI: BBC has announced that is channel CBBC will come up with a children‘s drama series, Bo And The Spirit World.


    This will be set in a mythical fantasy realm and will draw inspiration from ancient Chinese myths and legends.



    Bo And The Spirit World has been commissioned by CBBC controller Anne Gilchrist. Filming for the series will begin in April 2009.



    She says, “Inspired by Yimou Zhang‘s House Of Flying Daggers and Ang Lee‘s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon we wanted to bring our CBBC audience the visual spectacle and exciting adventure of an ambitious drama set in Ancient China.



    “Viewers will be drawn into a fantastical world with brave and enterprising children taking the lead in an amazing quest. It will be like nothing ever seen before on Children‘s television.”



    The series, which has been created by up-and-coming writer Jo Ho, will introduce viewers to the character of Bo, a young British Chinese girl, who, accompanied by her brother Timothy, gets transported to a magical spirit world.



    Armed with super heroic powers the pair must go on a quest with their friends to save not only their own grandma but the entire universe from their arch enemy Li and his shadow ninjas.



    The TG for the show is CBBC‘s 6 to 12-year-old audience.



    Ho says, “Bo And the Spirit World is another first for CBBC drama, a totally new kind of drama that poses some exciting technological and editorial challenges by virtue of its fantasy setting.



    “We‘re hoping to deliver a series that, besides thrills and laughs, also possesses real heart and a fresh and contemporary feel, drawing from the rich heritage of Chinese culture.”

  • Zapak partners with Hari Puttar for kids games products

    MUMBAI: Zapak Digital Entertainment‘s merchandising arm Zapak Games has tied up with Mirchi Movies for the upcoming children‘s film Hari Puttar.


    The company has come out with three game packs on the occasion.The products have been designed keeping the themes and the characters of the film in mind. The film releases on 26 September.



    One of the packs includes Zapak Hari Puttar magic mantra. This has five magic tricks that kids can enjoy including coin and ring. Another pack is called Hari Puttar Brain Twisters. This consists of five puzzle games like Dicey Number. The third pack is Hari Puttar Tricky Teaser and has games with an element of mystery like Mystery Drawer and Vanishing Hanky.


    The packs are priced at Rs 149 and Rs 199. Zapak has a deal with 3000 toy and stationery stores in more than 77 cities where all the products will be made available.


    Zapak Digital Entertainment CMO Arun Mehra says that the company recieved a strong ersponse to its Bhootnath packs. “Twenty five per cent of visitors to our site are kids. The packs give us a physical presence and will allow kids to touch and feel the brand. We sold over 50,000 Bhootnath packs and this has shown film companies that Zapak is a great medium to partner with to reach their audience,” elaborated Mehra.


    Says Mirchi Movies COO Munish Puri, “We are pleased to bring on board a partner in Zapak Games. Their masti merchandise on Hari Puttar will be a hit among kids and adults.”


    Hari Puttar – A Comedy of Terrors revolves around a young kid and his adventures and deals with it in an entertaining, humorous manner.

  • Aardman Animations creates HDTV show for kids

    MUMBAI: Blackmagic Design has announced that its capture cards and Stop Motion Pro are being used by Aardman Animations for their latest TV production Timmy.



    Timmy is a 10-minute, 52 episode animated series and has already been pre-bought by Disney Channels Worldwide including the US, and has also been pre-bought by CBeebies in the UK. Timmy is scheduled for television broadcast in 2009.


    Timmy is based on sketches by Oscar Nick Park Wallace & Gromit in a Close Shave. It was introduced on the series Shaun the Sheep, now airing on Disney Channels around the world.


    The DeckLink HD Extreme and Intensity Pro cards as used by Aardman, are the only HD capture cards to work with Stop Motion Pro. The Blackmagic Design and the Stop Motion Pro workflow have enabled the animators at Aardman to unlock new creative processes within the stop motion animation environment.


    The biggest advantage, the company says, is that animators can now work in HD using uncompressed video while being able to get instant on-set feedback, such as onionskinning.


    By using Blackmagic Design capture cards with an HD video camera and Stop Motion Pro, animators can now film claymation and other forms of stop motion animation at the highest quality uncompressed HD video possible.


    Blackmagic Design GM Europe, Middle East and Africa Stuart Ashton says, “Blackmagic Design and Stop Motion Pro have breathed new life into stop motion animation, enabling the highest quality stop motion productions to be made. At any time, animators can play back the footage in the highest quality, even out to a dedicated monitor at the exact frames per second, and all in real time.”


    Aardman head of production technology Ian Fleming says, “Filming stop motion animation with HD video cameras means the animators can see what they are filming in very high quality, this speeds up the animation process enormously. With the integration of Stop Motion Pro and Blackmagic technology, we are able to roll out a common standard of animation production across the company. Our animators can move between productions, using either digital SLR cameras or HD video cameras.”

  • 9 Story gets Canadian commission for ‘Wibbly Pig’

    MUMBAI: 9 Story Entertainment, a Canada-based production and distribution company, has secured broadcast agreements with Canada‘s TVO and Knowledge Network for the new animated series Wibbly Pig. The series is based on acclaimed author and artist Mick Inkpen.

    The announcement was made by Story Entertainment CEO Vince Commiso.



    Targeting 2-5 year olds, the series is currently in production and has been commissioned for the BBC‘s Cbeebies. A joint production with the UK‘s Wish Films, Wibbly Pig is set for a spring 2009 delivery.



    9 Story will handle all distribution rights for North America and Latin America while BBC Worldwide maintains all other international distribution rights.



    “These books are a sensation with young readers around the globe and we are thrilled to be teaming up with our broadcast partners to adapt these entertaining stories for the screen,” said Commiso.




    Wish and 9 Story are also designing an interactive online programme to accompany the animated series. The online program will seek to sustain the Wibbly “bond” through such activities as creating a unique playground and building their own interactive stories.

  • Pogo to launch new season of Skatoony on 21 September

    MUMBAI: Pogo will launch a new season of its popular quiz show on 21 September at 11 am. The daily show will air every Sunday.

    ‘Skatoony‘ is a quiz show where children compete with cartoon characters for prizes.



    Sharing the show details, Turner International India programming director Krishna Desai said, “Original productions continue to be a cornerstone of our India strategy as we grow and expand our portfolio to offer the best in class home grown programming to our discerning viewers. Embodying Pogo‘s key attributes- humour and play smarter, ‘Skatoony‘ is undoubtedly the funniest quiz show on television.”


    The series was first produced in the UK, and has been re-imagined for India by Miditech India Pvt Ltd. Each ‘Skatoony‘ episode comprises four rapid fire rounds and the winner receives a Sony Playstation 3.



    In every episode, three kids compete with three toons in a ‘cartoon world‘ where besides these three kids, everyone includingthe host, participants and audience is animated. The questions asked in each round are a mix of knowledge and humour. The show has two hosts, Chak Chakachak – the quizmaster and Jimmy Kundu.

  • Bejuba! Ent, Skarmoosh & Creative Visual media to make Spooky Investigations







    MUMBAI: Bejuba! Entertainment has partnered with Skaramoosh London and Creative Visual Media to develop Spooky Investigations.


    The animated series, designed as a continuation to comic adventures of the popular Spooky Sisters, will be aired on Disney UK. The half-hour series is slated to go on air by 2010.



    Bejuba! Entertainment will serve as executive producer and distributor of the series, in addition to seeking out co-production partners.



    Most recently, the original Spooky Sisters series of shorts enjoyed successful runs on ABC in Australia and Binweevils.co.uk, the UK-based children’s online entertainment platform. These shorts will be available for screening at Mipcom Jr.



    While retaining all the comic hallmarks of the original shorts, the new production will follow the adventures of the intrepid sisters, Amelia and Cecelia Spooky, as they form a self-styled paranormal investigation agency especially for kids. Together with their cousin Boris, a 200-year-old teenage vampire who turns into a bat, the sisters will investigate any spooky mystery which grownups consider too farfetched to believe.



    “While the series of shorts concentrated on the fighting power of the sisters, the new long form series will focus on the paranormal, the mysteries and the fun – three things kids love. We are excited to be working with Skaramoosh and CVM, and look forward to building a global audience of loyal viewers,” said Bejuba! Entertainment president Tatiana Kober.



    Skaramoosh MD Daniel Slight stated, “Bejuba’s rich market experience and recent successes in animation co-production will be key ingredients in realizing our vision for the new series and in finding a new global audience for the show. With our fantastic new team, we have developed the show to a point where it is even stronger, better looking and funnier than before.”

  • BBC Worldwide opens second Teletubbies Play and Development Centre in China

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has announced the launch of the second Teletubbies Play and Development Centre with their licensee Shenzhen Tianyuan Business Management (SZTY) in Southern China.


    The centre, which provides an environment for Chinese children to learn through play, opens to the public on 20 September in Shenzhen, China.



    The second Teletubbies Play and Development Centre launches following the success of the initial Centre which opened in the same province in February 2006.



    The launch further cements the success of UK Children‘s brands in China with BBC Worldwide currently collaborating with Chinese media companies and licensees on educational pre-school children‘s brands Teletubbies and Charlie and Lola.


    BBC Worldwide senior VP, GM, sales and distribution Asia Joyce Yeung says, “China has the largest population of children in the World and so there is a constant demand for high quality children’s brands in the market. We‘ve had success with Teletubbies since its inception and the core ethos of learning through play has enabled us to facilitate an innovative interactive ‘live experience‘ for children to engage with the brand.


    “The opening of the second Centre is a significant symbol of the success of the brand among pre-school children in the country and we are hopeful that we‘ll be in a position to expand the Centres further in the coming months.”



    The second Play and Development Centre heralds further success for Teletubbies which has become a mainstream brand in the country with over 30 licensees. Teletubbies continues to be broadcast on 30 regional channels in China and a plethora of product is available in retailers across the country. Four branded Photoshops have opened in Shanghai and over 3 million DVDs and VCDs have already been sold.



    A celebratory opening of the Teletubbies Play and Development Centre will take place on 20 September at 10.30 am at Shenzhen Bay 2nd Rd, Nan Shan District, Shenzhen City by Joyce Yeung, Senior VP and GM, Sales and Distribution Asia of BBC Worldwide Limited.




    Globally Teletubbies continues to succeed 11 years after it first broadcast. The characters Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po have captured the imagination of young children in 120 countries in 45 different languages. The show, created by Andrew Davenport and Anne Wood of Ragdoll Productions, was designed with young children‘s development and enjoyment in mind and centres on the ethos of ‘learning through play‘ as children actively engage with the Teletubbies‘ activities on screen.