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Tag: HIT Entertainment

  • NEWS FROM HIT ENTERTAINMENT AND MATTEL AT 2014 MIPCOM

    NEWS FROM HIT ENTERTAINMENT AND MATTEL AT 2014 MIPCOM

    ·        New content added across HIT and Mattel portfolio, including all-new Bob the Builder and Little People series

    ·         New global content distribution team structure announcedBig year for Thomas & Friends in 2015 as the brand celebrates 70th anniversary

    ALL-NEW BOB THE BUILDER

     

    HIT Entertainment, one of the world’s leading pre-school entertainment companies and a subsidiary of Mattel Inc, has unveiled the all-new look for Bob the Builder who will bring construction to life for millions of children in the upcoming CG-animated series of the show.

     

    The new series – which will be delivered in late 2015 – will see Bob the Builder continuing to bring the world of construction to life for kids, with exciting characters, new relatable locations and an aspirational hero.

     

    All of the show’s core characters return for the new series, including Wendy, Roley and Dizzy, plus popular vehicles Lofty, Muck and Scoop. There will be new faces for viewers to meet, including apprentice Leo, Mayor Maria Madison, young sports club members ‘The Spring City Rockets’ and two new machines: a heavy-lifting low-loader truck ‘Two Tonne’ and a tower crane named ‘Tiny’.

     

    The all-new series of Bob the Builder will air on Channel’s 5’s Milkshake! in the UK, PBS KIDS in the US and Super RTL in Germany, beginning next year.

     

    LITTLE PEOPLE

     

    HIT Entertainment has announced global entertainment company DHX Media as its animation partner on a brand new CG animated series of Little People.

     

    Based on the iconic Fisher-Price® Little People® brand, the new series is being produced out of HIT’s UK content hub and will feature imaginative and energetic characters that are contemporary and relatable to today’s young children.

     

    The animated pre-school series of 52 x 11’ episodes, planned for release in late 2015, showcases a unique format and emphasizes the power that imagination and group play can have on discovery and critical thinking skills.

     

    PORTFOLIO UPDATE

     

    With a focus on exceptional storytelling, HIT Entertainment (Stand R7.B2), arrives at MIPCOM 2014 with its largest portfolio to date.

     

    In 2015, the HIT and Mattel portfolio will add new content across its premier, iconic and globally renowned portfolio of brands including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Monster High®, Thomas & Friends®, Bob the Builder, and Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®.  Content formats include new movie specials, new series, and new short-form content.

    In 2015, Barbie will continue to delight girls of all ages with three new CG animated feature-length movies.   Thomas & Friends DVD “Dinos & Discoveries” will launch Q1 2015 and DVD feature-length special “Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure” in the autumn. Series 19 will also launch on air introducing all-new characters.

    Edward Catchpole, Senior Vice President and General Manager, HIT Entertainment, said: “As the business evolves from producing shows for traditional TV to include digital distribution outlets and in readiness for new emerging platforms, our capabilities in this space will provide us breadth and depth of content critical to global production and the business across the Mattel portfolio.”

     

     

    NEW REMIT FOR HIT

     

    The updated content portfolio coincides with an all new global content distribution team structure.. Consolidated under Mattel’s HIT Entertainment division, led by veteran industry experts across broadcast distribution, home entertainment, and emerging media,  the team will be responsible for distribution of content across all of Mattel’s leading brands including, Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Monster High®, Thomas & Friends®, Bob the Builder®, and Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®. The new structure has been designed to maximise the impact of the strategic, global distribution of its content and leverage its leading pre-school, girls, and boys portfolio of brands and will be led by Edward Catchpole.

     

    The combined Mattel portfolio currently has more than 600 hours of content, with additional content being green lit for production every year.   Across all its brands, Mattel content is viewed by more than one billion households more than 185 global territories and 40 languages.

  • CASBAA inducts new members

    CASBAA inducts new members

    MUMBAI: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) announced a new patron member and four new corporate members of the association.

    The CASBAA patron member is a newly-launched pay-TV network Asia Broadcast Networks while the corporate members include children’s content specialist HiT Entertainment, Singapore-based satellite services provider Globecast, conditional access supplier Viaccess and New Zealand-based broadcaster Television New Zealand. Meanwhile, global satellite capacity supplier Intelsat has upgraded its CASBAA membership to Patron status.

    “The breadth of the new memberships highlights the dynamic environment for Asia’s pay-TV market,” said CASBAA CEO Simon Twiston Davies

    “The response to CASBAA’s year-end 2006 activities, including the CASBAA Convention in Hong Kong and the release of our year-end industry data clearly illustrates the value of the Association.”

    The CASBAA members program for 2007 — which includes training schemes (the CASBAA Media College), CASBAA Market Reports (Indonesia and Taiwan, among others), IPR seminars and networking events, as well as the CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum (June 18th), the CASBAA China Forum (late August) and the CASBAA Convention 2007 (Oct 30th – Nov 2nd) – will provide new value to CASBAA members and the industry at large, said Mr Twiston Davies.

    “CASBAA looks forward to working with our new members in particular throughout 2007,” said CASBAA chairman Marcel Fenez. “With this type of sectoral and geographic support our effectiveness as a voice for the industry and as a networking organisation continues to grow.”

  • TVHead inks deal with Hit Entertainment to create games for preschoolers

    TVHead inks deal with Hit Entertainment to create games for preschoolers

    MUMBAI: Interactive games-on-demand TV network, TVHead has inked a deal with Hit Entertainment, a provider of preschool entertainment to create games targeting the preschoolers.

    The deal calls for the premier games-on-demand television network to develop the first-ever, specially designed iTV games based on the popular characters Barney, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder and Angelina Ballerina.

    Aiming to launch in the last quarter of 2006, the California-based TVHead is developing new interactive games specifically for the preschool audience and unique to each of the London based Hit’s world-class properties, according to an official release.

    Each game will offers children a range of activities; Barney will focus on music and imagination; Thomas will focus on navigation and problem solving; Bob the Builder will focus on teamwork, problem solving and spatial relationships; and Angelina Ballerina will focus on dancing, friendships and determination to make your dreams come true.

    “Children the world over adore Barney, Thomas and Friends, Bob the Builder and Angelina Ballerina,” said TVHead founder and CEO Sangita Verma. “We are delighted at the opportunity of giving kids a new way to interact with these amazing properties that entertain, captivate and educate the growing preschool segment of our audience.”

    “Hit Entertainment is excited to be working with TVHead to deliver age-appropriate, innovative content for their new gaming platform,” said Hit Entertainment senior VP Jamie Cygielman. “As the Barney & Friends, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder and Angelina Ballerina TV series all provide educational entertainment that kids love and parents trust, this new gaming platform will allow children to deepen their relationship with these characters, creating an even more engaging learning experience.”

    Families will be able to play these games using the standard remote controls for their television sets, as TVHead’s proprietary technology simply plugs into existing VOD infrastructures and requires no special set-top boxes. The Hit offerings will join TVHead’s current games-on-demand lineup, which includes titles for casual and enthusiast gamers of all ages.