Following the recent announcement of the first international launch of Kartoon Channel! in the Middle East, North Africa and across Latin America, Genius Brands International, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNUS) has announced the further expansion of the Kartoon Channel! brand in the Asia Pacific region with the launch of the channel on Samsung TV Plus in Australia starting March 23.
Fred Rogers Productions, the award-winning children’s educational media organization behind Emmy-winning PBS KIDS series, including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, has partnered with Warner Music Group’s Arts Music division to release the music from Donkey Hodie, the hit preschool series on PBS KIDS. The series is inspired by the funny, quirky side of children’s television pioneer Fred Rogers and showcases reimagined music and characters from the beloved Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Series music director, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning composer Bill Sherman (In the Heights, Hamilton, Sesame Street), produced the album.
Netflix and Dr. Seuss Enterprises have announced they will bring some of the most iconic and beloved stories and characters of Dr. Seuss to life with five new animated preschool series and specials. The projects are inspired by treasured stories like Horton Hears a Who!, The Sneetches, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and Wacky Wednesday, in addition to lovable characters like Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose. Executive Producer Dustin Ferrer (Esme & Roy, Shimmer & Shine, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) will serve as showrunner across all five, and additional showrunners will be revealed in the coming weeks. The announcement expands the partnership between Netflix and Dr. Seuss Enterprises even further, following the launch of the critically acclaimed animated series Green Eggs and Ham in 2019, which will have its anticipated second season premiere April 8, 2022.
Paris-based children’s entertainment content distribution company Kids First has inked a raft of deals with international broadcasters for both season 1 (52 x 11’) and season 2 (52 x 11’) of hit animated series Nate is Late, produced by Watch Next Media and commissioned by France Télévisions (France), Super RTL (Germany) and Canal J (France). Kids First had sold Nate Is Late season 2 to leading Chinese SVOD platform Tencent, as well as streaming platform Kidoodle for North America.
Sesame Workshop has launched the next phase of its ongoing Coming Together initiative: a “Word of the Day” video series that harnesses the power of language to nurture children’s positive and healthy senses of self. Produced in partnership with WarnerMedia Kids & Family and inspired by the iconic Sesame Street segment, the short-form series features the Sesame Street Muppets and celebrity friends learning about words like “Belonging,” “Fairness,” and “Proud.”
MAPP Trap, a price monitoring tech company using a proprietary search engine, is applying its experience and relevant learnings, while transforming the tech- and legal-focused podcast landscape, with its newly released podcast series, Legal Briefs. Created for e-commerce decision-makers who want to explore specific strategies to protect their brands, pricing, distribution and intellectual property, Legal Briefs provides listeners with accessible strategies and tactics surrounding policies to protect their online brand landscape and to minimize potential legal risks.
Fred Rogers Productions, the award-winning children’s media organization behind multiple Emmy-winning PBS KIDS series, including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, has received grants from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and Heinz Family Foundation. The combined funding totals $350,000 to support onscreen programming and community outreach initiatives for its newest hit series, Alma’s Way and Donkey Hodie, which launched in 2021 on PBS KIDS.
Award-winning Singapore and UK-based animation company Omens Studios has partnered with global video content distribution platform VlogBox to further extend the reach of Omens’ hit series with two brand new AVOD and SVOD apps.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), a leading entertainment company focused on the production of premium film and television content across platforms, and Play.Works, a leading Connected TV Influencer Video and Games Network, has unveiled that its new The Pink Panther’s Secret Slots game is now available through connected television devices. The game is available to play through the Play.Works Network, which reaches over 200 million homes and has the largest Connected TV games catalog in the world. It is the second of three titles being developed around the iconic character, with Pink Panther Time Traveler launching in 2021.