Princess Sam Entertainment Group has announced that its hit kids’ adventure-comedy-fantasy Tara Duncan has been sold to major broadcasters across North and Latin America, with a number of launches under way or imminent.
Tara Duncan is available now in French on Canada’s Télé Quebec and will arrive in English in Canada on Family Channel through WildBrain, a global leader in kids’ and family entertainment, from 7 July; Brazil’s biggest media conglomerate, Grupo Globo, will launch the show on Gloob, its kids’ pay tv network, on 12 October; and pay TV Disney Channel plans to broadcast Tara Duncan across Latin America.
These announcements add to recent growing sales activity for the show in MENA, Europe, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, involving major broadcast names such as ITV of the UK, Italy’s national public broadcasting company Rai and MBC in the Middle East.
With global interest in Tara Duncan accelerating, Princess Sam Consumer Products has now appointed a global distributor for the hit show. International distribution company Superights will represent worldwide rights distribution for Tara Duncan, except in mainland China.
Tara Duncan author Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian created the show with the aim of extending the IP of her massively successful books for six-to-nine-year-olds. Now Princess Sam Entertainment Group is building on the successful arrival of series one of Tara Duncan, developed and filmed by the Princess Sam Pictures division, in multiple territories in the past year. Total sales now exceed 80 countries.
The show was first launched in spring of 2022 on Disney Channel and Gulli in France, adding Disney+ from 17 May. Moreover, Tara Duncan will have a second run on Gulli’s SVOD service GulliMax from September. More major sales are due be announced in the upcoming months across multiple continents.
First published in 2003, tens of millions of Tara Duncan books have been sold worldwide. They tell the story of an ordinary girl from Earth with extraordinary powers who discovers she is heir to the throne of the Meme empire.
The animated series uses state-of-the-art, 3D CGI motion capture technology, more than 170 artists recruited from the global feature film industry, and advanced innovations to deliver an experience like no other: beautiful, astonishing, and fantastic but also exciting, engaging and very, very funny.
The next phase of the brand strategy is seeing the property evolve from its success in publishing and TV to the development of licensed consumer products. Early licensing agreements and several regional agent announcements are expected in the very near future.
Luiz Filipe Figueira, Head of Licensed Content – Entertainment, Variety Entertainment & Kids – at Grupo Globo Pay TV Channels, says: “The potential of Tara Duncan was clear from a very early stage, so we’re thrilled that Gloob and Globoplay, our streaming service, are delivering this exciting show to the Brazilian audience. Additionally, it will definitely help us strengthen our positioning among girls 8+, one of our goals for the near future.”
Katie Wilson, VP Channels & Global Acquisitions, WildBrain, adds: “As a leader in kids’ and family entertainment, we take pride in bringing best-in-class international content to our Canadian audiences to enjoy. Comedy-adventure series are an integral part of our Family Channel portfolio, and the magical world of Tara Duncan is a wonderful addition to our slate.”
Najib Fayad, EVP Global Operations Princess Sam Entertainment Group, adds: “We’re delighted, but not surprised, that the success of Tara Duncan extends to so many diverse territories. With humour, thrills, an amazing story, phenomenal design and, above all, very engaging characters, this show has something for everyone. Expect many more broadcast and licensing announcements every soon.