JAM and Kindle take top honors at the UK's Royal Television Society awards

JAM Media and Kindle Entertainment were the big winners in the kids TV categories at the Royal Television Society awards held in London this week.

Dublin, Ireland-based JAM Media's series Roy got the nod for Best Children's Drama. The HD 13 x half-hour series stars Roy, an 11-year-old boy, who has to struggle with the dilemma of being an animated character living in a live-action world. Roy was commissioned by CBBC and debuted in 2009

Other nominees in this category were MI High from Kudos Film & Television and The Sarah Jane Adventures from BBC/BBC Cymru Wales.

Taking home the prize for Best Children's Program was London's Kindle Entertainment for its 52 x 11-minute puppet-centric preschool series, Big and Small. The CBeebies series debuted in October 2008. Also nomimated in this category were Bookaboo from Happy Films and Horrible Histories from Lion Television.

The RTS is Britain's forum for television and related media. The awards celebrate all genres of TV programming, from history and soaps to children's fiction and comedy performance. Covering both national and regional output, as well honoring the programs themselves, the RTS Awards aim to recognize the work of exceptional actors, presenters, writers and production teams.

Disney to release new Fairies movie, augment online world

To further extend the Disney Fairies franchise, Walt Disney Home Entertainment is releasing an all-new original full-length CGI movie Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue.

The Blu-ray DVD Combo Pack will hit major retail on September 21, 2010. The combo pack will retail for US$39.99 while the single DVD will retail for US$29.99

Additionally, Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow virtual world has added new Animal Friends to the rich online experience. Members of the site will have the opportunity to choose their own baby animals, give them special names and nurture the pets. The virtual playmates respond to playing games on the site, including hide-and-seek and memory games.

The online world is developed and published by Disney Online and is free to play with upgraded memberships available for a monthly fee of US$5.95.

Imira Entertainment signs Tangerine & Cow deals

Barcelona, Spain-based Imira has inked a number of sales of the Normaal Animation-produced animated comedy series Tangerine & Cow in advance of MIPTV next month.

The Netherlands public TV channel Z@PP and Cartoon Network Spain have acquired pay-TV rights, with TV Catalunya picking up FTA TV rights for the territory.

Portugal's RTP and Channel 5 in Lithuania have acquired the 78 x seven-minute series, and Al Sayyar has picked up the TV and home entertainment rights for the Middle East. Home entertainment and rights deals for licensing and merchandising have been signed with Kids Plant in the Netherlands and Belgium and Pourquoi Pas in France.

Tricon picks up first kids series for distribution

Toronto-based producer and distributor Tricon Films & Television is expanding its kids and family slate, adding Adventures in Booga Booga Land to its roster.

Tricon now holds worldwide distribution rights for the 26 x 11-minute series produced by Cream Lake Productions.

Aimed at kids six to 11 years old, the show stars best buddies Marty the monkey and Gerard the giraffe who inhabit the colourful land of Booga Booga. Together the comic duo bounce from one adventure to the next while meeting exciting new characters like President Bob, Stan Rufus, Squid Sushi.

Tricon's first foray into the children's programming genre was its own production The Next Star, which just completed its second season on Canuck kidcaster YTV. In addition to distributing the finished show worldwide, Tricon is shopping the international format rights

British energy company signs on Aardman to produce commercial spot

Aardman's Wallace and Gromit are set to star in npower's new TV commercial aimed at delivering the message of sensible energy consumption to consumers. The new advertising campaign created by VCCP for npower, breaks on April 1 across the UK.

The spot opens in a darkened room where Wallace is in a state of panic. Hidden behind a cushion he watches a horror movie on his latest invention, a homemade widescreen TV, which consists of multiple TV's cobbled together and which is an energy-consuming monster. The savvier Gromit saves the day when he receives advice from customer care advisor Penny on how to cut energy consumption.

The commercial is part of an exclusive npower series of animations created by Aardman Animations and VCCP.

KidsCo sponsors Bali Media Summit

London-based international children's channel KidsCo is to become an official associate sponsor of Media Partners Asia's Bali Media Summit, set to take place between May 6 and 7.

The Asia Pacific Pay TV Operators Summit, organised by Media Partners Asia, unites more than 30 of the region's leading pay-TV operators. The organizers are expecting to attract 200-plus delegates from key distribution groups, affiliates and industry communities.

KidsCo MD Paul Robinson says the company is sponsoring Media Partners Asian Media Summit on the heels of its success across Asia last year and throughout Q1 of this year and to nurture future expansion in the territory.

Launched in September 2007, KidsCo is a joint venture channel owned by media companies NBC Universal, Corus Entertainment and Cookie Jar Entertainment with carriage in 83 territories.

E1 bolsters Ben and Holly licensing program

E1 Entertainment has inked five more partners for its growing UK-based Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom licensing program.

Wesco, Trademark Collections, MV Sports, Gemma International and Rudolph Stein will join the program bringing the number of UK licensees to 18.

Wesco will create a range of children's watches, wall clocks, LED lanterns and gifts. Trademark Collections is creating a range of bags and umbrellas, Gemma International will develop greeting cards and packaging, MV Sports is looking after leisure products and Rudolph Stein is handling the hair accessories and jewellery category.

The brand is gearing up for the mass retail rollout in July when the full licensed product range will be hitting stores across the UK.

Capstone Publishers looks to movies, consumer products

L.A.-based CA Capstone Publishers, a publisher of original and licensed books serving the US in-school market, has teamed up with actress/writer Marisa Coughlan, producer Eric Feig and licensing vet Ken Abrams to bring its library of original fiction content to film, TV, new media and retail shelves.

Coughlan and Feig will focus on the Stone Arch Books division that, along with strategic partners like DC Comics and Sports Illustrated, has produced fiction for boys and girls in Kindergarten to Grade 9.

Feig and Coughlan have enlisted the talents of two industry vets, lit rep Alan Gasmer and licensing agent Ken Abrams, to assist with the project.

Abrams was formerly director of licensing at Paramount Pictures and worked on Star Trek and other properties, as well as former VP of consumer products and marketing for Marvel Entertainment, where he created licensing programs for movie-led efforts around Spider-Man and X-Men.

Tomy takes on Chuggington arts and crafts

London-based Ludorum has signed on Tomy as the pan-European licensee for Chuggington arts and crafts products.

The preschool-targeted products will be available in major toy retailers and online retailers throughout Europe from 2011. The Tomy Chuggington range will include a Chuggington Aquadoodle, the water drawing system, as well as Megasketcher.

4Kids marks US$42.1-million loss in 2009

New York City-based 4Kids Entertainment released its year-end numbers yesterday, revealing a loss of US$42.1 million for 2009 on net revenue of US$36.8 million, widening 2008's net loss of US$36.8 million on revenue of US$57.2 million.

Q4 numbers, meanwhile, rang in at US$17 million in net revenue, up from US$12.8 million during the same period in 2008. The Q4 intake included US$9.8 million that the company received as part of its agreement to terminate its right to serve as a licensing agent for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property, which was sold to Nickelodeon for US$60 million last October. 4Kids net loss for Q4 2009 was US$21.3 million, compared to a net loss of US$19.6 million the previous year.

Al Kahn, chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, said the company has made significant adjustments on how it operates, reorganizing and reducing its cost structure to achieve a better position in the current market. He added that the company's annual expense base should total less than US$25 million for 2010.

Nick UK commissions homegrown series featuring the undead

Nickelodeon UK has commissioned The Foundation (part of RDF Media Group) to produce a brand new live-action comedy, Summer in Transylvania.

The 20 x half-hour series, revolves around the life of Summer Farley as she struggles with the fact that she and her perfectly normal family are regarded as weird and gross in Transylvania, where "normal" means being a zombie, werewolf, vampire or mummie.

Nick UK's VP of programming Debbie MacDonald says the tween-targeted series will be a highlight of the 2010 schedule when it bows in the fall.

Kindle releases Big and Small app

Kindle Entertainment will launch an iApp for CBeebies' series Big and Small on Apple iTunes UK on April 1.

The app was developed by Ace Games and features video clips and songs from the series, as well as sound effects from the two main characters.

Kindle Entertainment has targeted the iPhone as an emerging platform for its IP.

RAI 2 to debut Pocoyo

Pocoyo (104 x seven minutes), co-produced by Zinkia and ITV Studios Global Entertainment, will debut this month on the Italian pubcaster RAI 2.

The animated preschool series is scheduled to be broadcast during RAI 2's kids slot, with two episodes airing back-to-back from Tuesday to Thursday, and one episode airing on Fridays.

The series, which debuted on the UK's ITV in 2005, has sold more than 2.7 million toys, 1.3 million books and 1.4 million DVDs.

Pocoyo has been licensed to broadcasters the world over, including Televisa (Mexico), Univisión and WGBH (United States), Treehouse (Canada), Five's Milkshake and CITV (UK), ABC (Australia), RTP (Portugal), TVE (Spain), Disney Pan Asia, Kika (Germany), Nick Junior (France), Discovery Kids (Latin America) and WowWow (Japan).

Worldwide TV distribution rights for Pocoyo are handled by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, excluding Spain, Italy, Portugal and Latin America, which are handled by Zinkia.

Ki.Ka picks up Nouky & Friends, season two

The second season of CGI preschool series Nouky & Friends (52 x five minutes) that follows the adventures of a little bear named Nouky and pals Paco, the blue donkey, and Lola, the cow, will bow on German pubcaster Ki.Ka at the beginning of May.

Nouky & Friends (season two) has also recently been licensed to other key channels in Europe, including Alter TV (Greece), Channel 1 (Russia), TV2 Denmark, TV2 Norway, TVP1 (Poland) and YLE (Finland). The recent sales add to territories signed on last year such as France, Spain, Italy and Belgium.

RDF inks Mr Bean deals

RDF Rights, part of the RDF Media Group, has appointed two new international agents for the Mr Bean IP.

Supermarcas Licenciamento E Gestao will rep the brand in Brazil, while Euro Lizenzen will seek licensing partners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on behalf of RDF Rights. Both agents are currently speaking to licensees and promotional partners to develop the brand in the territories.

In addition to these two deals, RDF Rights has licensed Clifton Trends to develop a complete Mr Bean apparel line for men, women and children in India. Clifton is currently working on designs for the line that will launch Q3.

Blu-ray, DVD launch of Avatar to coincide with Earth Day

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar on Blu-ray and DVD on Thursday, April 22.

The release date coincides with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in North America, while worldwide release dates will vary depending on country.

The film launched in theaters in stereoscopic 3-D, but no plans for a 3-D home entertainment release have yet been announced.

Currently, Avatar has raked in approximately US$2.6 billion at the box office worldwide.

NPD Report: Good holiday season for licensed goods and toys

According to a new study, Spotlight on Kids: Understanding Cross-Category Publishing, from Port Washington, New York-based The NPD Group, the share of spending for kids on toys and consumer electronics increased during the US holiday shopping season in 2009 over the previous year.

The overall increase offset declines in specific categories, such as video game hardware and DVDs.

The average retail price paid by consumers across categories declined by approximately US$2 over 2008, again driven by declines in prices of video game hardware and software as well as lower gift card values.

More spending on consumer electronics drove increases. According to the report, more than 50% of dollars spent were on items requested by the child, with sales of consumer electronics showing the most significant gains over Christmas 2008.

Licensed goods fared well as well representing more than 25% of total dollars spent on kids, with sales of licensed products peaking with kids three to eight years olds. Top licenses varied by product category, but Disney and Nickelodeon properties ranked in the top five for most categories.

The study is based on 14,923 respondents, capturing data from 4,587 unique buyers and 15,577 transactions.

New pre-sales for second season of Dive Olly Dive!

Paris-based Moonscoop has scored presales in several territories for the second season of its hit preschool series Dive Olly Dive!

France 5, SVT Sweden, Finland's MTV3 and Al Jazeera Children's Channel in the Middle East have snapped up 52 new 11-minute episodes, joining broadcasters Disney Asia, Univision, TVA Canada and co-producers Ki.Ka, which are all on board for season two.

Dive Olly Dive! is a co-production of Mike Young Productions Limited (MYP), Flying Bark Productions of Australia, Ki.Ka, ARD of Germany, Telegael Teo of Ireland, Atlantyca Entertainment of Italy and GDC in China.

The series follows the underwater escapades of Olly and Beth, two young research submarines-in-training and features a life-like underwater world, along with storylines that educate children on the delicate nature of the ecosystems that exist beneath the oceans.

Portfolio names high-profile prize jury

Toronto, Canada-based Portfolio Entertainment has brought together a pool of jurors from around the globe to weigh-in on the top-15 finalists of the company's In Toon With Tweens animation contest.

Included on the jury are Carole Bonneau from Teletoon, Marc Buhaj of Disney Channels EMEA, Rick Clodfelter from Cartoon Network, Jocelyn Hamilton from Corus Entertainment, Linda Simensky from PBS Kids, Andra Sheffer from Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and Shari Cohen from Ontario Media Development Corporation.

The contest prizes includes CDN$10,000 in cash as part of an option and/or development agreement. Animators and creators with comedy chops are invited to submit their original television or multiplatform projects targeting kids eight to 12 years old.

Entries must be received by June 15, 2010, and winners will be notified on September 15, 2010. For more info about the contest check out www.portfolioentertainment.com/contest

Basil and Barney's Swap Shop returns to CBBC

The Foundation, a subsidiary of RDF Media Group, has received its third order for Basil and Barney's Swap Shop, a 26 x one-hour series that will return to CBBC on BBC Two in 2010.

Together Basil & Barney offer kids a chance to swap the stuff they don't want for the stuff they do.

The series also features comedy and a game show element, where three teams of kids compete with each other during three rounds of fun and frivolity.