WildBrain Grows Top Brands in China
WildBrain is growing the profile of its beloved brands Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake and Caillou in China with a varied slate of content distribution deals in the region.
As part of the expanding presence of the Teletubbies in the Chinese market, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po were invited to perform on China’s national broadcaster CCTV’s International Children’s Day gala on June 1. Broadcast nationwide, the gala celebrated childhood and saw the Teletubbies delight kids and families with a performance of their song, “Let’s Play” from their series, Teletubbies Let’s Go!, dancing and singing alongside a group of exuberant young fans.
Max Tang, WildBrain’s Senior Manager of Content Partnership in the Asia Pacific territory, said: “These partnerships across our portfolio highlight the continued demand in China for our known IP and the enduring popularity of these recognizable brands. At WildBrain, we are committed to growing our presence in China and Asia Pacific across both content and licensing, forging new audiences and fans for our IP. These broadcast partners are a key component in that growth, and we are thrilled they are bringing such a wide range of WildBrain content to their viewers.”
In deals driven by WildBrain’s strong franchise portfolio, multiple iterations of globally recognized Teletubbies have been picked up by partners in China. Youku, bilibili and iQIYI are all set to air the refreshed, live action Teletubbies (13×30’) narrated by Emmy-nominee Tituss Burgess, which originally launched last year in international markets on Netflix. Distributor Senyu has also picked up the series for various VOD platforms, including Xiaomi and Hisense.
Additionally, the original classic live action Teletubbies series (365 x 26’) has been acquired by iQIYI, Huashi, bilibili, Senyu, Youku and Dreamers Tech. Huashi has also picked up Teletubbies – Nursery Rhymes, a collection of eleven 2D digital animated 2’ shorts. In further deals showcasing the appeal of the colourful quartet, CG-animated series Teletubbies Let’s Go! (52×5’) has sold to iQIYI, Youku and bilibili.
Strawberry Shortcake is also bolstering its presence in China with sales of the brand’s new CG-animated seasonal family specials (4 x 45’, edited into 11’ episodes) to Youku and JY, with the latter also taking the 2D-animated Strawberry Shortcake Berry in the Big City (120 x 4’), Berry Bitty Adventures (65 x 22’), and the classic Strawberry Shortcake series (44 x 22’).
Deals have also been inked for a variety of iterations of much-loved family content Caillou. Adored by preschool kids aged 2–5, Caillou is one of the world’s most popular animated kids’ shows, having been viewed in over 140 countries worldwide. Originally created in Canada in 1997 and based on a series of bestselling children’s books inspired by the work of French child psychiatrist Dr. Françoise Dolto, Caillou is rooted in fostering healthy childhood development, imagination, curiosity and emotional growth.
iQIYI and Senyu have picked up the most recent CG-animated Caillou series (52×11’), five new CG-animated family specials (45’ each) and seasons 3-5 of the digital-first series, Caillou’s New Adventures (90×5’).
