WildBrain is growing the profile of its 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 at China’s national broadcaster CCTV’s International Children’s Day gala on 1 June. 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!.
WildBrain content partnership senior manager – Asia Pacific territory Max Tang said, “These partnerships across our portfolio highlight the continued demand in China for our known IP and the enduring popularity of these recognisable 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.”
Youku, bilibili and iQIYI are 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 11 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 Strawberry Shortcake series (44 x 22’).
Deals have also been inked for a variety of iterations of family content Caillou. 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 three to five of the digital-first series, Caillou’s New Adventures (90×5’).