9 Story Media has announced several new deals in China for the animated series Wild Kratts. Chinese national broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) has acquired broadcast rights for the series which will air on its CCTV-14 kids channel, Monday to Fridays at 12:00 pm.
In partnership with Beijing-based Pacific Media Group, a host of digital sales have also been secured, including an exclusive agreement with Youku and Alibaba for Seasons 1 to 3. Further content placement for Season 4 has been secured with many of China’s leading digital platforms, like CNTV, iqiyi, LeTV, PPTV, and SMG.
Pacific Media Group has also been appointed as the licensing agent for the territory, charged with bringing in new local licensees and securing distribution for existing global merchandise; including the toy line from master toy partner Wicked Cool Toys.
Now in its fifth season, Wild Kratts premiered on PBS KIDS in the USA in 2011 and on TVO, Knowledge Network and Télé-Quebec in Canada. By a co-production between Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story, Wild Kratts is distributed in the USA and Canada by Kratt Brothers Company and internationally by 9 Story. The series was created and developed by real life brothers and zoologists, Martin and Chris Kratt who star in the show as animated versions of themselves.
The series also has quite a global reach, airing in over 180 countries across 18 different languages. Broadcast partners include Discovery Kids (Latin America and Asia), Super RTL (Germany), TV3 (Spain), Canal Panda (Spain), RTE (Ireland), VRT (Belgium), Minimax (Eastern Europe), Media Corp (Singapore), Primetime (Colombia), Minika (Turkey), E Junior (UAE) and Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (Middle East).