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HIT Entertainment, one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights owners, has rung in the New Year with a raft of new television distribution deals including its first broadcast deal on HIT’s new property Little Charley Bear. Little Charley Bear is the latest production for HIT Entertainment and is an all-new CGI preschool series aimed at both boys and girls. The show is a co-production with Annix Studios and combines the warmth of classic children’s television with high-end animation techniques and humour. Little Charley Bear will make its broadcast debut on CBeebies later this year with the first series of 26 x 7 minute episodes. Little Charley Bear has also been licensed to SVT in Sweden and NRK in Norway. CBeebies has also licensed the first-ever CGI series of Bob the Builder for broadcast in 2010. Commenting on the deal, Alison Homewood EVP Worldwide Distribution said, “When we first saw Little Charley Bear we immediately fell in love with its engaging and warm style and storylines. Annix Studios have done a tremendous job in combining classic stories with leading edge animation and we’re delighted that Little Charley Bear will have a broadcasting home on the UK’s preeminent children’s channel CBeebies.” Kay Benbow, CBeebies added, "Little Charley Bear is a delightful and engaging character who will inspire the imagination of the CBeebies audience as they discover the world around them." HIT has also inked a number of new distribution deals across its portfolio of children’s shows. Leading French broadcaster France 5 will air both Fireman Sam™ and the all new CGI series of Angelina Ballerina™ and has recently launched Thomas & Friends™ on its preschool block les ZousZous. The highly anticipated first CGI series of Bob the Builder has been licensed to terrestrial broadcasters RAI in Italy and SUPER RTL in Germany. SUPER RTL have also licenced the new CGI version of Thomas & Friends, set to broadcast in 2010. Both shows will appear in their “Toggolino” pre-school slot. The Scandinavian national broadcaster NRK in Norway has licensed Clay Play, a new preschool show currently represented by HIT and produced by Israeli animation studio Smartoonz. HIT continues its growing channel presence on some of the worlds leading in-flight entertainment networks after renewing its HIT Channel on British Airways which features a line-up of HIT’s preschool shows including Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder. Bob will also make its debut in Turkey with the launch of series 1 through to 5 set for early 2009 on Kanal 1 and the all-new Fireman Sam in CGI launches in the Czech Republic on TV Barrandov this week and on RTE in Ireland in early 2009. |
