Portfolio Clinches Cat in the Hat Deals

CANNES: Roadshow Entertainment has shored up the Australian and New Zealand DVD and home entertainment rights to Portfolio Entertainment’s new animated series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, which is slated to broadcast on CITV in the U.K.

The agreement covers all 40 half-hour episodes of the first season on the show, which features the voice talent of Martin Short. Targeted at kids aged 2 to 6, the series takes kids on natural-science-filled discoveries. It is a production of Portfolio Entertainment and Collingwood O’Hare Productions, in association with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Random House Children’s Entertainment, Treehouse and PBS Kids. The series is based on Random House’s best selling Beginner Book collection The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library.

Joy Rosen, founder and co-president of Portfolio, remarked: “We are delighted that Roadshow Entertainment, the leading children’s DVD distributor in Australia, will provide preschoolers in Australia and New Zealand the chance to enjoy their very own video library of the curious and adventurous world of Dr. Seuss’s wonderful Cat in the Hat."

Chris Chard, managing director of Roadshow Entertainment, added: "We are thrilled to be distributing the videos of The Cat in the Hat TV series; Dr Seuss’s Cat in the Hat is a classic and very successful property in Australia and New Zealand and it is fantastic to be able to bring these videos to a brand new generation of children."

On the CITV pickup, Emma Tennant, the controller of ITV Digital Channels, commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled to bring such an iconic children’s brand as Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! to Mini CITV.” She added: “Based on the universally loved books by Dr. Seuss, this beautifully produced series will engage preschoolers and parents alike with each exciting and captivating adventure.”

“We are delighted to be working with the team at CITV to bring the world’s most famous cat to the children of the U.K.,” noted Tony Collingwood, director and executive producer at Collingwood O’Hare.