eOne On Board for Simon’s Cat

LONDON/TORONTO/LOS ANGELES: Entertainment One (eOne) has signed up to handle the worldwide distribution rights for the property Simon’s Cat, which has been a hit on YouTube, across TV, home entertainment, licensing and online.

The animated Simon’s Cat series features a mischievous fat white cat and his owner, Simon. The shorts have generated 358 million views online since its creation in 2008. There are 1.72 million subscribers on its core YouTube channel.

Olivier Dumont, the managing director of eOne Licensing and eOne Family, said: “This deal marks eOne’s first major step towards the development of licensing programs for brands conceived in the non-linear space for a broader audience. Online content is being consumed by audiences around the world like never before, thus creating a unique sort of brand awareness that we’re eager to harness. The brilliantly funny Simon’s Cat is a perfect illustration of this strategic move and while we remain focused on the traditional approach of licensing TV properties, we’re excited to embark on this new frontier.”

"I’m delighted that Simon’s Cat is now working in partnership with eOne and feel that this move represents the start of an exciting new phase for our character brand,” added Mike Bell of Simon’s Cat Ltd. “Over five years, Simon’s Cat has grown its licensing and publishing success by continuing to develop its roots in the digital space, and as such we’re fortunate to have a rapidly expanding international audience. eOne’s renowned expertise in distribution and development will allow us to be so much more effective in introducing the exciting Simon’s Cat content we have planned to new and existing fans worldwide, both online and offline."