V-Me Snaps Up Icon Animation’s Vitaminix

BARCELONA, March 21: V-Me, the first 24-hour Spanish-language public network in the
U.S., has snapped up Vitaminix, the
healthy-eating series for kids, from Icon Animation.

V-Me becomes the second U.S.
broadcaster to air the show, following a previous deal with Animania HD. Available
in over 20 languages, the show has already notched up sales to Nickelodeon
Europe for Germany, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark;
Nickelodeon Spain; Nickelodeon Latin America; Disney Channel in Italy and TPS
Jeunesse in France. In Asia, the show airs on the Disney Channel, Hong Kong
Cable, Infiniss and EBS in Korea and EBC Taiwan.

Vitaminix has also sold to RTVE, TV3 and ETB in Spain, and to RTP and
Canal Panda in Portugal. The show has also been picked up by Hop TV in Israel
and Hungary’s DunaTV and further deals have been signed with Panama’s Channel
TV7, Middle Eastern cable channel E-Junior, TV Andorra, Digiturk in Turkey and
Vive TV in Venezuela.

In terms of ancillary rights, books and DVDs were released
and the rights have been picked up by France’s Carrere Group for France and
French-speaking Europe; in Germany through video publisher and distributor Polyband; and in the Benelux by The
Company of Kids. Spain’s Filmax has taken video rights for Spain. Slovenia’s
Viodeon has also acquired the broadcast, video and publishing rights of the
property for Serbia Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia,
Slovenia and Albania. In Latin America, Mexico-based video publisher and
distributor Tycoon Entertainment Group has picked up video rights for Mexico,
Puerto Rico, Central America, the Caribbean, Chile, Brazil and Peru, while
South Korea’s Infiniss has picked up video and publishing rights for the
property and will also act as an agent for the merchandising rights of Vitaminix
in South Korea.

Vitaminix teaches
children about the nutritional value of food, minerals and vitamins. Each
episode features one animal associated with a type of food to introduce the
interesting world of nutrition and the benefits of healthy eating to kids.

V-Me is a digital network that was launched earlier this
month with kids’ programming as one of four main content categories, and is
carried by public television stations, basic digital cable and satellite
systems. It is available in over 24 million US households in major Hispanic
cities including L.A., Miami, Houston, Chicago and San Antonio.