Ariol

TV Kids Weekly,
September 22, 2008

ORIGIN: Ariol
is based on a popular French comic strip that has been featured in three
soft-cover books published by Bayard Presse as well as in the monthly magazine
J'aime lire in France.

DISTRIBUTOR: AB International Distribution handles the
worldwide rights to the series.

CREATORS: Emmanuel Guibert (scripts) and Marc Boutavant (illustrations).

TV SHOW: The show features 26 12-minute episodes or 78
4-minute segments, targeting kids aged 6 to 9.

DESCRIPTION: Ariol is
the hero of the series. He’d be very much like any other little boy if he weren’t
blue, had tall ears and a huge pair of glasses perched on his nose. There is no
finely chiseled profile, no cherub, no stick figure, no caricature—just a
9-year-old little donkey. He’s a bit shy but has a wonderfully vivid
imagination.

The series provides young
viewers with a relaxing and intimate moment of comedy. It relates a number of
aspects of modern life in a fun and offbeat way. These episodes are small,
congenial and comic slices of life for 6- to 9-year-olds that everyone in the
family will enjoy. Viewers can feel the charm of the series, because the
authors are young at heart and remember what it is like to be a child.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Pascal le Nôtre at the French production company
Folimage.

MAIN BROADCASTERS: TF1 and Radio-Canada, which will launch the show
in 2009.

TV SALES: The series has presold to TF1 and Teletoon in
France, with DVD rights to Universal; RTBF in Belgium; Radio-Canada; Norway’s
NRK; Sweden’s SVT, Ceska TV in the Czech Republic; and Canal+ Cyfrowy in
Poland.

LICENSEES: TF1 Enterprises is handling all merchandising
rights for Ariol, excluding
publishing and stationery, which are held by Bayard. The plan is to capitalize
on the strength of the brand. In France, three soft-cover books have been
released, with a fourth hitting shelves in October 2009. Eight comic strips
have already been published so far in J'aime lire, which sells some 130,000
copies per month, translating to about 2 million readers. There has also been international
exposure through sister publications to J'aime lire: Leo Leo in Spain, Tiro
Liro in Catalonia and Adventure Box in England and Asia. Ariol may also soon be
published in Finland by United Magazines.

STRATEGY FOR ROLLOUT: AB International Distribution will be launching
the new series at MIPCOM Junior. Valerie Vleeschhouwer, the managing director
of AB International Distribution, explains that the strategy when meeting with
buyers at the market is to “emphasize the [reputation] of Ariol already established with kids through the books”
the show is based on. “We are working in close collaboration with the producers
(Folimage) and publishers (Bayard) for the launching of Ariol.” The first
episode will be available for broadcasters to preview at MIPCOM.