BBC Shores Up Kids’ Deals at Annual Showcase

BRIGHTON, February 27: BBC Worldwide announced two deals on key kids’ properties at its BBC Showcase event in Brighton today: TVNZ’s acquisition of In the Night Garden and Discovery Kids en Español’s pickup of Fimbles.

In the Night Garden is the newest series from Teletubbies producers Ragdoll. The 100×30-minute show is billed as a modern interpretation of a nursery rhyme picture book. It was commissioned by CBeebies, and Hasbro is on board as master toy licensee. The deal was concluded by BBC Worldwide’s Sydney office, which also licensed to TVNZ the first two seasons of The Catherine Tate Show and Fear Stress and Anger. Little Robots season five and What Not to Wear season six will also have their New Zealand premieres on the network.

Fimbles, meanwhile, was picked up by Discovery Kids en Español for launch in the U.S. in Spanish this May. The Novel Entertainment production for the BBC has been licensed to more than 40 markets. It is a preschool live-action series aimed at kids aged 2 to 4. Announcing the deal, Jose Sanchez, BBC Worldwide’s regional VP for Latin America, commented, “Working with the U.S. Hispanic market is a top priority for us and we have some of the most innovative content in the world to satisfy our clients individual needs. We are confident that this will be the first step in building the Fimbles brand in the U.S. mirroring its success with kids and parents around the globe.”