BKN Secures Deals in Canada

LONDON, January 12: BKN
International has sealed a broadcast deal with Télé-Québec for several CGI
high-definition animated features, and has licensed a number of titles to
Toronto-based Morningstar Entertainment for DVD distribution in Canada.

BKN’s contract with
Morningstar Entertainment grants the home video distributor the rights to
distribute 14 of BKN’s animated titles throughout Canada. These include Ali
Baba and the Forty Thieves: The Lost Scimitar of Arabia, Kong: Return to the Jungle and Robin Hood: Quest for the King, as well as three volumes each of Legend of the
Dragon and Kong: The Animated
Series.

BKN’s contract with Télé-Québec, meanwhile, gives the French Canadian broadcaster six 48-minute high-definition
features, among them Alice in Wonderland: What’s the Matter with Hatter and A Christmas Carol: Scrooge’s Ghostly Tale.

“This Canadian broadcast arrangement
represents a strategic step to continue launching BKN’s properties in this key
North American market,” said Nicola Andrews, the
sales director of English, German and French speaking markets and Russia at BKN International. “We are pleased to welcome Télé-Québec on board which is an excellent
program home for our titles.”

BKN International will be
at NATPE looking to shore up further deals, with particular emphasis on Legend
of the Dragon, Dork Hunters from Outer Space and Zorro—Generation Z.

The NATPE slate includes
39 episodes of Legend of the Dragon, which has already rolled out on Nickelodeon Latin America, the BBC and
Super RTL, among others. It launched in the U.S. in October on the Jetix block.
Merchandise has launched in Spain in association with local broadcast partner
TVE.

Dork Hunters from Outer
Space is a new comic adventure
series created by Rick Ungar. And Zorro—Generation Z seeks the classic masked crusader being revamped
for today’s young viewers.