Disney Channel to Air Chuggington

LONDON: Ludorum’s train-based preschool property Chuggington has been picked up in the U.S. to air in Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney programming block.

Slated for launch in the U.S. in spring 2010, Chuggington has been licensed to 145 territories worldwide since the start of the year. The show has already debuted to strong ratings in markets such as the U.K. (CBeebies), Germany, (SUPER RTL), France (TF1), Australia (ABC) and Canada (Treehouse). Japan’s Fuji Television is set to launch the series this summer.

The new CGI animated preschool series is aimed at 2- to 5-years-olds. The property promotes positive life lessons and teaches emotional intelligence and social readiness. Ludorum has begun production this year on a further 26 10-minute episodes, which have also been acquired for the U.K. by the BBC.