KidsCo Prepares for Asian Launch

LONDON, March 14: KidsCo,
the children’s channel owned by NBC Universal, DIC Entertainment and Corus
Entertainment’s Nelvana Enterprises, is gearing up for a March 20 launch in the
Philippines, South Korea, Singapore and Palau.

The channel recently
secured carriage deals with various platform operators in Asia, including
SingTel’s mio TV in Singapore, the Philippines’ Sky Cable, Palau’s PNCC and
Korea’s HanaTV. KidsCo has also signed a deal with the Philippines’ Cable Boss
to act as its distributor in that market.

Executives at KidsCo are
anticipating that the channel will be available in up to 40
territories—including Europe and Latin America—within the next 18
months. The channel currently broadcasts in Romania, Ukraine, Hungary, Russia,
Turkey and Poland.

KidsCo features animated
and live-action television series and feature-length movies from DIC and
Nelvana. DIC’s programming library has more than 3,000 half-hours of series,
including Inspector Gadget, Strawberry Shortcake, Madeline, Dennis the Menace and
Care Bears. With more than 3,200
half-hours of kids’ programming, Nelvana Enterprises’ catalogue features series
such as Babar, Franklin, The Adventures of Tintin and Rolie Polie Olie. KidsCo has also acquired programming from other
major children’s content suppliers after signing deals with Entertainment
Rights and TV-Loonland. KidsCo programming is being localized market-by-market
and has been programmed by day-parts to create a strategic lineup targeting
segmented audiences.

“The launch of KidsCo in
Asia is a strategic part of our expansion into all the world’s TV markets and
we are delighted to be welcomed into Asia,” said KidsCo’s managing director,
Paul Robinson. “KidsCo’s unique positioning and content partner ownership makes
us a valuable new channel to platforms and kids.”

Raymund Miranda, NBC
Universal’s managing director of global networks in the Asia Pacific, added:
“KidsCo represents a unique opportunity for platforms to continue to address an
underserved audience in a region that is one of the youngest in the world. Our
partners have recognized this and have embraced KidsCo with great enthusiasm.
We’re equally confident that families all over the region will welcome KidsCo
into their homes with a lot of excitement.”

—By Ned Berke