KidsCo Takes On New Titles

LONDON/CANNES: Along with scoring a second season for its original series Boo & Me, KidsCo has added a number of new titles to its slate, in a deal with CCI Entertainment. 

The second season of Boo & Me, done in partnership with Malaysia’s Inspidea, will debut globally exclusively on KidsCo in all 93 of the service’s territories, as of spring 2011. Topics that will be touched on in the second installment of the environment-focused kids’ show include deforestation, water preservation, the dangers of fire, noise pollution, recycling and animal rescue. 

Paul Robinson, the managing director of KidsCo, said: “While tackling more difficult topics, we are retaining the values of the Boo & Me series one. The 5 R’s continue to be our mantra; reduce, re-use, recycle, re-new and respect. The show is still about the environment, with the ‘family’ of Boo, Aiman and Yasmin central to the show, still original content and still exclusive to KidsCo. We were delighted with the results of Boo & Me series one, especially across the Middle East territories, and are thrilled to be working with Inspidea again.”

Raja Masilamani, creative director at KidsCo, noted: “We have some very cute stories in Boo & Me second series. It’s been great to see the development of the characters and story lines. We are getting progressively more adventurous with them as each episode becomes more challenging than the last. We are thrilled with Inspidea’s manifestation of our creativity and are looking forward to further expanding the imaginations of KidsCo’s audience together.”

Eileen McCarthy, the director of programming at KidsCo, added: “The second series of Boo & Me explores some really topical themes for its audience. We want to educate children all over the world on how to care for our environment and help shape caring for the future. The episode ‘Boo goes to school’ is a particular favorite of mine. Boo attends class with Aiman and Yasmin, for the first time, and in the geography class learns about conservation. At break time he finds that children have left taps running in the bathroom and they all learn not to waste water. A really relevant story the world over.”

In a separate deal, KidsCo has signed a content deal with CCI Entertainment for a raft of programming to air across Australia staring in December and Western Europe from January 2011. This includes the addition of Turbo Dogs and Monster by Mistake as well as the animated movie True Meaning of Crumbfest. 

McCarthy commented: “We are thrilled to have secured the exclusive first run of Turbo Dogs. The stories focus on age-appropriate social-emotional themes like cooperation and fair play, and ground them in stories that are fast, funny and engaging. Monster by Mistake is an equally fantastic show, absolutely rammed with comical possibilities. The shows we have chosen from CCI’s portfolio match perfectly with KidsCo’s objective to broadcast content with international appeal, the shows and the movie are great reflections of our global reach.”

Robinson added: “Turbo Dogs combines cool cars and cartoon canines with engaging stories that aim to capture the imagination of 4- to 8-year-olds, fitting perfectly within our own target audience of preschoolers and 6– to 10-year-olds. These new shows complement our broad portfolio of content including original programming, such as Jass Time! and Boo & Me. Parents can feel confident that when their child watches KidsCo, they are going to have a great time, be entertained and gently educated, all in a safe environment.”

Jill Keenleyside, the executive VP of distribution at CCI Entertainment, said, “We are really happy to have established a relationship with KidsCo, one that we hope to build on for years to come. We believe that the series’ and movie they have acquired will provide value to their children’s slate and we look forward to working with them.”