Magma dd in New Partnership with Granada

LONDON, June 9: Magma dd
has signed an agreement to be the licensing, distribution and broadcast partner
in Eastern Europe for the recently merged entity of Granada Ventures and
Granada International.

The first deal within the
new arrangement sees Magma acquiring the television rights for the first season
of the award-winning preschool animated series Pocoyo, for broadcast in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia, beginning
September 1.

There
is also a licensing and merchandising
deal for Pocoyo that runs
alongside the new broadcast contract, covering Bosnia, Serbia, Herzegovina,
Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro.
Magma will launch a range of licensing and merchandising products for Pocoyo across several categories, including infant
apparel, accessories (bags), jigsaw puzzles, balls, inflatables, bedding,
lunchware and stationery. All of the products will be available from retailers
and Magma’s own retail outlets in Eastern Europe for fall/winter 2008. In addition, to coincide with the TV launch, Magma
will be distributing the Bandai range of Pocoyo-branded toys throughout the region.

Co-produced by Granada
International and Spain’s Zinkia, Pocoyo is a 3-D CGI-animated series that is currently broadcast around the
world in more than 100 territories.

Granada Ventures’ Julie
Quirke commented: “We are delighted to be working with Magma across Eastern
Europe. Magma’s commitment to Pocoyo across TV and licensing underlines the continuing strength and
popularity of our award winning pre-school brand. Magma is extremely
well-regarded by broadcasters and toy companies in the region and with Magma’s
many retail outlets, we have a great opportunity to maximize the potential of
our brands in this important emerging market.”

Dijana Milisic, the head
of licensing at Magma, added, “We are very pleased to be working with Granada
Ventures and Granada International on their many new shows and brands. We are
experts in Eastern Europe and we know there will be great demand for Pocoyo products and we’re sure that this initial deal
will be the first of many.”

Magma
dd handles licensing, merchandise and TV rights for a range of brands, and has
had a Disney license in place for 15 years. Magma is also a retailer and
distributor across four territories in Eastern Europe (Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia,
Slovenia) and Hungary. The company has 65 toy shops across the region—the
only chain in Southeastern Europe.

In March, it was announced
that ITV Worldwide’s distribution arm, Granada International, would combine
with its merchandising and licensing unit, Granada Ventures, into one unified
business.

—By Irene Lew