GBI’s Kid Genius Cartoon Channel Widens U.S. Presence

BEVERLY HILLS: Genius Brands International (GBI) has tied up with multiplatform video distribution company Future Today to provide Kid Genius Cartoon Channel to 20 million more U.S. homes for a total of 42 million.

Kid Genius Cartoon Channel, currently available via Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand, offers a variety of content for toddlers to 12-year-olds. The VOD network is now also being offered across such OTT platforms as Roku, Apple, Amazon, Sony, Google and Samsung, with more to follow. It features such original programming as Baby Genius, SpacePOP, Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club and Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab, as well as third-party titles, including Eddie Is A Yeti and Nancy Drew Codes & Clues.

Shelly Hirsch, the CEO of Beacon Media Group, a buyer of children’s media in the U.S., remarked: “The expansion of the Kid Genius Cartoon Channel into 40-plus million homes is an extraordinary event, which brings their distribution up to critical mass, reaching close to half of all U.S. television households. We are constantly looking for new ways and systems to reach kids in an ever-changing digital environment, and I am personally excited about the possibilities now from another player in the space, alongside Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.”

“We are excited to be partnering with Genius Brands on expanding the reach of their Kid Genius Cartoon Channel through a truly multiplatform direct-to-consumer offering,” noted Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of Future Today. “Utilizing our cloud-based platform, the Kid Genius Cartoon Channel will be able to offer an on-demand entertainment experience that is not only safe for kids and can be controlled by parents, it’s truly engaging as well.”

“Future Today is exactly that,” added Debra Pierson, the general manager of Kid Genius Cartoon Channel. “As consumers’ viewing habits have changed, so too has the typical content distribution model. Future Today can deliver us into the 20 million households who aren’t subscribing to cable or satellite for their entertainment, and who are choosing from myriad devices and smart TVs. It may seem like an alternative approach to some, but we see the future for content distribution in Future Today.”