Top Stories

TOKYO: Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) and Mitsui & Co. are establishing AK Holdings, a joint venture that will operate Japanese anime networks Kids Station and Animax.

NEW YORK: KIDZ BOP, a music brand for children, has teamed up with Live National Entertainment for the new KIDZ BOP Best Time Ever tour, which is set to begin in April.

BURBANK: Freeform is scheduled to air a number of animated classics, including Disney/Pixar's WALL-E, during its weekend-long Funday programming event next month.

SINGAPORE/NEW YORK: One Animation has appointed Brandgenuity as the licensing agent for the animated series Oddbods in the U.S. and Canada.

TEL AVIV: The live-action daily drama Spell Keepers has launched on Nickelodeon Israel exclusively for yes DBS, which commissioned the series.

LONDON: Production has begun in Northern Ireland on the upcoming season of the musical drama series The Lodge, which Disney Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA) commissioned for a sophomore run.

LONDON: DHX Media's WildBrain has brought in Will Mahmood for the newly created position of head of strategy.

LONDON: BBC Worldwide has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with iQIYI that will see nearly 300 hours of CBeebies preschool programming become available on the Chinese online video platform.

NEW YORK: A number of new licensing agreements have been signed for the popular Nickelodeon preschool properties PAW Patrol, Shimmer and Shine and Blaze and the Monster Machines.

PAWTUCKET/LOS ANGELES: Hasbro has signed an agreement with Sutikki to become global master toy licensee for the new original preschool series Moon and Me from Andrew Davenport’s Foundling Bird.