Genius Brands’ SpacePOP Heads to China, U.K.

BEVERLY HILLS: Genius Brands International has inked new content license deals for the distribution of the music-themed animated digital series SpacePOP in China and the U.K.

Genius Brands licensed the content distribution and L&M rights for SpacePOP to WeKids Asia, which will launch a brand program across China this summer. The company also licensed the rights for original SpacePOP music videos to U Music TV for distribution across the U.K. on the app, and later through Sky TV, FreeSat and FreeView. In addition, Genius Brands greenlit a second season of the show that is slated for delivery in the fall.

“SpacePOP demonstrates that music, fashion, fun and adventure are universally appealing to girls, bonding them to a shared experience regardless of where they live or what language they speak,” said Stone Newman, the president of worldwide content sales for global consumer products and marketing at Genius Brands. “Expanding brand awareness and building the SpacePOP franchise through media partnerships in China, the U.K. and Southern Europe—we’re successfully building the brand in some of the largest and most influential markets in the world just three months after SpacePOP’s initial release in the U.S. The response from licensing partners, retailers and viewers has been incredible, which is why we’re eager to get moving on season two of SpacePOP.”

“Genius Brands has done a phenomenal job in developing SpacePOP and in introducing it to young American consumers through the platforms they frequent,” noted Sean Chu, the founder and CEO of WeKids. “WeKids can replicate that rollout, with simultaneous launches of music videos, merchandising and the animated SpacePOP series through online streaming video, IPTV, OTT TV, iOS and Android-based apps for mobile and tablet devices throughout China. As Genius Brands has shown us, this type of organic launch, supported by local and regional promotions, not only reaches the intended audience, it invites and encourages them to participate in introducing this amazing content to their friends, which is the most authentic method for growing a hit brand.”

“U Music TV combines apps, television, online platforms and merchandising in the creation of a truly multiplatform entertainment experience that is ideally suited to Genius Brands’ SpacePOP,” added Claire Palmer, the CMO of U Music TV. “Today’s young consumers want to be part of a property’s development, they want to claim responsibility for the popularity of songs, content and consumer products and SpacePOP clearly puts them in the driver’s seat. It may be a unique growth strategy today, but other content developers will be emulating it for years to come.”