Riki Group’s Tina & Tony Premieres in China

The animated preschool series Tina & Tony has debuted in China on the video hosting service Youku.

Tina & Tony, co-produced by Russia’s Riki Group, premiered on Youku on Friday, November 23. Thirteen new episodes will be added to the channel on each of the next few Fridays until all 52 episodes are available. The show follows the titular best friends, a baby elephant and a baby hippo, who invent games using their fantasies.

Diana Yurinova, the VP of international business development and distribution at Riki Group, said: “Several animated brands produced by our company have reached a significant recognition rate in China. That is one of the reasons why both parties, Russian and Chinese, are interested in bringing new Riki IPs to the local market. Tina & Tony starts at the very right time, just several months before the Chinese New Year, which is a high season. The first 13 episodes have been viewed 12 million times during the first day, so this is a record number for a Russian animated TV series in China. We are aiming at 300 million views within the next six months at Youku.”