Thomas & Friends Expands Global Presence

CANNES: Mattel Creations has signed a number of new international agreements for the popular kids’ property Thomas & Friends.

There are multiple new deals for Thomas & Friends with broadcasters and digital platforms in China, including with China Central Television, LeEco, China Mobile and Air Media. Also in the country, a Thomas & Friends channel recently debuted on Youku.

In addition, Thomas & Friends content is headed to NHK in Japan, Global TV in Indonesia, GMA in the Philippines, KBS in South Korea, TVNZ in New Zealand and TVB in Hong Kong. Outside of Asia, the series and specials have been snapped up by ABC TV in Australia, Channel 5 in the U.K., Minimini in Poland, Next in South Africa and RTÉ in Ireland.

In other news, the Thomas & Friends show will have a new pay-TV broadcaster in the U.K. when it moves from Nick Junior to Cartoonito, which will begin airing the 20th season early next year, followed by the latest special, Thomas & Friends: The Great Race, at Easter. The special is slated for theatrical release in the U.K., Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico and Italy.

It has also been announced that Mattel Creations inked a new deal with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment for the European home-entertainment distribution of Thomas & Friends specials in Benelux, Greece, Turkey and the Czech Republic. The agreement also includes European home-entertainment distribution of the 20th season of Thomas & Friends in Italy, France, Malta, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican, Luxembourg, Andorra and French-speaking Belgium.

Justin Richardson, the VP of content distribution and content strategy at Mattel Creations, commented: “Thomas continues to be one of the top-performing children’s shows in the world and the latest host of exciting new global deals for the series and specials demonstrates how we are extending the reach and range of platforms as part of our distribution strategy. We are also delighted to see Thomas do so well on theatrical platforms, which is testament to the great production values of these specials and the appetite from fans to see Thomas on the big screen.”

Kate Schlomann, the VP of global brand marketing for Thomas & Friends, added: “The Thomas & Friends franchise goes from strength to strength with its global appeal to parents and children. Thanks to our content distribution strategy, we see new generations of families all around the world discovering the content’s powerful message of friendship and camaraderie as well as humor, action and fun. The brand’s expansion into Asia has seen phenomenal growth and this latest deal with CCTV will further cement this once it starts to TX next year.”