Zodiak Sets Up Dedicated Kids Division

LONDON: The newly formed Zodiak Kids will see all of Zodiak Media Group’s kids’ production and distribution entities come under one banner.

Zodiak Kids will encompass Marathon Media, Tele-images Productions, Zodiak Active Kids Entertainment Division and The Foundation as well as Zodiak Rights’ Kids & Family TV sales division. The division will have a combined yearly output of some 350 episodes of programming. Key titles include Totally Spies, Gormiti, Street Football, Sally Bollywood, Waybuloo, Dani’s House, Mister Maker and The Qpiz.

Sales for the new Zodiak Kids division will be handled out of London with a team led by Karen Vermeulen, the senior VP of global TV sales and co-productions. Consumer products and licensing will be carried out by each production company’s own licensing teams. Zodiak Kids will have offices in London, Maidstone, Paris and Milan.

In a joint statement Nigel Pickard, the chairman of The Foundation and CEO of Zodiak MEAA/UK Kids & Family; Vincent Chalvon Demersay, the president of Marathon; David Michel, the general manager of Marathon Media; Philippe Alessandri, the president of Tele-images Productions; and Marco Ferrari, the CEO of Zodiak Active, commented: “We are incredibly excited that Zodiak Kids will bring together all of our kids brands under one stable and reinforces our commitment to the kids industry as a whole.”

Matthew Frank, the CEO of Zodiak Rights, added: “Combining all of our TV sales under one dedicated kids sales team in London will give us strength and breadth in the very competitive kids market.”