Category: Entertainment

CoComelon, the world’s most popular kids entertainment brand, is poised to support even more little ones in their foundational years as the franchise continues to expand. Moonbug Entertainment, a subsidiary of Candle Media, has announced significant momentum across the entire franchise, including an additional beloved character getting their own show in 2023 – Nina! The launch of Nina builds on the successful roll out of Cody Time and JJ’s Animal Time. Through these spin-offs and the strength of the original CoComelon show, the franchise continues to connect with new audiences: global YouTube subscribers grew 33% and viewership increased by nearly one third (29%) last year. Additionally, JJ and his friends reached a new milestone – more than 50 billion views on YouTube in one year – and CoComelon continued its weekly reign throughout 2022 in the Netflix Top 10 list.

Scentco Inc, a renowned U.S. toy designer and distributor, and producers of the fast growing Bedtime Defenderz plush toy line, has inked a deal with Armada Content, LLC to produce 12 episodes of new animated entertainment content to be released in the Fall of 2023 on YouTube. The new animated content will tell the stories behind the origin of the Bedtime Defenderz and their nemesis Torrag, Master of Shadows. The series follows the hugely successful introduction of the Bedtime Defenderz plush toy line in the Fall of 2022.

Kids2, a global company that designs holistic solutions to help early-stage parents and families, announced the launch of Baby Einstein Ocean Explorers, a new STEAM-focused ocean adventure edutainment series in conjunction with a comprehensive line of two dozen products for children, including toys and baby gear. Created in partnership with child development experts, Hello Einstein Studios and EDH Animation, each 5-minute episode reinforces early learning skills through repetition and interactivity as beloved Baby Einstein characters Cal, Neptune, Opus, Tinker and Dean discover undersea and seaside wonders together with young viewers.

On the heels of a record-breaking year where Disney Junior ranked as 2022’s #1 TV Network among Kids 2-5 overall and retained its standing as the #1 Preschool Network for the last 10 years (every year since its launch), Disney Branded Television has ordered second seasons of its newest animated series Firebuds and SuperKitties, as well as an early season two renewal for upcoming series Pupstruction. The announcement was made by Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, during the Disney Branded Television presentation at the 2023 Winter Television Critics Association taking place at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, California.

At the Television Critics Association Press Tour, PBS KIDS announced the production of Lyla in the Loop, a funny and engaging animated series for kids ages 4-8 from Mighty Picnic and Pipeline Studios. The show stars Lyla, a dynamic 7-year-old Black girl, her close-knit family, fantastical blue sidekick Stu, and a host of relatable and quirky characters living in her community, who together spotlight creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills while working collaboratively with others.

Gutsy Animations’ internationally celebrated, Emmy nominated animated series Moominvalley has been recommissioned for a fourth season by its anchor broadcasters Sky (UK) and Yle (Finland). Additionally, and new for season four, Viaplay Group has boarded Moominvalley as a co-production partner and will air all four seasons on its Viaplay streaming platform in multiple territories, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands.

Mondo TV Studios, part of Mondo TV Group, one of the largest European producers and distributors of animated content, has announced an important deal with V-Me Media, the US Hispanic pay TV leader, for a number of popular children’s shows to be broadcast in English on Primo TV across the US. The duration of the license will be three years starting from this January 2023. Launch dates for the shows will be announced soon. V-me Media Inc. is a family of three television networks, including Vme TV, Vme Kids and Primo TV, available in millions of households in the United States and offering a contemporary mix of original productions, exclusive premieres, acquisitions, and popular television programmes specially adapted for a Hispanic audience.

Moonbug Entertainment, a subsidiary of Candle Media, continues to expand the Blippi franchise with the addition of Juca, the second Blippi Buddy to be added to the franchise. Building on the success of Meekah, Blippi’s first buddy, Juca is a live-action show set in Brazil, which is currently the largest market for the franchise outside of the U.S. Juca will launch with a distribution deal with Warner Brothers Discovery in Brazil as well as globally on YouTube on January 9th. Blippi, himself, is also taking kids on international field trips this year with episodes filmed in Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico and the UAE. Blippi first visited international markets in 2022 with episodes filmed in the UK and a sold-out show in London.