DHX MEDIA AND MATTEL STRIKE MULTIPLE INTERNATIONAL DEALS FOR FIREMAN SAM AND BOB THE BUILDER
Twelve new deals across linear broadcast, VOD, home entertainment and theatrical build on strong partnership for leading kids’ content and brands
Halifax, NS – DHX Media (or “the Company”) (TSX: DHX.A, DHX.B; NASDAQ: DHXM), a leading global children’s content and brands company, and Mattel Creations, a centralized theatrical, television and digital content creation division from Mattel Inc., are pleased to announce numerous international deals for the latest seasons of hit preschool series Fireman Sam and Bob the Builder, spanning linear broadcast, video-on-demand, home entertainment and theatrical.
Building on DHX Media and Mattel’s strategic partnership to drive growth in some of the world’s most popular kids’ brands, broadcast deals for season 11 of Fireman Sam have been struck with France Télévisions for its France 5 channel; Hop! Media Group (Israel); and MiniMini+, part of Canal+ International (Poland). In home entertainment, rights for season 11 of Fireman Sam have been signed to Universal Home Video (France), ABC Commercial (Australia) and justbridge (Germany and Austria), while theatrical rights for this newest season have been signed to Pathé Live (France).
Additionally, season three of Bob the Builder has been picked up for broadcast by SuperRTL (Germany); Télé-Québec (Canada); Hop! Media Group (Israel); and MiniMini+, part of Canal+ International (Poland). Meanwhile, ABC Commercial has picked up home entertainment and SVOD rights to season three of Bob the Builder for Australia.
“Our strong relationship with Mattel continues to bear fruit, as we drive solid demand for Fireman Sam and Bob the Builder internationally,” said Jerry Diaz, VP Distribution, DHX Media. “Preschoolers around the world love these shows and can’t get enough of these fun and adventurous characters. We’re excited to deliver fresh new episodes to build on the global appeal of these brands, and drive multiple revenue streams.”
Andy Gosling, Director of Marketing for Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam, Mattel, Inc. said: “We are delighted with these new deals and the strong results from our partners at DHX Media. The rollout and distribution of our brand new content will help us drive these brand franchises further and connect with audiences around the world.”
About Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder’s third CGI series (26 x 11’’ episodes) maintains the feel-good emotional warmth which viewers have come to love, combined with even more big builds and hilarious mishaps, including: building a giant maze and then getting lost in it; meeting a family of adorable bobcats and keeping them safe; and accidentally destroying a building while filming an epic action movie! All of these challenges will be met with Bob and his team’s “Can We Build It? Yes We Can!” philosophy. The new season also brings the introduction of three new characters to the Bob the Builder team: Picksy, a charming but rough-and-tumble cherry picker (who Lofty has a crush on!); Rocky, the tiny but hard-working compact loader; and Norm, a giant tunnel-drilling machine. These three join the Mega-Machines introduced last season: Ace, a much larger version of Scoop; Thud, an enormous, hard-working dumper; and Crunch, a grunting, super-sized excavator.
About Fireman Sam
Fireman Sam is back for more heroic adventures in the accident-prone Welsh town of Pontypandy. The eleventh season (13 x 10’ episodes) of Fireman Sam retains the excitement, adventure and comedy that audiences love, whilst venturing on new and even bigger rescues: exploding gas canisters in the woods; a daring mountain rescue from a zip wire over a waterfall; a car stuck in a tree; an out of control robotic dog. No rescue is too challenging for Fireman Sam and his crew! While the overall safety message remains core to the show, the storylines continue to be adapted for a young audience through increased humour and funny sequences, making it fun for both children and parents!
Produced in DHX Media’s Halifax studio, the newest seasons of Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam are scheduled for release later in 2018. (DHX)
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