Entertainment One

Corus Entertainment has picked up the Canadian broadcast rights for Entertainment One’s new children’s series Ricky Zoom for its Treehouse channel. Meanwhile, Corus’ prodco and distributor Nelvana has been selected as the brand’s licensing agent in Canada. The series, which follows the adventures of a red rescue bike and his fellow bike friends, has already been picked up in the U.S. by Nickelodeon, and across channels in regions such as the U.K., China, France, Latin America, Russia, MENA, Germany, Spain, Italy and Turkey.

Fox Television Stations

CBC comedy Schitt’s Creek (pictured) will be hitting more U.S. screens next year as Fox Television Stations has picked up the U.S. syndication rights. The broadcaster inked a deal with Lionsgate subsidiary Debmar Mercury, who picked up syndication sales rights in 2018 from ITV Studios Global Entertainment. All six seasons of the comedy, produced by Not a Real Company Productions, will hit U.S. broadcast markets in fall 2020. The series was recently nominated for four Emmy awards, including Best Comedy, while co-creator and showrunner Dan Levy has inked a multi-year deal with ABC Studios.

9 Story Media

New Zealand’s Pūkeko Pictures has appointed 9 Story Brands as its global merchandising partner for preschool series Book Hungry Bears (excluding China). Meanwhile, Pūkeko gave worldwide distribution rights for the 52 x 11-minute CG-animated show to 9 Story Distribution International (excluding Canada, China, Australia and New Zealand) with Toronto’s 9 Story Media Group handling distribution of the show in Canada. Created by British author and illustrator Martin Baynton, the series turns the page on three bears who love to read and find new books to share together. Co-produced by Pūkeko, Toronto’s Breakthrough Entertainment and China’s Hengxin Shambala Kids, the series was commissioned by TVOKids, TFO and learning channel Knowledge Kids and has been picked up by TVNZ (New Zealand) and ABC Australia this past September.

Kew Media Group

Global distributor Kew Media Distribution, part of Kew Media Group, has signed a multi-year distribution deal with Los Angeles-based media prodco Participant. The deal grants Kew global TV and digital rights to limited new projects from Participant, across documentary and narrative feature films, alongside other content from Participant’s library. The deal was negotiated on behalf of Participant by Krista Wegener, EVP of sales and distribution, and Danice Woodley, Participant’s SVP of business and legal affairs.

With files from Kidscreen and Realscreen