Deals will see kids’ favourites like Wallace & Gromit, Rastamouse, dirtgirlworld and Grandpa In My Pocket join the programme line up.
Click to tweet: .@BBCiPlayerGLBL signs deals with Aardman Animations & DHX Media for iconic kids’ titles http://bbc.in/RzStTU via @BBCWpress
The Global BBC iPlayer, BBC Worldwide’s commercial pilot VOD service, has signed deals with Aardman Animations and DHX Media which will see it add to its slate of programmes for preschoolers and older kids. The new programme acquisitions will join the recently launched CBeebies and Family categories, which encourage family viewing by bringing users the best British entertainment across a range of genres.
From Aardman Animations come the British icons Wallace & Gromit in four critically acclaimed half-hour films – A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers (Academy Award), A Close Shave (Academy Award), and A Matter Of Loaf And Death. The pair also appear in Cracking Contraptions, a series of 10 short films featuring some of their more outrageous inventions, like the ‘Soccamatic’, which is supposed to help Gromit's goalkeeping skills, and the ‘Snoozatron’, designed to help Wallace fall asleep.
Additional titles from Aardman Animations include the first series of the ever-popular Creature Comforts, animated series The Morph Files and preschool favourite Timmy Time.
The Wallace & Gromit titles, Creature Comforts and The Morph Files will sit in the Family section of the Global BBC iPlayer targeting older kids, while Timmy Time will entertain preschoolers in the CBeebies category. All the titles from Aardman Animations will be available from December.
From DHX Media come more staples of the CBeebies channels around the world: Rastamouse, the mystery-solving and music-loving character, breezes onto the Global BBC iPlayer with his Easy Crew, while dirtgirlworld introduces the app’s youngest users to nature and all the fun it holds. Also joining the line-up is the charming Grandpa In My Pocket, which explores the special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. All three titles are available now in the CBeebies category.
The new Family and CBeebies genre categories were first unveiled at the Children’s Media Conference in July by Derren Lawford, Head of Programming and Scheduling, Global BBC iPlayer. CBeebies gives parents a one-stop shop destination for all programmes for preschoolers, while Family gives older children a range of shows including CBBC favourites like Newsround and Deadly 60.
Derren said of the latest programme additions: "I’m glad that we can keep adding the best examples of high-quality kids’ programmes for children around the world. The CBeebies and Family categories of the Global BBC iPlayer have been a fantastic addition to the service, making it easier for parents to find shows that will appeal to their little ones, and for older children to have their own bank of entertaining programmes.”
The new shows are available in a selection of markets. Please see the information about the shows for a list of individual markets.
For further information, please contact:
Harriet Otoo, Communications, BBC Worldwide Channels & Global BBC iPlayer, Email: harriet.otoo@bbc.com
About the shows
A Grand Day Out (1 x 30 mins)
Wallace and his sophisticated dog Gromit have to decide where to go for their annual picnic. With a homemade rocket and large appetite they head for the moon in search of cheese. Their moon-tasting arouses the anger of a resident mechanical caretaker. In the antics that follow the Earthlings unwittingly help the robot to fulfil its dreams.
A Grand Day Out will be available from December in Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Australia and Canada.
The Wrong Trousers (1 x 30 mins)
Finances are tight at West Wallaby Street and Wallace is forced to take in a lodger. Unfortunately, the successful applicant is a penguin with attitude who turns out to be the notorious criminal Feathers McGraw. When McGraw adapts one of Wallace’s inventions (an automated pair of ‘Techno Trousers’) and forces him to steal a priceless diamond, Gromit comes to the rescue. The finale sees a rip-roaring train chase through Wallace and Gromit’s house, as the famous duo attempt to bring down Feathers once and for all.
The Wrong Trousers will be available from December in Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Australia and Canada.
A Matter of Loaf and Death (1 x 30 mins)
Wallace and Gromit have started a new bread-baking business ‘Top Bun’ and converted 62 West Wallaby Street into a granary with ovens, robotic kneading arms and an old-fashioned windmill on the roof. The transformation is perfect. Although business is booming, Gromit is concerned by the news that a dozen local bakers have ‘disappeared’ this year – but Wallace isn’t worried. He’s too distracted and ‘dough-eyed’ in love with former beauty and bread enthusiast, Piella Bakewell. While they enjoy being the ‘Toast of the Town’, Gromit soon realises his master’s life is in jeopardy, and turns sleuth to solve the escalating murder mystery – in what quickly becomes ‘A Matter of Loaf And Death.’
A Matter Of Loaf And Death will be available from December in Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Australia and Canada.
A Close Shave (1 x 30 mins)
Trade is booming for Wallace and Gromit's Wash 'n' Go window-cleaning service, and love is in the air as Wallace falls for the owner of the local wool shop, the lovely Wendolene Ramsbottom. But Wallace has a new invention - a Knit-O-matic machine - and adventure looms: sheep are being rustled, wool is in short supply and Wendolene's malevolent pooch Preston is on the prowl...
A Close Shave will be available from December in Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Australia and Canada.
Cracking Contraptions (10 x 2.5 mins)
Wallace invents an array of contraptions to try and make life easier but it's always Gromit who picks up the pieces. A series of 10 short films featuring some of their more outrageous inventions including the "Soccamatic," which is supposed to help Gromit's goalkeeping skills and the "Snoozatron", which is designed to help Wallace fall asleep.
Cracking Contraptions will be available from December in Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Australia and Canada.
Creature Comforts (13 x 9 mins)
Unscripted and unashamedly funny, the British public speaks through the mouths of their plasticine animal counterparts.
Creature Comforts will be available from December in Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Australia and Canada.
The Morph Files (13 x 10 mins)
Morph, the loveable plastacine character, features in a number of adventures. The ‘claymation’ animated series is narrated by Neil Morrissey.
The Morph Files will be available from December in Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Australia and Canada.
Timmy Time (26 x 10 mins)
Timmy is a little lamb with a lot to learn... Being an 'only lamb in the flock' Timmy has been used to getting his own way. Now for the first time Timmy is going to have to learn to get along with other little animals.
Timmy Time will be available from December in Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Australia.
Timmy Time Specials (2 x 22 mins) are available in Australia, Canada, Ireland & Portugal.
dirtgirlworld (26x15)
dirtgirlworld is about children discovering that putting nature first can be second nature. The show has an environmental focus, from exploring recycling and growing your own vegetables to discussing manure as essential to organic gardening and growing food.
dirtgirlworld is available now in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden
Grandpa In My Pocket (26x15)
Grandpa In My Pocket is aimed at four to six year-olds, and celebrates the hugely significant relationship between grandparent and grandchild. Grandpa lives with his family in a beautiful seaside town called Sunnysands. Everyone thinks he spends all his time stuck in his armchair, but he has a magic shrinking cap which only his grandson, Jason, knows about. When Grandpa puts his cap on, he becomes small enough to fit into Jason's pocket - not to mention his toy plane and car.
Grandpa In My Pocket is available now in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Rastamouse (26x10)
Rastamouse follows the adventures of a crime-fighting, guitar-playing, skateboarding mouse and his friends, Scratchy and Zoomer - The Easy Crew - in their musical adventures about “makin' a bad ting good”. Rastamouse is based on the highly acclaimed books by Genevieve Webster and Michael De Souza, and the character of Rastamouse is voiced by British actor and presenter Reggie Yates.
Rastamouse is available now in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Notes to editors
About BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to exploit the value of the BBC’s assets for the benefit of the licence fee payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has five core businesses: Channels, Content & Production, Sales & Distribution, Consumer Products and Global Brands. In 2011/12, BBC Worldwide generated headline profits of £155 million on headline sales of £1085 million and returned £216 million to the BBC. For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review website: http://www.bbcworldwide.com/annualreview
I’m glad that we can keep adding the best examples of high-quality kids’ programmes for children around the world."
