Sparrowhawk Media, DIC Entertainment and Corus Entertainment have teamed up to launch a multiplatform global television channel aimed at children and families.
The first launch of the channel, currently known as KidsCo is, expected this autumn in Central and Eastern Europe, extending later in 2008 and 2009 to around 40 territories in the Europe, Latin America and Asian Pacific region.
It marks a reversal in fortune within the kids TV market, with terrestrial airtime coming under pressure, and the absorption of Fox Kids into the Disney-owned Jetix. Sparrowhawk’s CEO David Hulbert is a former president of Walt Disney International Television. The company runs The Hallmark Channel outside the United States and movies24.
The BBC is also planning to launch an international children’s brand.
Content for KidsCo will include DIC programmes such as Inspector Gadget, Strawberry Shortcake, Madeline, Dennis the Menace and the Care Bears. The Nelvana programming library will include Babar, Franklin, The Adventures of Tintin and Rolie Polie Olie.