MIPTV 2015, CANNES – Hopster has announced its global launch.
Following a raft of multi-territory content deals with Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, Millimages, Cake, and EarthTree Media, the kids service will commence the roll-out of a global English language version to 100 territories from April.
The launch will see the service arrive in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, India, Dubai, and many more countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe, with over 600 episodes from programmes including Max & Ruby, Mouk, Louie, Babar, Wanda and the Alien, and Poppy Cat.
The global version will initially launch on iOS, with country-specific price points to be confirmed. Further content partners will also be announced closer to launch.
“All over the world, a new generation of kids is finding things to delight them on mobile. In India alone, more families have smartphones than digital TV, so there’s huge potential for a mobile-first service like Hopster,” said Nick Walters, Hopster founder and CEO.
“We’ve taken a global approach to our global launch, and handpicked the best shows from around the world: for example Aesop’s Theatre started life in Korea, Mouk in France, Wanda and the Alien in the UK, and Learn to Draw Minis is a cool Scandinavian indie hit!”
Since launching in the UK in 2013, Hopster has seen growth, with over 265,000 UK families having downloaded its chart-topping iOS app to date. It also received two nominations for the 2015 Kidscreen/iKids Awards: Best Channel Design and Best Streaming Video Platform, and was one of Apple’s Best Apps of 2014.