KidsCo, the international children’s channel, has announces it has executed ten affiliate deals in Q1 across Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific, taking its total reach to 15 million subscribers.
KidsCo’s Q1 deals include DAAR Communications in Nigeria, Telekom of Thailand, Sky Television in Sri Lanka, PT Mega Media in Indonesia, Tarr in Hungary and Sky C&C in Indonesia.
The channel is also announcing that it is launching its summer line-up from June 2, 2012, which will feature an exclusive series of short-form stories from kids in London as they prepare for events in their home towns. This will be complimented by online craft sheets and games that will be available on www.kidscotv.tv.
Hendrik McDermott, managing director at KidsCo, comments: “It has been a positive first quarter for KidsCo, with further penetration into key territories. Our affiliates know that in KidsCo they have a partner that can meet their unique requirements in an efficient and cost-effective way with a quality product that is enjoyed by kids and trusted by parents.”
KidsCo is now majority owned by NBC Universal with 51% of the shares and Corus with 43.8% being the second largest stakeholders in the children’s channel. NBC-U acquired the majority after Canada-based Cookie Jar Entertainment sold its shares in the channel. Co-founder Paul Robinson (3.3%) and Chris Borde (1.9%) remain shareholders. KidsCo was originally formed as a joint venture between NBC Universal International (Sparrowhawk Media), Corus Entertainment Inc. (Nelvana Studios), and Cookie Jar Entertainment (DiC Ent.).
