Icon scores massive sale to new net, lands Dora

Barcelona, Spain-based Icon Animation’s distribution division has secured a deal to provide a whole whack of content to new Spanish broadcaster Canal KITX TV. The pay TV channel is set to launch this month and will be distributed on all the major pay-TV and IPTV platforms throughout the country. More than 100 hours of programming have been culled from Icon’s library for the deal, including Spanish versions of Postman Pat (Entertainment Rights), Boohbah (Ragdoll/BBC Worldwide), Olympig (Magna Animation) and Planet Grabo from France’s Millimages. Additionally, the prodco has acquired Spanish distribution rights for Nickelodeon preschool hit Dora the Explorer.

Christophe Goldberger, head of distribution and marketing, says it’s too early to say where and when Dora will be hitting the Spanish airwaves and he is scoping out opps at national terrestrial broadcasters and Forta, a group of 12 regional broadcasters that purchase programs and repurpose them in specific dialects such as Basque and Catalina.

Disney making on-line pay

Early indications show that Disney’s move to be the first movie provider on iTunes is paying off. According to CEO Bob Iger’s November earnings statement, the mighty mouse has sold almost 500,000 movie downloads of titles such as The Incredibles and Toy Story, and approximately 12-million episodes of TV shows including Lost since aligning with the service in October 2005.

Additionally, Iger revealed that since June, 53-million episodes of kids programs like Hannah Montana and High School Musical and have been played on DisneyChannel.com.

The rosy entertainment picture combined with across-the-board growth gave Disney unprecedented vitality in 2006 with a net Q4 income of US$782 million, up from US$379 million over the same period last year.