London-based animation studio Blue Zoo is launching its own rights management division for its owned and third-party IPs, and has hired Alison Warner as managing director to oversee the new department.

Warner, the former VP of sales, acquisitions and co-productions at Toronto-based producer/distributor Technicolor is charged with growing Blue Zoo’s slate of properties. She will also be responsible for handling pre-sales, distribution, brand management and merchandising of the company’s existing IPs.

Some of the company’s properties include the preschool series Digby Dragon. Commissioned by Nickelodeon UK and US, the CGI-animated series first launched in 2016. The prodco also created the educational CGI-animated series Numberblocks, which debuted on CBeebies in 2017, before the kidsnet ordered another two seasons of the show, later that same year.

While at Technicolor Warner developed the animated series Atomic Puppet, which first aired on Canadian kidsnet Teletoon and US channel Disney XD in 2016. In addition, she also developed the animated series The Deep, which premiered on Netflix that same year.  Prior to working at Technicolor, Warner served as the VP of sales and co-production at Canadian producer/distributor Cookie Jar Entertainment where she was responsible for the sales of properties including the animated series Arthur, Ella the Elephant and Caillou.

Blue Zoo has been expanding its portfolio this year with work that includes producing the new animated series Paddington, which is airing on Nickelodeon worldwide in 2020.