CBBC

The Brit pubcaster has picked up mixed-media educational series Don’t Blame Me, Blame My Brain (10 x 11 minutes) from Screen Glue. This live-action/animated comedy (pictured) answers unusual questions like what happens if you never sleep, or could you catapult to the moon. Hosts Ken Cheng and Leila Navabi chat with experts and celebrities in every episode, and animated sequences explore the science behind the answers they discover. Aimed at seven to 11s, Don’t Blame Me, Blame My Brain premieres April 28.

Kids First 

The Paris-based distributor has inked a number of new deals with Chinese VOD platforms. Tencent and Puxim have picked up both seasons of Watch Next Media/Three’s a Company’s Nate is Late (104 x 11 minutes), an animated comedy for six- to 10-year-olds about a group of kids who go on wild adventures as they make their way to school. Tencent has also acquired Best Bugs Forever (52 x 11 minutes), an animated sitcom from Je Suis Bien Content, Disney EMEA and Watch Next Media about a group of insects living in a big city.

PBS International 

The US pubcaster’s distribution division has closed international broadcast deals for PBS KIDS animated series Elinor Wonders Why (74 x 11 minutes). Knowledge Network (Canada), Discovery Latin America, YLE (Finland), Hop! (Israel), SVT (Sweden) and e-junior (United Arab States) have all picked up the preschool adventure and its 55-minute special. Elinor Wonders Why stars an inquisitive young girl who learns new things about the world with her friends. Pipeline Studios produced series, which was created by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson.

Jetpack

London-based Jetpack has inked new broadcast deals for Coolabi Group’s flagship preschool series Clangers. 

Germany’s ZDF has bought all three seasons (104 x 11 minutes) of the stop-motion adventure for its free-to-air channel KIKA and ZDFtivi online platform. Mediacorp acquired seasons two and three for Singapore, the Czech Republic’s Ceska Televize picked up season three, Slovenian pubcaster RTVS renewed its rights to season one, and Croatia’s HRT secured free-TV and VOD rights for the first season. CBeebies, Coolabi Group and Smallfilms co-produce Clangers, which centers around a group of creatures who live in space and encounter interesting situations that test their problem-solving skills.

ViacomCBS 

ViacomCBS Consumer Products UK has partnered with Osper, which creates parent-managed pre-paid debit cards for under 18s.

The companies are working on a new line of branded cards featuring Nickelodeon characters and personalities including SpongeBob, the Ninja Turtles and JoJo Siwa. They will also produce educational materials about financial literacy for kids in the UK, and plan to promote the cards on Nick’s linear channel and digital platforms.

The partnership was formed in response to more and more spending going contactless, and ViacomCBS wants to make it easier for kids to make purchases and learn about money, according to a release.