Spin Master

Several new broadcasters have acquired the rights to Spin Master’s CG-animated preschool series Mighty Express, including POP UK, Super RTL (Germany), TVP (Poland) and Télé-Quebec (Canada). The show follows the adventures of the Mighty Express crew—talking trains and the kids that work with them to run the train stations.

The four broadcasters have licensed all five seasons of the series (60 x 11 minutes), as well as 26 x three-minute shorts. Mighty Express currently streams on Netflix, and the Netflix Jr. YouTube channel.

Guru Studio 

The Toronto-based animation studio has named Bandai UK as the regional distributor for a new toy range based its 3D-animated preschool series True and the Rainbow Kingdom that’s set to hit shelves in Q3 or Q4 2022.

All four seasons of the show have been streaming on Netflix since 2017. True and the Rainbow Kingdom is also available on free-to-air kids channel TinyPop (UK), where it has become a top-viewed series.

Last year, Guru teamed up with toyco United Smile to bring the IP’s first products to market, and they’re currently available in Israel, the Philippines and in Australia.

NBC Sports

GoNoodle and the sports broadcaster are teaming up on a new educational campaign called Champion Mindset (pictured) that will connect kids with Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The 13-episode series launched online at YourChampionMindset and on GoNoodle on January 26, and it will be available for free during the Winter Olympics.

Champion Mindset will feature elite Team USA athletes covering topics like perseverance, healthy living and goal-setting. Content for the series, including behind-the-scenes footage, blogs and activities, is being provided by BrainPOP, Classroom Champions, Epic!, GoNoodle and youth sports platform SportsEngine.

Ananey Studios

Universal Music Israel (UMG) has come on board to create and manage original music for a new live-action series called Pisces Lane.

The 40 x 30-minute show is being produced by Israel’s Ananey Studios, in partnership with US financing firm The Co-Production Company. It centers around three 16-year-olds who come together to start a multilingual band. Despite growing up in the same neighborhood in the Israeli city of Jaffna, the three teens hail from different ethnic backgrounds and belong to different religions. Pisces Lane will be offered in both Arabic and Hebrew, and its original soundtrack from Universal promises to feature prominently in every episode.

Previously titled Thalath, Pisces Lane has been commissioned by Nickelodeon Israel for an exclusive release on Hot Cable Network this fall.