Capitalizing on the ongoing Barbiemania playing out in theaters and at retail worldwide, Mattel Television has just closed some key small-screen sales for Barbie: A Touch of Magic (pictured).
The 13 x 22-minute, CG-animated series will roll out next month after Netflix quietly commissioned it earlier this year—and multiple broadcasters in the UK and Europe have just joined the party.
British kids channel POP has plans to debut the show on September 4—10 days ahead of its US premiere on Netflix. And Super RTL (Germany), Cartoonito and Boing (Italy) and Minimax (Eastern Europe) have also picked it up.
A Touch of Magic centers around two Barbies and their discovery of a baby Pegasus who is on a magical mission.
It’s the latest addition to Netflix’s catalogue of CG-animated Barbie movies, series and specials, which is experiencing a viewership spike in the wake of the live-action Barbie movie’s release in July. Despite originally launching way back in 2012, season one of Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse was the sixth most-watched English-language series on the platform the week after the movie came out, logging 9.1 million hours of watchtime.
“Our animated Netflix content has always been a focal point for the reinvigoration of [the brand],” says Alex Godfrey, Mattel TV’s VP of content distribution. “More than ever before, Barbie is a cultural phenomenon, showcasing the brand’s global message that anybody can be anything.”
Mattel has also secured 165-plus consumer products deals for the live-action film, which has grossed more than US$1.2 billion globally so far, paving the way for major revenue growth in the company’s next fiscal quarter.