FUN Union has signed a multi-territory distribution agreement with Imira Entertainment for its current three produced IPs and will be showcasing them at MIPJunior and MIPCOM for the first time.
While the first-named is a key global educational content creator & rights owner with a focus on children of pre-school and primary school ages, the second is one of the world’s leading distribution companies of premium kids & family content.
The strategic partnership between the two companies kicks off with Imira handling the international sales for Spanish, Portuguese and Italian speaking territories for its first three titles which form the ‘Riki Universe’ and which combined represent an impressive 476 episodes, 130 half hours of content, 2 billion YouTube views in Russia alone, 12 million users of associated websites and apps, 6000 consumer product articles in 40 product categories, and over 100 awards accumulated.
The titles that will be distributed by Imira are BabyRiki (104×5’), a pre-school edutainment series that mixes 3D CGI and Live Action and which launched in July of this year in China on digital platforms ranking in 145 million views in the first 10 weeks; KikoRiki (216×6’30” & 52×11’) which captures the lives of the BabyRiki characters as they grow up, go on adventures and learn valuable life lessons.
Rated no.1 show in Russia for 5-12-year olds, this show has 5 Million kids’ daily viewership and has converted into a huge consumer products label; and thirdly, PinCode an edutainment comedy targeted at Primary school children, which explores the principles of physics, chemistry and biology while taking a bunch of heroes across the globe.
Christine Brendle, FUN Union’s CEO said, “We are thrilled to license our programmes to Imira, and further support their strong leadership position with our award-winning animation. We equally believe in the power of content to educate and entertain and that’s the basis of our partnership. We look forward to further nurturing this alliance and bring high-quality animation to children all around the world.”
Added Imira CEO Sergi Reitg, “We are delighted with this agreement with FUN Union. Not only for the excellent content that the Riki Universe brings but also for the power and professionalism of FUN Union’s team. Riki Universe is a phenomenal success in Russia and China, so we are sure of the success of its distribution in the territories where Imira manages the rights. There is a big demand for quality & premium content, and FUN Union’s series fit this demand perfectly”.
MIPJunior & MIPCOM mark the start of a partnership that will grow into other business areas over the coming months as the two strategically-aligned companies set their sights on an extensive collaboration together with a common goal: focus on globally distributing together high-quality content aimed at all corners of the TV and digital ecosystem to educate, entertain and engage audiences worldwide during their important development phases, building solid global brands.
