The Jim Henson Company (Dinosaur Train, Sid The Science Kid, Doozers), an established leader in family entertainment for over 60 years, has signed multiple new distribution deals for its underwater CGI-animated adventure series, Splash and Bubbles, co-produced with Herschend Studios, and currently airing in the US on PBS Kids.
MBC GROUP, through its kids edutainment channel MBC3, has secured basic cable and satellite rights to Splash and Bubbles in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as worldwide Arabic language rights; Netflix has acquired global streaming rights; Fox Latin American Channel LLP has secured rights for Nat Geo Kids; and POD Worldwide has acquired free TV rights for Thailand. Canadian public broadcasters TVO (Ontario) and Knowledge Network (British Columbia) acquired the broadcast rights to the series earlier this year.
“The Jim Henson Company name is synonymous with quality entertainment, and Splash and Bubbles continues that legacy, meeting the needs of traditional and digital media partners around the world,” commented The Jim Henson Company management consultant Ian Lambur. “Our new clients will introduce Splash and Bubbles and their humorous adventures to kids everywhere, inviting them to explore the teeming life within our ocean, and encouraging them to care for this essential part of the earth we all share.”
Created by John Tartaglia (Imaginocean, Johnny and the Sprites), Splash and Bubbles (80 x 11’) premiered in fall 2016 on PBS Kids, and encourages kids ages four to seven to explore the diversity and spectacle of our natural undersea world.
Developed with an advisory panel of top marine biologists, digital media innovators and preschool educators, Splash and Bubbles is produced using the Emmy Award-winning Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, a proprietary technology from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop that allows puppeteers to perform digitally-animated characters in real-time, enabling the animation to be more lifelike and spontaneous.
The Jim Henson Company oversees all distribution and merchandising for the property; Herschend Enterprises administers all location-based themed entertainment rights, including live-shows. The series is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the National Science Foundation.