TORONTO – Corus Entertainment said Tuesday that it has finalized a long-term agreement with Nickelodeon granting it exclusive rights to all of Nickelodeon's English and French-language content in Canada.
Under the terms of the new licensing deal, Corus is the sole distributor and rights holder of Nickelodeon's catalogue of current content and library titles in Canada. The agreement allows Corus to exploit Nickelodeon's content across linear and non-linear platforms including OTT, SVoD, electronic sell-through, games and mobile apps, and includes rights to both English-language and French-language programming.
Canadian audiences have seen Nickelodeon content on Corus' kids and family networks YTV and Treehouse since 2005, when Corus signed its first output deal with Nickelodeon. Subsequently, in 2009, Corus launched Nickelodeon (Canada) offering Canadians a stand-alone channel dedicated to the Nickelodeon brand and its hit properties that include SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and iCarly, as well as Nick Jr. series Dora and Friends, Team Umizoomi and Bubble Guppies.
"This marks a new phase of our enhanced partnership with Nickelodeon and builds on Corus' 10-year history as a trusted steward for the brand," said Corus’ new president and CEO Doug Murphy, in the news release. "We are excited to leverage Nickelodeon's high quality content in new and innovative ways, giving Corus a competitive edge in this evolving media landscape; while offering Canada's young, savvy digital consumers and their families full access to Nickelodeon's brands."
"We have a well-established track record of success with Corus. We're thrilled to extend and deepen our partnership, which marries the power of our brand and award-winning kids' content with the leading children's media company in Canada," added Pierluigi Gazzolo, president of VIMN Americas and EVP of Nickelodeon International. "Expanding our long-term relationship with additional rights will ensure Canadian kids and families can access our content across all relevant platforms."
