Quebec City-based independent kids content producer Epic Storyworlds announced Monday it has signed a deal with on-demand streaming platform TV5Monde+ for its Quebec-made children’s animated series Guiby the Super Baby.
Based on the Quebec comic book created by Samuel Parent and commissioned by and produced in collaboration with Télé-Québec, Guiby the Super Baby (30 episodes x seven minutes) is aimed at six- to nine-year-olds and follows the adventures of a fearless child who confronts monsters that haunt children in the darkness of night. In addition to airing on Télé-Québec, the series has also previously launched on the Télé-Québec jeunesse and Epic Story Kids YouTube channels as well as the gaming platform Roblox.
The agreement with TV5Monde+ will bring the series to more than 60 million screens across the French-speaking world in 160 territories, spanning Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East, the United States and Latin America, according to a press release from Epic Storyworlds.
“We’re thrilled to be launching Guiby out into the world with such a strong partner in TV5MONDE+,” said Steve Couture, president and executive producer of Epic Storyworlds, which was co-founded by Couture and fellow veteran children’s entertainment executive Ken Faier and is a partner company to Faier’s Toronto-based Epic Story Media.
“Guiby was born in Quebec, but the story of a courageous three-and-a-half-year-old who turns his fear into a superpower will resonate with children everywhere,” Couture said in the company’s press release. “At Epic Storyworlds, we believe that stories from Quebec have the potential to shine well beyond our borders — our stories for young audiences combine universally relatable themes with a distinctively Québécois flavour. We know that Guiby and his adventures will captivate young Francophone viewers around the world, and encourage them to discover the strength that can be found in facing their fears.”
Jessica Labi, head of distribution and brand strategy at Epic Story Media, said: “We are thrilled to work with TV5MONDE+ and introduce Guiby The Super Baby to the global market. Guiby delivers what kids want to watch: action-packed adventures, heroic characters and thrilling battles against monsters.”
Since the series launched on Roblox, it has reached more than 455,000 plays, totalling more than 38,000 hours of play time, and has acquired 24,000 subscribers on its new YouTube channel on which English-language episodes launched last week, Epic Storyworlds said in its press release.
Image of Guiby the Super Baby courtesy of Epic Storyworlds
