TORONTO — Canadian family entertainment company Portfolio Entertainment announced today it has made a number of international deals across its slate of kids and family series with channels in Latin America, Portugal, Russia and Hong Kong.
Portfolio has secured its first sale of its new half-hour family Christmas special Where Oliver Fits: A Christmas Eve Tale and series of Where Oliver Fits shorts (pictured above, 9 episodes x 2.5 minutes) to Discovery Kids Latin America.
“We can’t wait for kids around the world to meet Oliver,” said Donnie MacIntyre, Portfolio’s vice-president of sales and business development, in a press release.
“His adventurous spirit and can-do attitude as he searches for his place in the world will provide young audiences with all the excitement and entertainment they are looking for this holiday season.”
Produced in partnership with the Canada Media Fund-Shaw Rocket Fund (CMF-SRF) Kids Digital Animated Series Program and Corus Entertainment’s Treehouse TV, Portfolio’s Where Oliver Fits Christmas special and accompanying series of shorts are based on Canadian author Cale Atkinson’s children’s book of the same name.
“The heartfelt animated comedy special and series explore the challenges of not knowing where you fit in with your friends, and how to be yourself,” reads a description in the press release.
In another deal, Portfolio sold its action-packed animated series Hero Elementary (40 episodes x 30 minutes) to the SIC network in Portugal and CTC channel in Russia. Produced by Portfolio and Twin Cities PBS for PBS Kids, Hero Elementary is a fun-filled, education-driven series aimed at kids aged 4-7.
Russia’s CTC has also renewed its commitment for seasons one, two and three of the 2D animated series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! (160 episodes x 11 minutes) and for seasons one and two of the live action preschool series Do You Know? (50 episodes x 15 minutes), as well as signing a new deal for season four (25 episodes x 15 minutes), according to Portfolio’s press release.
In addition, Portfolio has secured a deal with TVB in Hong Kong for season five of Do You Know? (18 episodes x 15 minutes).
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! is produced by Portfolio and Collingwood O’Hare Productions, in association with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Random House Children’s Entertainment, Treehouse and PBS Kids. The series has been sold to broadcasters and digital platforms in more than 170 markets worldwide.
The edutainment series Do You Know? is produced by 7 Wonder and features YouTube sensation and technology vlogger Maddie Moate. Aimed at kids aged 4-7, the series “answers some of the world’s most pressing questions and explores everyday objects and familiar places in a kid friendly way, while parents also pick up some intriguing watercooler facts,” the press release says.
Image supplied by Portfolio Entertainment.
