Aardman secures international sales for Acamar Films’ BING
Skwigly
Acamar Films and its global distribution partner Aardman have signed an impressive number of key international broadcast deals for award-winning preschool series BING, highlighting the universal appeal of the pre-school project.
Bing, Flop and his beloved cast of friends are heading to all four corners of the globe, with the series set to air on Gulli and TiJi in France (part of the Lagadere Group), Clan in Spain, Portugal’s Canal Panda, Norwegian broadcaster NRK, New Zealand’s TVNZ, and HOP in Israel through deals negotiated by Aardman’s Rights and Brand Development division.
The specialist team at Aardman handles distribution across a wide range of key territories on Acamar’s behalf with Acamar Films continuing to handle the countries covered by existing co-productions on BING, well as sales in the USA and Japan.
In addition to these latest deals, BING is also airing on Australia’s ABC, S4C in Wales, Irish broadcaster RTE, SVT in Sweden, and DR in Denmark. The series has also sold across Eastern Europe to Minimax, and will reach Belgian audiences via broadcaster VRT. In total BING will launch in over 40 territories in the next 12 months.
Mikael Shields, CEO of Acamar Films comments: “BING has already become a cherished part of the daily routine for families with young children in the UK and Australia. We’re absolutely delighted with the extraordinary success our colleagues at Aardman have achieved. We couldn’t have wished for better.”
Alison Taylor, Senior Sales Manager at Aardman added: “Witnessing our clients’ reaction when they first watch Bing is inspiring. These deals are testament to the incredible charm and authenticity of this show which clearly strikes a chord for audiences across the globe.”
Produced by independent studio Acamar Films and Dublin-based partners Brown Bag Films, BING has seen extraordinary success since it launched last year. The series has won a Writer’s Guild Award, a BAFTA nomination for best Pre-School Series and has been a ratings hit on CBeebies in the UK and on ABC in Australia.
BING has consistently topped the animation charts with its selection of episodes on the UK’s iTunes store and has had a remarkable 50 million views since launch on the BBC’s iPlayer. The DVDs have sold a chart-topping 90,000 units since launching in May, highlighting the series’ unique appeal and resonance with an ever-growing audience of both pre-school children and the grown-ups in their lives.
BING has been adapted for television from the insightful books by award-winning author and illustrator Ted Dewan. The series has been meticulously developed by a hand-picked team at Acamar in partnership with leading Irish animation studio Brown Bag Films.