Kedoo Entertainment taps Charlotte Thorp as EVP & Head of Distribution, Sales & Acquisitions
Skwigly
Charlotte Thorp (image courtesy of DDA)
Kedoo Entertainment, a leading global digital content studio and media network company, has appointed the highly experienced former New Regency, Lionsgate and Entertainment One executive Charlotte Thorp to the newly created position of EVP and Head of Distribution, Sales and Acquisitions. Additionally, as part of Kedoo’s Kids Originals programme – under which the company invests in and produces its own animated titles – two new animated projects are being launched at MIPCOM: Sonya from Toastville (26 x 11’) and Space Dragons (26 x 11’) alongside season five of its hit Netflix family series, Booba (26 x 7′).
In her new role, Thorp is responsible for sourcing and closing deals with broadcast and digital distribution partners for Kedoo’s slate of shows; broadening the company’s pool of digital distribution partners for its FAST channels (Super Toons TV) worldwide; reviewing programming for its FAST and YouTube channels globally and growing the company’s portfolio of product for distribution. Thorp is based in London and reports into Kedoo Entertainment’s COO, Oli Bernard.
Space Dragons (Kedoo Entertainment, image courtesy of DDA)
Prior to joining Kedoo, Thorp was SVP & Head of International Sales for Regency Entertainment UK Ltd (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Revenant, Mr & Mrs Smith), where she started the UK office, built the sales team, formulated the sales strategy and oversaw growth of a global team. She also spearheaded New Regency’s discussions in the AVOD/FAST channel space, as well as overseeing deals to AVOD providers.
Over the course of her career, Thorp has also worked with major media corporations, such as HiT Entertainment (Bob the Builder, Pingu, Barney), MTV Networks (SpongeBob SquarePants), Lionsgate (Orange is the New Black, The Hunger Games), HanWay Films (The Last Emperor, An Education) and Entertainment One (The Walking Dead, Twilight, 12 Years A Slave), where she was instrumental in assisting in raising eOne’s stock exchange share price when she negotiated a ground-breaking multi-million pound output deal with Amazon.
Sonya from Toastville (Kedoo Entertainment, image courtesy of DDA)
The new Kedoo Originals projects include Sonya from Toastville, which is targeted at kids aged 6+ and is set in ‘Toastville’, a town full of absurdity, odd goings-on, paradoxes and joy. The town is home to the Toastians – a bunch of strange but kind eccentrics who come in all kinds of shapes and colours. The CG animated action-adventure series “Space Dragons” is targeted at kids aged 6+ and follows a group of kids who discover a spaceship in their hometown. Inside they find dragons who have returned to earth after millions of years to prevent the human race from being destroyed by their nemeses, who also have ideas about returning to earth. They gift the kids magical powers, so they can help them in their battle.
Booba is a non-dialogue family show created by 3D Sparrow that features the adventures of a joyful, funny and curious little hobgoblin called Booba, who often finds himself in ridiculous but entertaining situations. Since launching in 2016, it has become one of the most watched children’s entertainment shows on streaming platforms, as well as airing with broadcasters in over 45 territories. “Booba” currently has 18 million subscribers and has generated 17.5 billion views to date across the brand’s YouTube channels.
We’ve been curating our Kedoo Kids Originals slate for a number of years and this is now bearing fruit; we’ve now established a robust pipeline of projects which each bring something fresh, unique and joyful. As we ramp up this offering, we’re building out our team to reflect our long-term ambitions in this space – and are excited to add significant firepower to our company as we welcome Charlotte on board. She brings a remarkable track record in driving growth and innovation, alongside a huge amount of passion and expertise, and we can’t wait to see her take our originals business to the next level.
-Oli Bernard (COO, Kedoo Entertainment)
Kedoo is an innovative, forward-thinking and vibrant company with strong IP, and it’s particularly exciting to join the team during this key period of digital and product growth. I’m looking forward to building on the momentum Oli and the team have created so far, and to forging strategies and partnerships to fuel this growth for the long-term.
-Charlotte Thorp
Buyers attending MIPJUNIOR are invited to view Sonya from Toastville, Space Dragons and Booba in the official Screenings Library.