Acamar Films and HarperCollins Children’s Books have renewed their publishing agreement for the animated TV show Bing until 2027.
Acamar Films is the producer and distributor of the multi-award-winning pre-school animation Bing. HarperCollins Children’s Books retains the rights to publish Bing TV tie-in picture books, novelty books, soft learning books, colouring, sticker and activity books in Europe and a selection of other territories until 2027.
Heather Crossley, director of publishing at Acamar Films, said: “HarperCollins Children’s Books are experts when it comes to publishing and are committed, as are we, to producing the best experiences and products for young children. This renewal means that we can work together to create new titles and formats for Bing, which continue to delight children while supporting their sense of curiosity and encouraging a lifelong love of reading.”
Juliet Matthews, publisher at HarperCollins Children’s Books, added: “After a decade of partnership with Acamar, Bing remains a firm favourite for our team and so we are delighted to be publishing him for another four years. Stories reflecting the world of a pre-schooler are at the heart of every book we create, and we have exciting plans to expand our range of publishing with new and engaging formats that will continue to entertain fans of Bing everywhere.”
HarperCollins Children’s Books has been the master publishing partner of Bing since 2014. During the ten-year partnership with Acamar Films, over 5.4m Bing books have been sold worldwide. The single sound board book Rainybow Song, published in 2020, has sold nearly 100,000 copies in the UK home market alone. In 2020, HarperCollins Children’s Books and Acamar produced Bing’s Splashy Story, specifically for World Book Day. During the promotional period of World Book Day, over 15m £1 national book tokens featuring Bing as a selected title, were distributed in the UK and Ireland. The most recent Bing book, Shake Ding Bang!, a five-button sound book, was published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in September 2023.
Upcoming Bing book releases in 2024 include the picture books ATCHOO!, Ice Cream Surprise, The Leaf Hunt and Brush with Bing, a shaped board book that encourages young children to brush their teeth, as well as Let’s Colour!, a sticker colouring book developed for a key supermarket partner. 2024 will also see Acamar Films and HarperCollins Children’s Books work together on a series of titles to support children as they grow their emotional and social skills.
