Entertainment One’s Ricky Zoom to launch on CCTV-14 in China

Entertainment One’s hit pre-school animation, Ricky Zoom is gearing up to launch on CCTV-14 starting from March 23rd this year, following a successful kickstart to its broadcast campaign across China.

The series made its debut in mainland China in June last year where it got off to a strong start with audiences.

Hot in pursuit, a second season of Ricky Zoom has already gone into production, with a first batch of episodes due for delivery from November, 2020.

The series has reportedly achieved outstanding ratings in multiple markets at home and abroad. In China, the arrival of Ricky Zoom on Youku garnered more than 100 million views in the first 12 days. According to the Children’s Animation Series 2019 Webcast Data Report provided by Children’s Content Observation, Ricky Zoom is listed in second place in the high heat index that ranks new foreign animations in 2019 on Youku, exceeded only by Peppa Pig Season 7.

In international markets, the animation is listed as number one on Nick Jr. – a commercial kids’ channel in the UK and is also top on the Clan channel in Spain. From their weekend line up, Ricky Zoom is a top three show on Treehouse in Canada, and consistently outperforms channel averages on RAI in Italy, as well as across the LATAM region.

“We are so proud of Ricky Zoom and its success to date. It is premium original content produced by the very best talent and our strong roster of international broadcasters has super-charged the series to a high level of awareness around the world,” said eOne’s Olivier Dumont, president, Family and Brands.

“We are very excited for the potential to explore even more ground in the second season. There are so many more stories to tell that will deepen the connection between the characters and our audience, and we look forward to bringing them all-new adventures.”

Entertainment One is currently working with global master toy partner TOMY to present the launch of Ricky Zoom toys, including a series of six key products based on Ricky and his Bike Buddies. The collection will roll out in multiple territories and markets.

To meet consumer demand on the heels of the new toy releases, eOne will present a wealth of additional licensed merchandise in 2020 and 2021, including books, puzzles and games, arts and crafts, apparel and accessories.

Masha and the Bear to make debut on China Central Television

Masha and the Bear is to make its debut on the Chinese broadcasting network, China Central Television, thanks to a new deal secured by the multination media and licensing firm, Animaccord.

From today (March 12) seasons one and two of the animated show will be released on the CCTV’s own children’s channel, CCTV14. The TV premiere in China follows the series’ earlier launch this year on one of the country’s most popular video streaming platforms, Xigua Video.

Animaccord is an International Licensing Company and studio, which specialises in worldwide distribution of content, consumer products rights and brand management. It has become globally recognised for its worldwide hit animated family property, Masha and the Bear.

The series itself has been included in the top five favourite kids’ brands in Europe and Latin America, and the first Russian animation project to have hit 10 million views on YouTube.

In 2019, the episode Recipe for Disaster was included in the Guinness World Records as the most watched cartoon on YouTube.