Kids’ audio platform Tonies bolsters pre-school portfolio with Bing and In the Night Garden

The children’s audio story-telling platform, Tonies, has detailed the addition of two high-calibre pre-school IPs to its expanding library of licensed figurines, welcoming Bing and In the Night Garden to its portfolio.

In a new partnership with Acamar Films, Tonies will be bringing the studio’s flagship pre-school property, Bing, to the platform in 2022. Meanwhile, an In the Night Garden Iggle Piggle figurine will join a trio of new launches this month, developed to help children sleep better ahead of World Sleep Day on March 19th.

Designed for children aged three and upwards, the In the Night Garden: A Musical Journey Tonie has a running time of 47 minutes and will follow the CBeebies favourites, Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy, and friends on their adventures through the Night Garden. Its charming and gentle songs and stories will help promote sleep and comfort to little ones.

The Bing Tonie will launch to retailers next year and promises to deliver new audio entertainment to children.

Liz Peters, portfolio manager, Tonies UK, said: “We are so excited to partner with Acamar Films and we love that Bing finds the big stories in the little moments, helping pre-schoolers navigate the everyday challenges they experience.

“Bing is a firm favourite for little ones across the UK and we are sure that Bingsters and Tonie-fans alike are going to love this addition to our stellar roster.”

Natalie Harvey, executive director of sales, Acamar Films, added: “Collaborating with Tonies is a fantastic opportunity for more pre-schoolers to engage with Bing stories in an innovative way.

“The importance the Toniebox places on storytelling, language development and imaginative play is in perfect alignment with Bing and we are delighted to be a part of their ongoing success story, delivering audio experiences children will love.”

WildBrain CPLG readies a raft of new UK partners for In the Night Garden

WildBrain CPLG has signed a raft of new UK toy partners for the popular pre-school property, In the Night Garden, including 8th Wonder, Paul Lamond Games, TOMY, Grabo Balloons and the children’s audio platform, Toniebox.

The latest slate of partners join the current product portfolio as WildBrain CPLG continues to focus on driving “even more exciting initiatives across our integrated platform of content, distribution and consumer products.”

Under the newest developments for the hit pre-school brand, 8th Wonder will develop and launch an In the Night Garden themed plush chair and range of wooden toys, while Paul Lamond Games will develop a new line of games and puzzles for pre-schoolers. Meanwhile, TOMY will apply the license to its hit Aquadoodle mats, and Grabo Balloons will launch new foil balloons.

Completing the line-up, Boxine, the firm behind the Toniebox, has signed for an Iggle Piggle figurine to be used on the audio platform. The launch will provide In the Night Garden audio content, including a narrated story and music.

WildBrain’s premium kids and family AVOD network and studio, WildBrain Spark, also manages In the Night Garden on AVOD platforms including YouTube and YouTube Kids, where it has achieved an average of 15 million monthly views this year.

The brand’s channels now have over 635,000 global subscribers, and episodes are currently available in English, Polish, Arabic, Swedish, Spanish, Norwegian, and Italian. The original In the Night Garden series is also an established fixture in CBeebies’ bedtime schedule, where characters Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka and their friends are an integral part of the sleep time routines for many families.

Emily French Ullah, licensing director hardlines at WildBrain CPLG, said: “In the Night Garden remains front of mind with pre-schoolers and parents alike, as demonstrated by the continued positive response from licensees and retailers, and the strong broadcast and AVOD viewership.

“We’re delighted to welcome these wonderful new partners to the UK licensee base and look forward to seeing young fans across the UK enjoy this engaging array of new products.”

Michael Riley, chief brands officer for WildBrain, said: “In the Night Garden has an eternal quality that continues to resonate with families worldwide, and these new licensees signed by WildBrain CPLG will provide UK fans with more opportunities to celebrate their love of the brand offscreen.

“In the Night Garden is a key preschool property for WildBrain, and we are highly focused on driving even more exciting initiatives across our integrated platform of content, distribution and consumer products that are sure to keep parents and young children engaged and entertained for years to come.”

WildBrain Spark is bringing Teletubbies and In the Night Garden to AR through ANIPEN partnership

WildBrain Spark, the digital media division of WildBrain, is making its first foray into augmented reality by teaming up with the South Korean AR specialist ANIPEN to bring characters from Teletubbies, In the Night Garden and Boy & Dragon to the medium.

Under the new partnership, the popular children’s characters, including a cast of those from the original WildBrain Spark  show Boy & Dragon, will be brought to life through ANIPEN’s AR technology made available within the company’s AnibeaR app.

Through the app, users will be able to create short videos which will incorporate the characters in real-world scenes shot on their phones. These videos can then be shared via social media. The project is currently in development and the characters are due to launch on AnibeaR in Korea, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and Australia later this year.

Jon Gisby, managing director of WildBrain Spark, said: “This is a ground-breaking project for WildBrain Spark as we use immersive technology to allow kids and families to create their own stories with our globally recognised characters.

“We are excited about the possibilities of AR and look forward to bringing our favourite characters to life through ANIPEN’s unrivalled technology.”

Jaewoong Jeon, CEO of ANIPEN, added: “We are committed to bringing next-generation augmented reality content that provides bold new experiences for users, such as interactive AR technology that combines our technical expertise with the family characters audiences know and love.

“With a portfolio of popular and internationally successful brands such as Teletubbies, In the Night Garden and Boy & Dragon, we’re very excited to be teaming up with WildBrain Spark and to take their characters into the world of AR.”

Based in South Korea, ANIPEN Inc. is an augmented reality startup that was founded in 2013 and developed an interactive augmented reality content-authoring engine to help global companies at home and abroad in technology and content. The AnibeaR app was developed and serviced in-house at ANIPEN and was also selected as the Best of AR in Google Play in 2019.

WildBrain Spark supports Turn on the Subtitles campaign with dedicated YouTube channel for kids’ literacy

WildBrain Spark has launched a new dedicated channel of subtitled premium content for kids on its YouTube network in support of the Turn on the Subtitles literacy campaign.

The initiative is part of a move to improve children’s literacy by meeting them where they spend their downtime. The TOTS initiative was set up by Oli Barrett MBE and Henry Warren and is now supported by over 30 government, business, charity and academic leaders.

It highlights the substantial benefits of Same Language Subtitling, which allows audiences to hear and read the same language, word for word, in real time. Research from academics in countries the world over has shown that turning on subtitles for children’s content improves their literacy significantly, particularly for kids between the ages of six and ten.

Jon Gisby, EVP and managing director at WildBrain Spark, said: “We knew we wanted to support this valuable initiative from its inception and have now launched a dedicated 100 per cent subtitled WildBrain Literacy for Kids channel. TOTS has a simple message backed by compelling research and the benefits are significant and important, as well as aligning completely with our values. With kids spending so much time at home viewing content, and parents seeking to support home-learning, this initiative is also incredibly timely.”

Oli Barrett MBE, co-founder, TOTS added: “Alongside the support of parents and teachers, we believe that responsible businesses have a potential role to play in improving the literacy of young people around the world. The leadership shown by WildBrain Spark is hugely appreciated and we hope that others will be inspired by their example.”

WildBrain Spark’s Literacy for Kids channel features popular episodes from its library of premium kids’ shows, including Yo Gabba Gabba, In the Night Garden, and Rev & Roll. New episodes will be published weekly and are available globally in English with the channel promoted across the WildBrain Spark network.

Please visit the WildBrain Spark Literacy for Kids channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY7Vk5LSArbJxETGQL6eMbw