Toronto, Canada – June 20, 2016 – Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Media Group are pleased to announce that production of season five of the hit animated series Wild Kratts is now underway for PBS KIDS in the U.S. and TVO and Knowledge Network in Canada. Wild Kratts continues to grow in popularity. Wild Kratts has one of the largest kids television audiences in the U.S.* The fifth season will include another 20 episodes, taking the total episode count to 138. The new season is expected to premiere on PBS KIDS in 2017.
In addition to the announcement of season five, 9 Story Media Group is pleased to announce that it has secured a raft of new sales for the program around the world. Various seasons have been acquired by RTBF (Belgium), VRT (Belgium), E Junior (UAE and Israel), Noga (Israel), RTE (Ireland), SIC(Portugal), and TVC (Spain).
The series is also under license to Discovery Kids (Latin America, India and Asia), Pop (U.K.), Super RTL (Germany), Minimax (Eastern Europe), DR (Denmark), TV3 (Spain), Canal Panda (Spain), MediaCorp (Singapore), TVB (Hong Kong), Familia Play (Colombia), Canal Futura (Brazil), Minika (Turkey), Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (Middle East), and Go! (Australia). Wild Kratts has tremendous global reach, airing in over 180 countries across 18 different languages.
Wild Kratts premiered on PBS KIDS in the U.S. in 2011 and on TVO, Knowledge Network and Télé-Quebec in Canada. The series was created and developed by real life brothers and zoologists Martin and Chris Kratt, who star in the show as animated versions of themselves. Wild Kratts is a co-production between Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Media Group. Kratt Brothers Company distributes the series and manages licensing for the brand within North America, while 9 Story handles all international distribution and licensing rights.
9 Story Media Group Inc. is a leading content creator, marketer and distributor of kids & family focused intellectual property. Recognized around the world for best-in-class brands such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, Numb Chucks and Peg + Cat, 9 Story represents over 2,150 half hours of animated and live action programming, seen on some of the most respected international channels and platforms. With one of North America’s largest animation studios, 9 Story employs over 275 creative and production staff in its Toronto facility and has produced over 900 half hours of award-winning children’s content. Last year 9 Story acquired the award winning animation studio Brown Bag Films, which employs over 170 staff members across Dublin, Manchester and Los Angeles. Brown Bag is recognized for producing leading animated children’s series such as Octonauts, Doc McStuffins, Bing and Henry Hugglemonster. 9 Story is owned by senior management, ZMC (Zelnick Media Capital) and media entrepreneur Neil Court. www.9story.com
Kratt Brothers Company, founded in 1993, has created and produced over 250 episodes of television, including award-winning series: Kratts’ Creatures, Zoboomafoo, Kratt Brothers: Be the Creature, and Wild Kratts. Through its full service animation studio, Kratt Brothers Company is currently in production on its fifth season of the Emmy®-nominated hit, Wild Kratts. The Kratt Brothers’ national tours draws tens of thousands of creature-crazy kids and their families and the not-for-profit Kratt Brothers Creature Hero Society, together with kids, has successfully protected critical wildlife habitats through the creation of nature reserves. www.krattbrothers.com
*Source: Nielsen, NPOWER, L+7, 4/25/16-5/29/16, M-F 7A-6P P2+ Reach, Child Multi-weekly, PBS & all kids cable series, exclu specials, exclu dur<5min, 75% uni., 6+min.
For further information:
Jennifer Ansley, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, 9 Story Media Group
+1 416 530-9900 ext 230, jennifera@9story.com