9 Story Entertainment Announces New 'Almost Naked Animals' Licensees
Toronto, CANADA � December 15, 2011 - 9 Story Entertainment announces several additional licensees joining the Almost Naked Animals licensed merchandise program:
- Basic Fun: Global rights for non-talking plush, electronic handheld games, balls and key chains
- Underground Toys: North American and UK rights for talking plush with or without clips
- Mad Dog Concepts: US rights for sleepwear
- JCP Live: US rights for character mascots live events
- Character Options: Expanded UK rights into a global deal for their Character Building line of mini-figurines and playsets
The toy licensees will be debuting their prototypes at the upcoming Hong Kong, London, Nuremberg and New York Toy Fairs with a target launch at retail of Fall 2012. The Licensing Shop Inc. manages the brand worldwide.
"We are delighted to have these top-tier licensees working on the Almost Naked Animals merchandise program," said Natalie Osborne, EVP Business Development, 9 Story Entertainment.
Almost Naked Animals, produced and distributed by 9 Story, launched on YTV Canada in January, on CiTV in April and ABC Australia in May. The series had its US premiere on Cartoon Network in June, and was quickly picked as one of People Magazine's top children's shows to watch. As momentum in the English-language territories continues to build, the series also recently launched on Canal+ France, Disney Channel in Italy and Latin America, NPO in the Netherlands and Super RTL Germany. In November, the series rose to become the #1 series on CiTV.
9 Story Entertainment is one of the industry's leading creators, producers and distributors of award-winning animated and live-action content for young audiences around the world. With an animation studio based in Toronto, 9 Story has over 200 creative and production staff, and has produced over 400 half hours of quality children's and family programming, seen on some of the most respected children's channels around the world across multiple platforms. The company's distribution arm 9 Story Enterprises represents a growing catalogue which includes several beloved brands such as Peep and the Big Wide World, Wibbly Pig, Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars and Wild Kratts in addition to popular new series such as Almost Naked Animals and Survive This. Their much-anticipated new shows include the delightful Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. http://www.9story.com
