Neon Creation, a leading player in Korea, to distribute children’s show in key Asian market

State-of-the art animation and media company Futurum has announced a major distribution deal for Paddles, its delightful new CGI animated show for four-to-seven-year-olds.

Neon, a leading player in the Korean entertainment market and a specialist in the distribution of premium content, will distribute the 52 x 11 series in this key Asian market.

Not only is Korea an important territory, with a population of over 51 million and a very big children’s entertainment and licensing market, but it has a highly regarded home-grown animated production industry that has brought many successful locally produced or co-produced shows to overseas markets. The support of Neon for Paddles in this highly competitive market is therefore a major vote of confidence in the prospects of this charming, exciting, beautifully designed and very funny new children’s show.

Headquartered in Seoul, Neon has worked with a number of top global brands to deliver quality children’s content and these include broadcasters KBS, Cartoon Network and MBC and international production/distribution companies such as Toonz and Splash.

Paddles tells the story of a polar bear cub accidentally delivered by the Stork to a frozen River Shannon in Ireland – and brought up by a pack of Irish wolfhounds. Through the adventures, mistakes and discoveries of its funny and huggable star, and his friends Bracken, Bridie and Fagan, Paddles shows its young audience that being different is something to be celebrated and enjoyed.

Paddles will be broadcast on Cartoonito UK from the autumn of this year. More broadcast and distribution deals involving Paddles are imminent and will be announced in the coming weeks. A licensing programme for Paddles is already underway; the first licensees are due to be announced soon.

Paddles is the first offering from Futurum, a specialist producer of children’s and family media content targeting the global TV market. Its founding principals include members of the team behind the seven-time Emmy-award-winning children’s series Jakers! as well as senior figures from HIT Entertainment and its global franchises Bob the Builder, Barney and Thomas and Friends.

The creative team behind Paddles has also worked with multi-award-winning titles, including such diverse and highly successful children’s offerings as FiFi and the Flowertots, Roary the Racing Car, Bottersnikes and Gumbles, Octonauts and, of course, Jakers!

Paddles, produced in London, Dublin and Istanbul (with partner Melon), boasts all the invention, endearing characters and high production values that made Jakers! a hit across multiple regions, as well as a very successful licensed property.

Brendan Kelly, Head of Sales at Futurum, says: “The Korean market is one of the most important in Asia and it’s undoubtedly a coup for any European-made animated show to gain a major distribution deal in a market with such a high rate of high-quality home-grown production. We’re thrilled to be working with Neon – an exceptionally well-regarded name – in Korea.”