London, Thursday 20th October 9:00 (BST) 2016: Sony Pictures Television Networks has today announced it has taken a minority stake in Hopster, a leading global pre-school SVOD platform, becoming a strategic equity investor and taking a seat on the company’s Board.
The investment complements SPT Networks’ growing kid’s portfolio, particularly in the UK, where SPT Networks’ linear and AVOD services include POP, Tiny Pop and Kix,which make up the largest share of the commercial kids Freeview market in the territory.
Launched in December 2013 by Nick Walters, Hopster helps kids learn through the shows they love, striking the balance between learning and fun. Since launching, the platform has seen exceptional growth and is now available in over 100 countries worldwide, as well as making its debut on Apple TV last year. Hopster is ranked as the #1 grossing pre-school kids’ app in 24 countries, housing a line-up of hit local shows including Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton and DHX Media’s Monster Math Squad and Franny’s Feet.
Hopster’s investment round, which was led by SPT Networks in association with largest existing investor Sandbox Partners, will see the company continue to expand its operations and fuel further investments in content and marketing.
Kate Marsh, Executive Vice president, Western Europe, International Networks, said: “With our POP, Tiny Pop and Kix channels, Sony is one of the top kids broadcasters in the UK. Investing in Hopster offers us an advantage in the fast-growing subscription kids’ space, and is a real opportunity to increase our on-demand services, working with the Hopster team to grow digital scale alongside our linear channels.”
Nick Walters, CEO and founder, Hopster, said of the announcement: “We are very excited to have Sony Networks on board and believe that this strategic investment will enable us to take Hopster to the next level. Our vision is to build an end-to-end kids player and Sony’s global reach, existing kids portfolio, and technology presence makes them the perfect partner. We hope that together we can build on the success of our revolutionary new Apple TV app and recent US launch and establish Hopster as the world’s leading non-linear preschool kids player.”
Bhav Singh, Founder and CEO at Sandbox Partners said, “Hopster was our first investment and we’ve seen the business go from strength to strength since 2014. We’re delighted to follow on alongside SPT Networks in this new round, and look forward to seeing the next chapter in Hopster’s mission to help kids all over the world learn through the content they love.”
For all media enquiries, please contact:
DDA (for Sony Pictures Television):  0207 962 9800 / anna.dack@ddapr.com / sony@ddapr.com Sony Pictures Entertainment, Corporate Communications: spe_press@spe.sony.com
 
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About Sony Pictures Television Networks
Sony Pictures Television Networks operates branded entertainment channels reaching over one billion households around the world. Based in Culver City, Amsterdam, Budapest, London, Madrid, Miami, Milan, Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, Singapore and Tokyo, Sony’s linear and digital networks offer high quality film and television content from Sony Pictures and third-parties, as well as original content commissioned globally and locally. Sony Pictures Television Networks is a division of Sony Pictures Television Inc., a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.
About Hopster – www.hopster.tv
Hopster is a beautifully designed app for the under-sixes, aiming to strike the perfect balance between learning and fun. For one low monthly subscription with no long tie-ins, Hopster subscribers get access to all the best kids shows and songs made even better with academically-vetted learning games on all their favourite devices. Over a million parents worldwide have now used the award- winning, safe, and ad-free app to keep their kids entertained and stimulated.
Hopster is backed by Sandbox Partners, Angel CoFund and private investors including Davina McCall.
For more information on Hopster contact:
Agnes Lesti: agnes@hopster.tv +44 7587 181383
About Sandbox Partners
Sandbox Partners (SBX) is committed to creating an ecosystem of complementary products and services designed to educate, entertain and prepare children for the future. The curated ecosystem supports the new learning landscape, it contains a suite of education 2.0 platforms, brands and personalised content for children, millennial parents and teachers.
SBX’s executive team of highly skilled scale and domain specialists provide support to the group’s brand portfolio. SBX brands reach 20 million children, teachers and parents each month, and include: Hopster, Poptropica, Funbrain, SuperAwesome, Info Please, Fact Monster, Teacher Vision and Family Education.
Find out more about how Sandbox is changing the way the world works, plays and learns here www.Sandboxandco.com
For more information on Sandbox Partners (SBX) contact:
Shereene Witter: Shereene@franklinrae.com +44 203 011 1023