Kidscreen

Disney’s Where’s My Water heads into merchandising

Following in the footsteps of Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Cut the Rope, Disney's hit app Where's My Water is expanding into merchandising after only seven months since its debut on the Apple App Store.

Joshism

When my friend Cathy Chilco, my boss on the Israeli-Palestinian version of Sesame Street in the late 90's, gives me a book, I read it. When I was in Vancouver last week, she gave me a book by the Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön called Comfortable With Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion. Though I don't expect that I'll be converting to Buddhism anytime soon, the book was very interesting. I even found many parallels between the suffering that is at the heart of all Buddhist teachings and the suffering that is at the heart of being an independent kids' TV producer.

Kids prefer free gaming apps to other mobile content

Looking at the mobile app habits and preferences of kids ages two to 14, The NPD Group's new study, Kids and Apps: A New Era of Play, has revealed that gaming apps are the most popular and the majority (88%) of apps kids have access to are acquired for free.

Kidscreened

Cookie Jar named licensing agent/distributor for Scan2Go

Tokyo-based animation producer and distributor d-rights and Dubai, UAE-based toyco NewBoy have appointed Cookie Jar Group as the exclusive TV distributor for North and South America and licensing agent for North America for its hit space adventure, car-racing animated series Scan2Go (52 x 30 minutes).

Discovery Kids Latin America makes Pocoyo renewal/pick up

The third season of Zinkia Entertainment's s hit animated preschool series Pocoyo, titled Let's Go Pocoyo, has been acquired by Discovery Kids Latin America for its pan regional cable platform, and the kids cablenet also renewed Pocoyo seasons one and two.

Joan Grasso joins eOne Family as VP, licensing North America

Entertainment One Family has named Joan Grasso as VP of licensing for North America and will head up the August US merchandising launch of hit preschool IP Peppa Pig.

Ratings Watch Global

This week, EurodataTV has provided us with the ratings for the top-five program broadcasts with kids two to 11 in the US between March 5 and April 1, 2012.

Kidscreened

Olly the Little White Van gets an app

In a move that expands the brand into the digital space, UK-based indie prodco Ideas at Work has launched a free app for iPhone and iPad devices based on its animated preschool series Olly the Little White Van.