Comcast ages up its kids VOD service with Corus-powered Vortex

Corus Entertainment and Comcast have teamed up to launch a brand-new video-on-demand service for kids ages six to 12 this month. Vortex on Demand, offered free to subscribers as part of the Comcast On Demand Kids & Teens menu, will be programmed and refreshed on a monthly basis by Corus subsidiary Nelvana. The multi-year deal means Comcast will have access to 393 half hours of programming from the animation studio’s catalogue, including Jacob Two-Two, My Dad the Rock Star, Pippi Longstocking and Flying Rhino Junior High. This is the second large-scale VOD venture for kids that Comcast has embarked on recently, the first being Sprout, its joint-venture preschool service with HIT Entertainment and PBS.

Nick takes Trollz for a whirl around the world

DIC Entertainment’s Trollz will soon be casting spells further abroad, thanks to a far-reaching broadcast deal with Nickelodeon International. The net has picked up exclusive cable, satellite and pay-TV rights to air the 27 x half-hour series in a whopping 69 territories. The comedy-adventure toon for tween girls is set to bow in the fall and has already been picked up by a number of terrestrial broadcasters, including TF1 in France and CBBC in the U.K.