Belfast-based Sixteen South has locked in nine new pre-sales for its upcoming preschool series Odo.

The company’s distribution arm Sixteen South Rights has locked in deals with Canal+ (France), ABC (Australia), TVO Kids (Canada), RTE (Ireland), Mini Mini (Poland), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), S4C (Wales) and VRT Ketnet (Belgium).

Odo has already been picked up by Channel 5’s Milkshake! (UK) and KiKA (Germany), and will premiere on those networks in the summer. The 52 x seven-minute 2D-animated series, currently in production, follows the adventures of the smallest owl at the Forest Camp who teaches young children about self-efficacy.

First pitched at Cartoon Forum in 2018, Odo is co-produced by Sixteen South and Warsaw-based animation studio Letko, with funding from the UK’s Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), NI Screen and the Polish Film Institute. Sixteen South’s Colin Williams, Letko’s Jakub Karwowski, KiKA’s Sebastian Debertin and Louise Bucknole from Milkshake! are all exec producers on the series.

Last year, Sixteen South split itself into three independent units—Sixteen South Rights; Sixteen South Originals, focused on development; and Sixteen South Studios, which does service work in addition to the company’s own 2D animation.