By: Ryan Tuchow and Sadhana Bharanidharan
- Mattel is adapting its two-year-old Pictionary game show format for UK viewers, with a 25 x 30-minute localized version of the series produced by Whisper North set to roll out on ITV1 and ITVX later this year. The American original based on Mattel’s popular family board game launched in 2022, and its third season is currently airing in syndication on FOX-owned stations in the US, as well as streaming on Tubi and Pluto TV. Paramount Global Content Distribution manages the format rights and international distribution.
- Qatar’s beIN Media Group has scooped up exclusive rights (pay-TV, SVOD and catch-up SVOD) in the MENA region to a large package of Paramount Global content subtitled in Arabic in a multi-year deal. It includes TV series and films from the PAW Patrol, Transformers and Sonic the Hedgehog franchises that will land on beIN’s pay-TV channels and TOD streaming service (in a Paramount+ branded destination).
- PGS Entertainment has picked up distribution rights to The Scavengers (pictured, 20 x 11 minutes) from Ireland’s Little Moon Animation. Targeting the six-to-12 demo, this CG-animated series set in Ireland in the year 3000 follows a group of friends as they navigate the chaos of future life (and learn some environmental lessons along the way). The sci-fi toon is slated to debut on RTÉjr next month.
- MIAM! Distribution has sold Our Summer of Freedom (six x 26 minutes) to RAI (Italy) and TFO (Canada). Targeting a six-plus audience, this 2D-animated series tells the real-life story of a group of kids in the ’50s working to free one of their brothers from jail after he’s arrested in the wake of an altercation with the police. Paris-based Darjeeling (Yeti Tales) produced the toon, and there’s a companion documentary miniseries (six x five minutes) available that mixes archival live-action footage and animation to explore the communities of Algiers, where the series is set. France Télévisions will premiere a French-language cut of Our Summer of Freedom on October 28, with English and Italian versions set to launch later in Q4.