Armed with licensed WildBrain and Boat Rocker content, new streamer HopscotchTV is looking to build a kids & family audience by tapping into nostalgia. 

Available in the US, the platform has so far picked up rights to around 10 well-known ’80s and ’90s animated series from WildBrain, including Inspector Gadget, The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Strawberry Shortcake (pictured), Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario World. And its deal with Boat Rocker adds similarly retro titles Danger Mouse and The Wind in the Willows. 

HopscotchTV launched earlier this month and is available online, as well as via iOS and the Google Play Store, for US$4.99 per month or US$49.99 per year. 

Ross Greenberg (a former SVP of content at production company All3Media America) and Dave Harvilicz (an ex-VP of business operations at NBCUniversal and current member of the US Department of Homeland Security) say they created the streamer to fill a gap they saw in the market for safe, high-quality content for kids. They run HopscotchTV under their KidsTV shingle. 

For WildBrain, being one of the platform’s first content partners is a way to give a new life to back-catalogue titles, says global sales and acquisitions VP Katie Wilson. “This collaboration allows us to share cherished classics like Strawberry Shortcake and Inspector Gadget with new audiences, while supporting HopscotchTV’s vision of creating a trusted and joyful viewing experience for families.”