Things are rough for the Canadian kids sector right now, so Blue Ant Media’s acquisition of Thunderbird Entertainment to become one mighty studio sounds like a recipe for success. That’s probably why Kidscreen‘s readers overwhelmingly said these two studios won the week—and a Gold Star!

Here’s what we said on Friday:

GOLD STAR WINNER – Blue Ant Media and Thunderbird Entertainment: OK, we’ll admit it, we did not see this one coming! Blue Ant Media is set to acquire Thunderbird Entertainment, parentco of Atomic Cartoons, and create a major Canadian kids studio. The US$63 million deal, if it goes through, would bring Blue Ant’s live-action-heavy kids and teens library together with Atomic’s animated titles and big-deal contracts under one powerhouse roof. Set to close next year, the deal will also put Jennifer Twiner McCarron, Thunderbird’s CEO, in charge of a combined kids, YA and animation business under Blue Ant. This’ll really shake up Canada’s kids landscape—at a time when the country probably needs the win.

And here’s a look at the achievements of our Gold Star runners-up, who also had a great week: 

The LEGO Group: LEGO bricks might not be all that aerodynamic, but that isn’t stopping the Danish toyco from fielding its own vehicle in the F1 Academy racing league next year. Expanding on its initial deal with Formula One last year, this time the partners are joining forces for a girl-powered expansion to get more girls interested in motorsports. Early research says 75% of girls worldwide think racing sounds exciting—well, now’s time to convert them into enthusiasts.

Ludo Studio: It’s a big week for Aussies (more on that in a minute), with Ludo Studio taking home the Best Kids Animation award at the International Emmys for its preschool phenom Bluey. Cheese and crackers! The blue heeler pup sadly didn’t have time in her schedule to accept the award, since she was too busy locking down a new deal with broadcaster S4C to get Blŵi on the air in Welsh for the very first time.

Nurture: Looks like the nurture vs. nature question has a clear answer: Edtech platform Nurture wins, especially when it can attract a brand as big as Care Bears to launch new videos and games in its growing app. This latest deal comes just a month after it brought Crayola into the platform. Perhaps it can nurture more partnerships, and share the secret about how it’s attracting these big brands… after all, as its new partner Cloudco knows well, sharing is caring.

Screen Producers Australia: The trade association from Down Under has a few reasons to pop the champagne this week. First up, its long battle to get streaming quotas has a happy ending, with the government finally passing long-awaited legislation to require big streamers like Netflix and Disney to contribute to Australian content. And Australia’s producers can raise another glass, since they might be seeing more commissions, after ABC Australia got a surprise US$32 million from the government to spend on kids, drama and local programming. Goon on ya, Australia!

Check back on Friday for our next batch of nominees. Hope to see you on the list!