£3.1m payday for Tweenies creators
The Tweenies today earned £3.1m (€4.5m) for their creators after the owner of Postman Pat and Basil Brush went on the acquisition trail again.
Entertainment Rights bought Tell-Tale Productions from its four directors, whose show featuring characters Fizz, Jake, Bella and Milo has been broadcast in more than 60 countries.
Earlier this year, the London-based company gained control of the rights to He-Man, She-Ra and Ghostbusters when it bought the Filmation library of cartoons from greetings card giant Hallmark.
Entertainment Rights said the enlarged group would benefit from the “prolific” creative talents of founders Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton, who are to head its creative division.
Fellow directors Karl Woolley and Helen Cadwallader will also share the £3.1m (€4.5m) windfall. So far the group has earned more than £12m (€17.6m) in royalties from The Tweenies.
Entertainment Rights chief executive Mike Heap said the combined company would be a “formidable force in the worldwide kids market”.
He also said the group was in the advanced stages of planning The Tweenies’ first film, which is expected to be released some time between 2005 and 2006.
The Tweenies was created in 1999 and is shown on the BBC in the UK and Nickelodeon and Noggin in the US. The show has sold more than three million videos in the UK alone.
Tell-Tale is also the creator and producer of BBC-commissioned series Boo!.
Entertainment Rights made today’s announcement as it posted underlying half year profits of £400,000 (€587,000), against losses of £200,000 (€293,400) last time.
