ITV Studios Global Entertainment Launches Thunderbirds Are Go Around The Globe
TV sales and licensing agent deals signed across Europe, the Americas and Japan
8th September 2015 – ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) has signed a raft of global TV sales and appointed a host of international
licensing agents for Thunderbirds Are Go, ITV Studios and New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures’ major new reinvention of the iconic children’s series, following its
triumphant debut on ITV and CITV earlier this year.
In France, Thunderbirds Are Go premiered this month on Canal J and the full series will air on Gulli later this year. The French licensing agent is
Nelvana, with Vivid taking the French master toy rights.Thunderbirds Are Go has been acquired by all of the Nordic countries: Sweden’s SVT, Norway’s NRK Super, Denmark’s DR and Finland’s MTV
Juniori, with Alicom appointed as the Nordic licensing agent. The series will broadcast on Ketnet in Flemish Belgium and
ZAPP in the Netherlands, with License Connection appointed as the agent for Benelux and Vivid France and Vivid Holland
acquiring the respective master toy rights. In Turkey, the show will air on Minika TV.
ITVS GE has also signed the first deals in the Americas for the show; Thunderbirds Are Go will launch on Gloob, Globosat’s kids’ channel in Brazil and on Télé-Québec in French-speaking Canada. In Asia, the show
will air on Japanese terrestrial broadcaster NHK, in a deal negotiated by ITVS GE’s Japanese agent, Tohokushinsha, with
the toys distributed by Takara Tomy. Meanwhile, Roadshow has acquired the home entertainment rights in Australia and New
Zealand.
These latest deals follow sales to Australia’s Nine Network, TVNZ in New Zealand, Noga in Israel (with LDI as the agent)
and pan-Arab broadcaster and agent MBC, bringing the total number of international countries airing the series to 40,
with over 45 licensees already on board the consumer products programme globally.
Thunderbirds Are Go premiered on ITV and CITV in the UK in April, 50 years after Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s classic Thunderbirds series first aired. The premiere attracted a consolidated audience of close to three million viewers and CITV has
already ordered a second 26 x 30’ series to air in 2016 and 2017.
Steve Green, EVP Kids’ Content and Distribution at ITV Studios Global Entertainment, said: “The reaction to the launch of Thunderbirds Are Go in the UK, Australia and New Zealand has surpassed all our expectations; fantastic broadcast ratings, a huge amount of
social media buzz, with over two million views on our official YouTube channel and retail support across the board for
Christmas 2015. We’re looking to unlock the full global potential of this powerhouse brand in 2016. As these latest
deals show, international broadcasters, licensing agents and licensees are eager to get a piece of the action, and we’re
working to find the right partners to bring the intrepid Tracy brothers to every corner of the globe!”
The deals were brokered by ITVS GE’s sales team: Toby Melling, VP Sales, Phillip Sequeira, Senior Sales Executive and
Emily Thompson, Sales Executive, all for NW EMEA; Jennifer Ebell, VP Sales for SE EMEA; Craig Bohland, VP Sales for USA
and Canada and Christina Covarrubias, Senior Sales Manager for Latin America.
ENDS