Children’s content co Rainbow announced that its new animated series 44 Cats will air across Latin America through the region’s leading pay TV network for preschoolers, Discovery Kids. The feline frolics will begin in 2019, marking Rainbow’s first deal with the broadcaster.
“We are delighted to announce the 44 Cats deal with Discovery Kids,” says Cristiana Buzzelli, SVP Sales, and Acquisitions of Rainbow Group. “It is exciting to be working with this leading kids channel for the first time, and we are very confident they will do a fantastic job in bringing the show to Latin America, where it’s sure to become a favourite of both preschoolers and parents!”
Discovery Kids also has exclusive rights to develop and execute a 44 Cats licensing and merchandising program in Latin America, excluding master toy. The network will therefore work together with the designated master toy licensee to build retail lines across the region.
Exploring themes of friendship and altruism, 44 Cats (52 x 11’) is a CG-animated series following the daily adventures of Lampo, Milady, Pilou and Meatball: four kittens who are part of a musical group named The Buffycats. All of them are homeless and take shelter in a garage, which they transform into the Clubhouse. When they are around humans, they act like cats, but when alone, they behave like humans. And, just like children, they find the world of human adults confusing and full of strange rules. The desire to help others drives many of their adventures. So, while finding creative solutions to everyday difficulties, the cats also deal with other important subjects such as tolerance, diversity and acceptance.
“This new series is a wonderful acquisition for our network, and a great complement to our existing musical programming line-up that includes shows like O Zoo da Zu and Mini Beat Power Rockers,” said Flavio Medeiros, Director of Programming and Acquisitions for Discovery Kids Latin America.
44 Cats is produced in collaboration with Antoniano Bologna. The show’s title was inspired by the famous song “44 Gatti” that won the tenth edition of the international children’ song festival Zecchino d’Oro in 1968, and has since become one of the most popular children’s songs in Italy.
