Hit series BabyRiki to launch in South Korea – FUN Union signs exclusive distribution & licensing partner
Hong Kong, 8th February, 2018 – FUN Union, a global children’s animation content creator & rights owner, and Oosso, a new player in the content distribution of premium kids and family programmes and licensing business for baby goods, household goods, accessories, and F&B, have signed an exclusive distribution & licensing agreement for the series BabyRiki in South Korea.
Oosso will be distributing BabyRiki (104×5’), a preschool edutainment series that mixes 3D CGI and Live Action. BabyRiki launched in China on digital platforms in July 2017, ranking in 320 million views to date and on CCTV Kids in October 2017 with excellent ratings. The series is already a hit in Russia where it launched on YouTube and reached 500 million views in 10 months. BabyRiki series was among the first 100 animation series most watched by buyers at MIP Junior in October 2017.
Oosso, a newly formed company by industry veterans, will be responsible for the distribution of the BabyRiki series and will act as master licensee in the South Korean territory, coordinating and recruiting licensees for the brand, in close coordination with FUN Union.
Christine Brendle, FUN Union CEO comments “We are delighted with this agreement with Oosso. We’re very pleased to be working with such high-calibre professionals at Oosso and also continuing a strong development of our business strategy in a key Asian market such as South Korea”.
Oosso’s Board members are all veterans of the industry, with CEO Jongse Kim having worked at ICONIX and Young Toys in the media marketing and licensing divisions. Vice-president Seong-Min Kim has merchandising experience, having worked for a number of FMCG companies including P&G, and is also the official offline distributor for Hasbro in South Korea via his wholly-owned company Maobee, which has a 30% stake in Oosso. Dae Jin Kim, also a vice-president, was previously with Hyundai Motors, Chosun Hotel and SK in business development and business partnerships, and marketing roles.
Oosso CEO, Jongse Kim adds “We believe BabyRiki will be successful in the Korean market. It has all the qualities kids and parents look for, being educational, entertaining and also very visually appealing. It is a great pleasure for us to join forces with the FUN Union team and create a new buzz in the Korean market”.
Oosso has already inked deals for broadcast of BabyRiki Season 1 on Daekyo Kids TV, Daekyo Baby TV, KT, SK Broadband, LG U+, Kakao Kids as well as iMBC and Junior NAVER.
The deal comes ahead of the Kidscreen Summit in Miami this February where FUN Union will be present.
About FUN Union
FUN Union is an animation content creator and global distributor with a focus on children of preschool and primary school ages. FUN Union’s community of brands is centred on the award-winning Riki Universe, with positive and uplifting cartoons that help develop key life skills, including communication, cooperation, creativity and critical thinking. With a digital ecosystem that leverages technology to gather valuable insights, FUN Union believes in learning from audiences to continually improve market reach and create high quality entertaining content. For more information, visit www.FUNunion.net.
About Oosso
Seoul-based Oosso Inc is a content distributor, brand marketer and licensor of premium kids and family programmes and content for the Korean TV and digital marketplace. The Board members are all veterans of the industry, with CEO Jongse Kim having worked at ICONIX and Young Toys in the media marketing and licensing divisions. Vice-president Seong-Min Kim has worked for a number of FMCG companies including P&G, and is also the official offline distributor for Hasbro in South Korea via his wholly-owned company Maobee, which has a 30% stake in Oosso. Dae Jin Kim, also a vice-president, was previously with Hyundai Motors, Chosun Hotel and SK.
For further information, please contact:
FUN Union Limited
Manuela Burki, Director of Marketing
Tel: +852 36117840
Email: [email protected]
37/F, 41 Heung Yip Road, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong
www.fununion.net
Oosso
Daejin Kim, Vice President, Marketing & Communciations
Tel: +82 10 25086234
Email: [email protected]