Genius Brands Network, the company behind on-demand kids’ programming like Baby Genius and Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, is now available in more than 80 million households after securing over-the-top and video on demand carriage deals with Cox Communications and OTT providers Tubi and XUMO, the company said Tuesday.
Genius Brands Network includes Kid Genius Cartoon Channel and Baby Genius TV and is distributed across multiple over-the-top (OTT) platforms as both ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) and subscriber video-on-demand (SVOD) services. The addition of the Genius Brands Network channels on Cox (AVOD and SVOD), Tubi (AVOD), and XUMO (AVOD) round out a growing distribution roster that includes Amazon Prime, Comcast’s Xfinity on Demand, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and YouTube.
“2018 is shaping up to be a momentous year for Genius Brands as we further cultivate our brands, like Llama Llama and Rainbow Rangers; bolster our animation catalogue; generate merchandising and advertising revenue; and drive distribution and viewership gains,” said Genius Brands chair and CEO Andy Heyward in a statement. “We expect the second half to be pivotal as we see one of our top pre-school brands come to life on Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr.; raise production financing for the second season of our Netflix series; watch our exclusive Kid Genius Cartoons Plus subscription channel flourish on Amazon Prime; and embark on a profitable journey – all with the greater overarching vision of making Genius Brands a formidable, competitive force in children’s entertainment.”
Kid Genius is aimed at kids to tweens, and exposes them to new and intriguing subjects that stimulate their senses and expand their minds. Baby Genius targets toddlers to preschoolers with educational lessons that ignite their imagination and encourage natural development and combines popular children’s TV library content, such as The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Inspector Gadget (classic) and Dino Squad, with Genius Brands originals, like Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club, Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab and Baby Genius.
Other 2018 distribution and content licensing highlights include:
- In Q3, Jr. Mojo, the kids channel from YouTube powerhouse – Watch Mojo, will provide its original content to the Genius Brands Network, making it the only place to view this content outside of Jr. Mojo’s YouTube channel. Genius Brands Network shows, including Baby Genius, Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab and Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club will, in turn, be available for Jr.Mojo viewers on YouTube.
- Effective Q3, Samsung’s Samsung Kids, an all-in-one subscription service featuring movies, TV shows, games, and books for children 3 to 8 years old, has added Genius Brands’ Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club; Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab; and Martha Stewart’s animated series Martha & Friends to its stable of programming.
- Cheddar, the digital streaming business network, debuted Genius Brands’ animated children’s series, Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club, on June 23. Created with and starring an animated Warren Buffett, the series features a group of kids who join him on business adventures and features the guest talents of Bill Gates, Jay-Z, Shaquille O’Neal, Nick Cannon, Gisele Bündchen and Kelly Rowland.
