Halifax, NS – 23 September 2015 – Global pre-school favourites the Teletubbies have been heralded by the British government as a shining example of creativity and as a cultural export which spans the ages in their latest international promotional initiative – the GREAT Britain campaign.
The Teletubbies – Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po – appeared at the Milan Expo in Italy and celebrated their latest accolade by touring the various international pavilions giving out their trademark Big Hugs to everyone they met!
Under the glow of the Italian sun, the charismatic four embraced thousands of excited participants from around 50 different nationalities, as they toured pavilions including the USA, Holland, Italy, France and Germany, all of whom will soon welcome the Teletubbies back to their TV screens.
2015 marks the return of the pre-school global phenomenon, nearly twenty years after they first appeared on television screens in 120 countries. The multiple award-winning children’s TV show has been reinvigorated for a modern audience and is set to delight a whole new generation of children around the world.
Steven DeNure, President, DHX Media who have been responsible for the return of the Teletubbies, said “We are incredibly proud to be bringing Teletubbies back to a global audience and delighted that the series is being embraced by so many nationalities and cultures around the world. To be recognised by the GREAT Britain Campaign as a Great British Export is a huge honour and is testament to the huge pulling power of Teletubbies – it’s also extremely timely given their imminent return to UK TV screens.”
The GREAT Britain campaign is the Government’s most ambitious international marketing campaign ever and showcases the very best of what Britain has to offer in order to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the UK. The campaign is active in 144 countries and has already delivered a direct return to the economy of over £1 billion.
Nicola Bolton, Managing Director of UK Trade and Investment, said: “The UK currently has the world’s second largest independent television production sector creating a host of global UK children’s exports including Teletubbies and In the Night Garden.
“It’s great to see the return of this popular household name. Teletubbies is a huge British success and one of many UK iconic children’s programmes shared around the world. It comes from a rich seam of UK creative talent which contributes to the strong reputation of the UK as a creative nation and trading partner. The creative sector makes up around 8% of all UK exports, and also shapes the cultural identity of our country.”
A young child who took part said: “I love the Teletubbies and it was so exciting hugging them and being part of this special event. I can’t wait to tell all my friends that I’ve hugged the Teletubbies!”
Global phenomenon Teletubbies first launched in March 1997 and became one of the most successful international children’s brands of all time. The show has reached more than 1 billion children to date and the original episodes have aired in more than 120 territories in 45 different languages. It was the very first western pre-school property to air on China’s CCTV reaching an audience of 300 million children. Its enduring resonance with children is further underscored by the brand’s postings on YouTube which garner more than 75 million views per month.
Teletubbies will be launching internationally in 2016 following a UK launch on CBeebies later this year, nearly twenty years after they first appeared on television screens in 120 countries. The multiple award-winning children’s TV show has been reinvigorated for a modern audience – being propelled into the 21st Century with visually enriched environments and Touch Screen Tummies – and is set to delight a whole new generation of children around the world.
For more information, please contact:
michael.hickson@premiercomms.com
0207 292 7377/ 07866 661 765
melanie.webb@premiercomms.com
0207 292 7337 / 07730 219 356
ruth.bray@premiercomms.com
0207 292 8348 / 07841 817 652
Photos available from Rex Features
About Teletubbies
Originally created in 1997, Teletubbies is a children’s television series targeted at preschool viewers. In September 2013, DHX Media acquired all rights to Teletubbies through its purchase of Ragdoll Worldwide, a joint venture between Ragdoll Productions and BBC Worldwide that owned, managed and exploited Ragdoll programming.
Multi award-winning, Teletubbies is designed to encourage young children to watch television creatively. Full of fun and exploration, it inspires confidence and curiosity and nurtures childhood development.
About Darrall Macqueen
Darrall Macqueen is a triple Bafta award winning UK indie producing high-quality and innovative children’s and preschool entertainment for major broadcasters around the world. Formed in 2000 by former Disney execs Maddy Darrall and Billy Macqueen, the company has a proven track record of devising and producing long-running children’s properties.
Recent successes include Baby Jake (CBeebies) Pre-school Programme of the Year at the Broadcast Awards 2013 and Best Mixed Media Programme at the British Animation Awards 2014. The Fly High and Huggy flash and mobile games for CBBC and CBeebies (launched April 2014) and CBeebies first Pre-School drama series with a narrative arc Topsy and Tim (60 x 11 minutes), the huge TV and online ratings hit of winter 2013.
About DHX media
DHX Media Ltd. (www.dhxmedia.com), a key player internationally in the creation of content for families and children, is recognized globally for such brands as Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Teletubbies, In the Night Garden, Inspector Gadget, Johnny Test, Slugterra and the multiple award-winning Degrassi franchise. The Company is owner of the Family suite of channels, operated as DHX Television. DHX Media Ltd. markets and distributes its library of more than 11,000 half-hours of entertainment programming worldwide, and licenses its owned properties through its dedicated brand-management and consumer-products business, DHX Brands. DHX Media Ltd.’s full-service international licensing agency, Copyright Promotions Licensing Group Ltd. (CPLG), represents numerous entertainment, sport and design brands. With offices in 15 cities worldwide, including Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Munich, Amsterdam and Beijing, DHX Media Ltd. is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol DHXM, and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols DHX.A and DHX.B.
About UKTI
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government department that helps UK-based companies succeed globally and assists overseas companies to bring investment to the UK. It leads the whole of Government effort to help UK firms win business overseas and rebalance the economy towards export-led sustainable economic growth.
About the GREAT Britain campaign
The GREAT Britain campaign is the Government’s most ambitious international marketing campaign ever and showcases the very best of what Britain has to offer in order to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the UK.
Bringing together the international growth promotion efforts of UK Trade & Investment, VisitBritain, British Council, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a number of other departments, GREAT aims to deliver significant increases in trade, tourism, education and inward investment to support the Government’s prosperity and growth agenda.
The campaign is active in 144 countries and has already delivered a direct return to the economy of over £1 billion.
For more information on the GREAT Britain Campaign, contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Media office on 0207 008 3100, email Newsdesk@FCO.gov.uk, or visit www.greatbritaincampaign.com, Twitter: @GREATBritain