Amazon made a deal with Moonbug entertainment, a major producer and distributor of children’s digital programming to deliver content for Amazon children Plus.
The first joint project focuses on an original production of “Arpo Robot Babysitter”, based on Moonbug’s YouTube show Arpo, and includes long specials. The original content from Arpo is to premiere exclusively on Amazon Kids Plus in autumn 2021. The companies are also developing a new Arpo mobile game.
Arpo – which stands for “Army Robot Prototype Omega” – is an animated show without dialogue based on slapstick humor for children aged 3-7 years. Moonbug acquired the rights to Arpo, which is from Korea, last year. Also last year the company did bought the YouTube powerhouse Cocomelon for kids’ content and raised $ 120 million in funding.
“Our partnership with Amazon Kids Plus expands the world of Arpo and takes kids on new adventures,” said Andy Yeatman, Managing Director of the Americas at Moonbug. Yeatman that joined Moonbug from Netflix two years ago, described the Arpo character as “” Big Hero 6 “meets” Mrs. Fire of doubt. ‘”
Without dialogue, Yeatman added, “This show speaks to children around the world with no language barrier. It’s funny and has a heart. “
In the original production coming to Amazon Kids Plus, Arpo faces new challenges as the robot takes care of his protégé Danny and Danny’s adopted Korean sister Cookie – and has to adapt to a team of new robots built by mom . On YouTube, Arpo the Robot has nearly 5 million subscribers and more than 1.7 billion lifetime views.
“The addition of Arpo to the Amazon Kids Plus offering is a joyous example of our commitment to delivering content that kids and families will love,” said Veronica Pickett, Amazon Kids Plus Original Series Director. “The heart and humor at the heart of Arpo create so many LOL moments that inspire the world of entertainment we’re building with the new original series and game.”
Amazon Kids Plus, the e-commerce giant’s subscription service for parents and children (formerly called FreeTime Unlimited), costs $ 2.99 / month for Prime members and $ 4.99 / month for non-Prime customers.
Moonbug’s program franchises include Cocomelon, Blippi, Little Baby Bum, My Magic Pet Morphle, Supa Strikas, Go Buster, Playtime With Twinkle, Gecko’s Garage, and Arpo.
The company’s programming library includes more than 550 hours of content distributed across more than 100 platforms worldwide, including YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, NBCUniveral’s Peacock, Sky, Tencent and Roku.
Moonbug also signed a deal with YouTube for Supa Strikas: Rookie Season, an original broadcast about a pan-African soccer team. Last year, it licensed Mia’s Magic Playground, which is aimed at children ages 4-6, to HBO Max for the US market.
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