Hundreds Of Hours Of Series From Dreamworks Animation Are Headed To Sky

Sky customers in the U.K. and Ireland are set for a feast of family animation. The pay-tv platform has signed a long-term deal with NBCUniversal Global Distribution for access to series by Dreamworks Animation, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal.

Here are the details:

• Customers will receive hundreds of hours of animated Dreamworks content, including spin-off series from hit film franchises like How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls, and Madagascar.
• The deal covers the U.K. premieres to shows such as Madagascar: A Little Wild, Trollstopia, and Dragons Rescue Riders: Heroes of the Sky. Older series coming to Sky include All Hail King Julien, Home Adventures with Tip & Oh, and Dawn of the Croods.
• Sky has long been the U.K.’s leading pay-tv broadcaster, and it also operates streaming platform Now TV. The Dreamworks shows will be available on linear channel Sky One, Now TV, and the Sky Kids on-demand services. Like NBCUniversal, Sky is owned by Comcast.
• In July, Sky struck a partnership with Sony Pictures Television to bring content to customers, including animated titles like the forthcoming feature Vivo and the Hotel Transylvania films. The company’s services are already home to the likes of Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Spongebob Squarepants, Adventure Time, and Sky Kids Originals such as Moominvalley and Morph.
• Stephen van Rooyen, Sky’s evp and ceo, U.K. and Europe, said:
  

  Our new partnership with NBCUniversal brings an impressive range of family favourites from Dreamworks Animation to Sky and Now TV customers. Adding Dreamworks’ loveable stories of dreams, journeys, and heroes alongside our originals and our partner content means customers can access the content they love, all in one place — easy. Families are spending more time at home than ever before — as kids and adults alike love Dreamworks characters, hopefully this will help them enjoy more moments together.

• Belinda Menendez, NBCUniversal’s president and cro, global distribution and international, said:
  

  We are delighted to expand upon our long-standing relationship with Sky and Now TV through this new deal that brings a vibrant, compelling slate of animated tv series to bolster the Sky Kids platforms. Dreamworks Animation has an outstanding pedigree in the realm of kids content and we look forward to partnering with Sky to bring these beloved characters and stories to homes across the U.K. and Ireland for families to enjoy.

Image at top: “Madagascar: A Little Wild.”