'Thunderbirds Are Go' Travels the Globe

ITV Studios Global Entertainment has made a number of global TV sales and appointed a raft of international licensing agents for "Thunderbirds Are Go."

April 6, 2018

Series set to air in more than 40 countries accompanied by consumer products.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment has made a number of global TV sales and appointed a raft of international licensing agents for "Thunderbirds Are Go."

In France, "Thunderbirds Are Go" premiered this month on Canal J and will repeat on Gulli. Nelvana represents the brand for licensing in the region, with Vivid taking the French master toy rights.

"Thunderbirds Are Go" has also been picked up by broadcasters in all of the Nordic countries: Sweden’s SVT, Norway’s NRK Super, Denmark’s DR and Finland’s MTV Juniori, with Alicom appointed as the Nordic licensing agent. The series will broadcast on Ketnet in Flemish Belgium and ZAPP in the Netherlands, with Vivid France and Vivid Holland acquiring the respective master toy rights. In Turkey, the show will air on Minika TV.

ITVS GE has also signed the first deals in the Americas for the show: "Thunderbirds Are Go" will launch

on Gloob, Globosat’s kids’ channel, in Brazil, and on Télé-Québec in French-speaking Canada.

In Asia, the show will air on Japanese terrestrial broadcaster NHK, in a deal negotiated by ITVS GE’s Japanese agent, Tohokushinsha, with toys distributed by Takara Tomy.

Meanwhile, Roadshow has acquired the home entertainment rights in Australia and New Zealand.

These latest deals follow sales of the series to Australia’s Nine Network, TVNZ in New Zealand, Noga in Israel and pan-Arab broadcaster MBC, bringing the total number of international countries airing the series to 40, with more than 45 licensees already on board for the consumer products program globally.

“The reaction to the launch of 'Thunderbirds Are Go' in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand has surpassed all our expectations; fantastic broadcast ratings, a huge amount of social media buzz, with over 2 million views on our official YouTube channel and retail support across the board for Christmas 2015," says Steve Green, executive vice president, kids’ content and distribution, ITVS GE. "We’re looking to unlock the full global potential of this powerhouse brand in 2016. As these latest deals show, international broadcasters, licensing agents and licensees are eager to get a piece of the action, and we’re working to find the right partners to bring the intrepid Tracy brothers to every corner of the globe.”