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Paramount Global has been in the deal news with its big merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media. But on Wednesday, two of the company’s kids brands unveiled a deal of their own. Nickelodeon unveiled new animated series Tim Rex in Space, its first global co-production with Channel 5’s Milkshake!

The show will premiere in 2025 on Nickelodeon channels in the U.S. and internationally, as well as on Milkshake! in the U.K.

Tim Rex in Space follows a Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex) named Tim, his big brother Tommy, little sister Tia, and triceratops bestie Kai as “they tackle kid-shaped adventures with dino-sized solutions in space,” according to a show description. “Tim and his family live in a unique world comprised of a cluster of asteroids that make up the town of Rumbleton. This intergalactic environment is a quintessential 21st-century suburban town, with each asteroid hosting family homes, cafés,...

ViacomCBS brands Nickelodeon International and Network 10 have partnered for the first time to commission a new live-action children’s series, Taylor’s Island, from Fremantle Australia.

The 20 x 22-minute comedy created by Matt Cooke, Vince Lund and Michael Ford marks Nickelodeon’s first non-preschool Australian scripted live-action production, due to premiere globally on its channels from early 2022.

The series follows taylor Young, a girl who is fascinated by the phenomena surrounding a mysterious island ever since her uncle’s disappearance there.

With a gang of friends, including Nori, a wisecracking local rebel; Meesha, a tough-as-nails thrill seeker; Ellis, a hypochondriac and born worrier; and Taylor’s stepsister Lila, an aspiring vlogger, Taylor is determined to get to the bottom of the secrets and inexplicable events of the island.

Taylor’s Island will shoot in Queensland from July. While no cast is yet to be announced, it is promised the...

ViacomCBS units Nickelodeon and Australia’s Network 10 have joined forces to produce children’s action-comedy series “Taylor’s Island.” They are joined in the production by Fremantle Entertainment, Nordic Entertainment Group and Screen Australia.

Production of the 20 x 22-minute live action series is set to begin in Queensland, Australia from July. The finished show is intended to appear on Nickelodeon channels around the world and Nordic’s Viaplay streaming service from early 2022.

The narrative follows a girl who is fascinated by the phenomena surrounding a mysterious island, ever since her uncle’s disappearance there. With a gang of friends, including a wisecracking local rebel, a tough thrill seeker, a hypochondriac, and an aspiring vlogger, she goes on an adventure of a lifetime, facing endless beaches, hidden treasures and cryptic riddles.

“Taylor’s Island” is produced by Fremantle Australia, executive produced by Chris Oliver-Taylor, and produced by Tim Powell alongside co-producer Jonah Klein.

ViacomCBS International Studios, the production arm of ViacomCBS Networks International, has announced that it is doubling down on kids content — and ViacomCBS veteran Nina Hahn is leading the charge.

Hahn, the current SVP of production and development at Nickelodeon International, will become head of Vis Kids alongside her existing duties.

She will report to Vis president Juan Acosta, while continuing to report to Jules Borkent, executive vice president of kids and family at Vcni.

The new unit will enable Vis to expand its efforts in children’s content and sell programming in the genre to third-party broadcasters and streamers.

Based in London, Hahn will develop animated, live-action, and pre-school originals by working with the studio’s production and development teams across Latin America, the UK, Spain, and Israel.

During her 15-year tenure, she has had a hand in more than 2,000 hours of original content for Nickelodeon International, launching shows including...

ViacomCBS’ ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) said on Monday that it is launching a kids content division, led by Nina Hahn as head of Vis Kids.

She will hold the position in addition to her role as senior vp of production & development at Nickelodeon International. Based in London, Hahn will report to Juan “Jc” Acosta, the president of ViacomCBS International Studios and ViacomCBS Networks Americas. She will continue to report to Jules Borkent, executive vp, kids & family at ViacomCBS Networks International in her other role.

The launch of Vis Kids is designed to expand the studio’s global ...

ViacomCBS’ ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) said on Monday that it is launching a kids content division, led by Nina Hahn as head of Vis Kids.

She will hold the position in addition to her role as senior vp of production & development at Nickelodeon International. Based in London, Hahn will report to Juan “Jc” Acosta, the president of ViacomCBS International Studios and ViacomCBS Networks Americas. She will continue to report to Jules Borkent, executive vp, kids & family at ViacomCBS Networks International in her other role.

The launch of Vis Kids is designed to expand the studio’s global ...

Nickelodeon International and Nickelodeon India have teamed to coproduce animated series “The Twisted Timeline of Sammy & Raj.”

The series, that will have 20 episodes of 30 minutes each, follows the adventures of a pair of cousins with access to a time-altering app as they pause, rewind, fast-forward and slow-motion their way into a host of exploits.

This is the first collaboration between Nickelodeon International and its Indian counterpart, which is a part of Viacom18, a joint venture of TV18, the media group controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and U.S. media conglomerate ViacomCBS. Production is now underway, with animation and storyboards developing in India, scripting in progress in the U.S. and U.K., and casting initiated in the U.S.

Chris Rose, VP, animation, Nickelodeon International and Anu Sikka, head creative, content & research, Kids TV Network at Viacom18 are overseeing the project. The head writer of the series is Jordan Gershowitz...

ViacomCBS has reshuffled its international networks division, splitting it into two brand groups and three regional hubs — all led by David Lynn, president and CEO of ViacomCBS Networks International (Vcni).

Kerry Taylor, executive vice president of MTV International, has been promoted to executive vice president of Vcni entertainment and youth brands, one of the brand groups, encompassing MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network and Bet.

The other brand group will be led by Jules Borkent, now executive vice president of Vcni kids and family, overseeing Nickelodeon. Both Borkent and Taylor will report to Lynn, while Borkent will also report to Brian Robbins, ViacomCBS’s president of kids and family entertainment in the U.S.

The regional hubs will be overseen by Maria Kyriacou, president of ViacomCBS Networks UK and Australia. Kyriacou will also have responsibility for Ireland, New Zealand and Israel, while in the UK she will be in charge of free-to-air network Channel 5.

ViacomCBS has restructured international operations following the closing of the merger in December, with two brand groups and three pan-regional management hubs reporting into ViacomCBS Networks International CEO David Lynn.

Lynn, who was promoted to head international in early 2017 after former global boss Bob Bakish was tapped to lead Viacom, pointed out that consolidating international flagship brands into two groups “will simplify our structure and more closely align our business with ViacomCBS’ U.S. brands, enabling us to share more content and resources across our different brands and extract maximum value from our content investment and libraries.”

The restructure sees ViacomCBS Networks International (Vcni) divided into an entertainment and youth arm and a kids and family division. There is also a further three-way geographic restructuring, with a UK and Australia division that includes responsibility for Ireland, New Zealand and Israel; a Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (Emeaa) hub; and an Americas branch.

Cannes — “Never predict, especially about the future,” the saying goes. Three of MipJunior’s key speakers and kids industry players – from Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and the BBC – took that to heart on Cannes’ Saturday afternoon when addressing the panel subject, “View from the Top: Gazing into the Future of Kids Media.” Rather than addressing where the business is headed – if they knew, they’d have ankled their jobs – Nickelodeon’s Jules Borkent, the BBC’s Jackie Edwards and Adina Pitt at Cartoon Network drilled down on major changes and challenges affecting where the kids media business is today. Here are five insights:

1.The New Name Of The Game: Partnering

What has changed in the last couple of years? asked Borkent, Nickelodeon senior vice president, global acquisitions and international programming. “For us, it’s about figuring out [how to meet] the desire for more and more content than we’re currently producing.” Nickelodeon’s solution: Partnerships,...