BBC Worldwide and Ragdoll Productions sold the joint venture firm that owns the rights to "Teletubbies," "In the Night Garden" and "The Adventures of Abney & Teal" to DHX Media. The transaction was valued at GBP 17.4 million or USD 27.7 million. BBC Worldwide is the commercial unit of the British Broadcasting Corp. DHX, a Canadian firm based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, sought to make the acquisition to capitalize on the growing market for children's shows.
DHX Media Chief Executive Officer Michael Donovan said, "These globally recognized brands will be highly complementary to the DHX Media library, which is now one of the largest independent libraries of children's TV content in the world."
Some characters in the DHX Media library had also attracted interested buyers. These include "Thomas the Tank Engine" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" which had been approached by Viacom Inc and Mattel. According to Bloomberg, characters in children's shows make for attractive assets since they entice new audiences within a few years. Moreover, licensing and merchandising of the characters also become a source of added sales.
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