Virgin's 3kids takes Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Virgin Media have struck a deal with Canadian DHX Media for both streaming rights and broadcast rights to 615 hours of kids TV. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will air on 3kids, be3's dedicated children's programming slot, along with Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam and the Air Bud movies.

The shows will air on TV3's sister channel be3 (formerly UTV Ireland) as part of their morning children's slot 3kids, from 6am to 9am each morning. The shows will also be available on Virgin Media's on-demand service in both Ireland and Britain.

Wiebke Hoefer, DHX Media’s Senior Director of Sales (Germany, Switzerland, France, UK Digital and Multi-territory Digital), said: “We’re thrilled to have signed our third and largest deal to date with Virgin TV, reinforcing our position as a go-to provider of kids’ content to the world’s top SVOD and linear broadcasters. Virgin TV offers an excellent platform for kids in this market, and we’re thrilled that their viewers will be able to enjoy a great selection of our library titles, plus the latest original, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.”

David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin TV, said: “We are very excited to have concluded our biggest kids’ programming deal to date, covering over 600 half-hours of some of the most loved kids’ characters. The addition of multiple seasons of Bob the Builder™, Fireman Sam™ and In the Night Garden, as well as full-length movies, really does underline our commitment to a market-leading kids’ offer for Virgin TV.

“Our youngest viewers have never had a broader, bigger and more diverse choice of entertainment! Kids’ content is a clear focus for us at Virgin TV and it is great to have DHX Media on board as a key supplier to bring children and their parents more of the programming that they want to watch.”