Nelvana Continues as Exclusive Merchandising Representative for Sesame Street in Canada Securing a Number of New Deals
New Licensees Include Retrokid, Nola, Glo Pals, Bright Time Toys and Quinco & Cie, Plus Webber Natural Pharmaceuticals Expands Successful Vitamin Program
TORONTO, March 11, 2022 – Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, a world-leading international producer, distributor, and licensor of children’s animated and live action content, announced today its renewal as the exclusive merchandising representative for Sesame Street in Canada. As the partnership continues, Nelvana has brokered several new deals for Sesame Street in Canada within key consumer product categories including bringing on e-commerce apparel partner Retrokid, natural food partner Nola, new novelty toy partners Glo Pals, Bright Time Toys, and Quinco & Cie, and growing Webber Natural Pharmaceuticals’ program.
“We love bringing the Sesame Street brand to Canadians in so many different ways through innovative retail and licensee collaborations,” said Mellany Masterson, Head of Nelvana Enterprises. “Since the inception of our partnership in 2018, Nelvana is proud to have steadily grown the retail and licensing business of this iconic brand in Canada and we’re looking forward to continuing our relationship in an impactful way.”
“We’re thrilled to continue working with Nelvana to extend the reach of our mission and enrich families’ experiences with the Sesame Street brand in Canada,” said Gabriela Arenas, Senior Vice President, Global Licensing, Sesame Workshop. “Sesame Workshop is committed to meeting kids’ and families’ needs wherever they are – across formats and platforms, and our partnerships with Nelvana makes this possible.”
Retrokid (Sesame apparel via retrokid.ca) and Nola Baking Co. (organic food snacks) are launching products Spring 2022. New novelty toys are available in Canada now and include sensory bath time toys (Glo Pals), jumbo specialty plush (Bright Time Toys), and augmented reality interactive storybooks (Quinco & Cie). Building off a successful Sesame Street vitamin program that launched in 2019, Canadian company Webber Natural Pharmaceuticals introduced Probiotics and Omega-3 in 2021. The current vitamin line is found in over 4,800 drug and grocery stores across Canada and is expanding online in the U.S. with Amazon.com.
Since 1969, families have looked to Sesame Street to help their kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. In Canada, new episodes of the beloved series Sesame Street premiere on Treehouse and are available to stream live and on demand on STACKTV through Amazon Prime Video Channels, Rogers Ignite TV and Rogers SmartStream. Canadians can also enjoy episodes on demand of the spin-off series, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, Season 2 on STACKTV.
About Nelvana
Entertaining kids for over 50 years, Nelvana is a world-leading international producer and distributor of children’s animated and live-action content. Nelvana produces a stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands that focus on comedies, preschool and action series, and ancillary consumer products programs. Nelvana’s content airs on Corus Entertainment’s kids channels in Canada and in over 180 countries around the world. The Nelvana library has well over 4,800 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major international program awards including Emmys® and Canadian Screen Awards. Visit the Nelvana website at nelvana.com.
About Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that develops and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. Engaging audiences since 1999, the company’s portfolio of multimedia offerings encompass 33 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a suite of digital and streaming assets, animation software, technology and media services. Corus is an internationally-renowned content creator and distributor through Nelvana, a world class animation studio expert in all formats and Corus Studios, a globally recognized producer of hit scripted and unscripted content. The company also owns innovative full-service social digital agency so.da, lifestyle entertainment company Kin Canada, leading 2D animation software supplier Toon Boom and children’s book publishing house, Kids Can Press. Corus’ roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, Magnolia Network Canada, The HISTORY® Channel, Showcase, Adult Swim, National Geographic, Disney Channel Canada, YTV, Global News, Globalnews.ca, Q107, Country 105, and CFOX, along with broadly distributed Canadian streaming platforms STACKTV, Nick+, the Global TV App and Curiouscast. For more information visit www.corusent.com.
About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org