Planeta Junior turns 15 continuing its commitment to new content development

Animation & Characters

Planeta Junior, a company within the Planeta / De Agostini group and a European leader in developing and marketing children and teen entertainment contents and properties–primarily classic series–is now a European landmark in its business segment, both for the quality and variety of its catalogue and for its ability to create in-house content.

Planeta Junior turns 15 continuing its commitment  to new content development by coproducing two series with an international perspective: 2015 is the year of Mutant Busters and Oliver Rock. The company to celebrate the important anniversary has renewed its image by a new logo inspired by the painter Juan Miro.

Since 2012, Planeta Junior’s involvement in the entire value chain for TV series has resulted in seven original shows (Maya the Bee 3D, Sendokai Champions, Bubble Bip, Egyxos, Heidi 3D, Mutant Busters, and Oliver Rock) in coproductions with top-ranking partners like TVE, TV3, Kotoc, Famosa, Triacom, Toonz Animation, and Musicartoon. The company has also been involved in collaborative projects with the Gruppo De Agostini firms in Italy such as DeAgostini Editore and DeA Digital.

In 2015, Planeta Junior begins production of Mutant Busters and Oliver Rock. The first of the two is an animation comedy staged on a land that has been invaded by mutants. The show includes digital elements such as apps and augmented reality, and presents an innovative format: the last three minutes of each episode can be broadcast independently, either on television or on other digital platforms.

The second series, Oliver Rock, tells the misfortunes of a teen rock band that springs to life in the dreams of a little boy. With an appealing visual approach, the show mixes different styles
and combines action, humor and loads of music-based fun. Oliver Rock will be the company’s first live-action production, developed jointly with Sony Music and the Spanish production company Isla Audiovisual.

Planeta Junior –active in 33 countries and with offices in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Eastern Europe, and Turkey–boasts over 1000 clients in different countries and its series are broadcast in over 70 television channels all over the world. The company’s portfolio includes more than 200 series and over 5000 half-hours targeted at the 12-14 age group.

Initially, the Planeta Junior catalogue comprised classic series such as Heidi, Maya, Vicky, Pippi Longstockings, and the Sesame Street properties, all of which are part of the shared memories of several generations and whose success relies on their ability to be shared by parents and children. Over the past 15 years, Planeta Junior has signed agreements for distributing and representing the rights to the properties of major market players such as Studio 100, Sanrio, Nelvana, Playmobil, Rainbow, DreamWorks Animation, and Saban Brands, featuring famous characters like Winx Club, Super 4, Mia and Me, Hello Kitty, and Vicky the Viking 3D.

In this respect, it is important to point out the agreement that Planeta Junior signed in 2014 with DreamWorks Animation, one of the most influential global entertainment companies worldwide, with properties such as Shrek, The Penguins of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Turbo Fast, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Dinotrux, and All Hail King Julien. Planeta Junior became the distributor and agent for these and other properties for the southern, central, and eastern Europe area.

These alliances and its consolidation as a content developer place Planeta Junior among the ranks of the most dynamic and competitive companies in its sector on a European level. In addition to this leadership position, the firm pursues an international approach that has turned it into the leading entertainment company genuinely focused on the European market, developing strategies in all Mediterranean countries and in central Europe.

An example of how the company conceives the life of one its characters is Heidi. This fiction production was born in 1975, had a comeback in 2000 when it was relaunched by Planeta Junior, and has just been updated in 2015 with a 3D version. Heidi has been aired in over 120 countries, featured in over 300 licensed products, and continues to draw a large audience even 40 years after its first broadcast in Europe. The new 3D-format Heidi is being aired in Spain on Clan Televisión Monday through Friday as of May 18th, reaching a 4.3% audience share on Tuesday May 19th, with 450,000 viewers, thus outperforming the May average for the channel (2.3%). Meanwhile, its launch in Italy through the RAI public television station is scheduled for the month of June.