Moonbug Entertainment Ltd. is a British children's media company and multi-channel network headquartered in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with an office in

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. Founded in 2018 and owned by

Candle Media Candle Media is an American Media company based in Los Angeles. The company is financial supported by the investment firm Blackstone Inc. and was co-founded by former Disney executives Kevin A. Mayer and Thomas O. Staggs. Candle Media owns the c ...

, Moonbug creates and distributes children’s video and audio content. It is known for managing popular

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channels

Cocomelon Cocomelon (, stylized as CoComelon) is a children's YouTube channel operated by Candle Media-owned Moonbug Entertainment. The channel specializes in 3D animation videos of traditional nursery rhymes and original children's songs. As of June 2 ...

and Little Baby Bum, as well as series such as '' Mia's Magic Playground'', ''

Blippi Blippi is an American educational YouTube channel aimed at toddlers and young children. The show features a cheerful, energetic character named Blippi, who takes viewers on adventures to places like factories, play parks, and zoos. As he tours t ...

'', and '' My Magic Pet Morphle. Moonbug’s programming spans animation, live-action, and puppet shows and is available on over 100 platforms in 26 languages.

History

Moonbug Entertainment was co-founded in 2018 by René Rechtman, former President of International at

Maker Studios Maker(s) or The Maker(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Maker'' (film), a 1997 American drama film * Maker Studios, now part of Disney Digital Network, an American multi-channel TV network *''Makers'', a 2014 British documentary seri ...

, and John Robson, former Managing Director of

WildBrain WildBrain Ltd. is a Canadian media, animation studio, production company, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest independent library of Children's tel ...

. The company was initially incorporated as Project ABC Holdings Limited on 9 February 2018. In December 2020, David Levine, former Vice President of Children’s Programming for Disney Channels in Europe, was appointed to lead the studio. In November 2021, Moonbug was acquired by Candle Media, led by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, with backing from Blackstone. In December 2023, the company laid off nearly 30 employees and canceled several shows to focus on ''Cocomelon'' and ''Blippi''. Moonbug also planned to explore artificial intelligence and new technologies while emphasizing music and video games. In February 2024, Moonbug shut down its subsidiary One Animation. On 19 December 2024, one of its co-founders, John Robson left the company.

Acquisitions

In September 2018, Moonbug acquired the YouTube channel Little Baby Bum for an estimated $9 million. In February 2019, the company acquired ''My Magic Pet Morphle'' (formerly Morphle TV), and on 6 August 2019, it acquired ''

Supa Strikas Supa Strikas is a South African association football-themed comicPilcher, Tim and Brad Brooks. (Foreword: Dave Gibbons). ''The Essential Guide to World Comics''. '' Collins and Brown''. 2005. 292-293. about a titular football team dubbed "th ...

''. On 31 July 2020, Moonbug purchased Cocomelon and ''Blippi'' together for $120 million. In February 2020, Moonbug acquired the South Korean animated series ''Arpo: The Robot for All Kids'', which originally aired in 2012 on

MBC TV MBC TV (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Television) is a South Korean free-to-air television channel launched on 8 August 1969 and owned by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. History The Seoul Private Broadcasting Corporation was establish ...

. The series is produced by Canary Islands-based studio 3Doubles Producciones for Moonbug on YouTube. On 10 February 2022, Moonbug acquired the YouTube network Little Angel. On 24 May 2022, the company acquired Singapore-based media company One Animation, producer of ''

Oddbods ''Oddbods'' (also known as ''The Oddbods Show'') is a Singaporean-British computer-animated comedy television series produced by One Animation. The series centers on eight characters—Bubbles, Pogo, Newt, Lulu, Jeff, Slick, Fuse and Zee—wea ...

'' and '' Rob the Robot''.

Partnerships

In April 2020, the company partnered with Chinese video platform

Xigua Video Xigua Video () is a Chinese online video-sharing platform owned by ByteDance. Originally serving primarily as a sharing platform for Toutiao's user-created short videos, Xigua now also produces film and television content. Xigua Video continuous ...

to distribute ''Little Baby Bum'' in China. Later, in September 2020, Moonbug signed a distribution deal with Tencent Video to feature shows such as ''Go Buster'', ''Playtime with Twinkle'', ''KiiYii'', and ''The Sharksons''. On 18 August 2020, Moonbug launched a ''Little Baby Bum'' FAST channel on

Pluto TV Pluto TV is an American free ad-supported streaming television service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Founded by Tom Ryan (business executive), Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in ...

. In September 2020, Moonbug Entertainment partnered with

United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. ...

to enhance domestic publishing and video game rights for children's products in North America. In August 2021, it was announced

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

(UMG) would oversee distribution, publishing and licensing for Moonbug Music. In May 2023, Moonbug announced a partnership with

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

to launch two new podcast series based on ''Little Baby Bum'' and ''Lellobee City Farm''.

Divisions

Moonbug Kids

Moonbug Kids is a

multi-channel network A multi-channel network (MCN) is an organization that works with video platforms to offer assistance to channel owners in areas such as "product, programming, funding, cross-promotion, partner management, digital rights management, monetizati ...

owned by Moonbug Entertainment, featuring channels on YouTube,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

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Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

Sky UK Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), Trade name, trading as Sky, is a British broadcasting, broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone ...

, Joyn (Germany),

Mediaset Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...

(Italy),

Cignal Cignal (pronounced as ''signal'') is a Philippine satellite television and IPTV provider, owned by Cignal TV Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund. Cignal's prepaid electroni ...

(Philippines),

Astro Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (born Terence Wilson) (1957–2021), rapper and member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie ro ...

(Malaysia), and

OSN Orbit Showtime Network, commonly known as OSN, is a Dubai-based Satellite television, satellite TV company, serving the Middle East and North Africa region. OSN mainly broadcasts programming from TV networks owned by Paramount Global, Warner B ...

(Middle East). On YouTube, it includes 22 main channels and 12 additional channels in other languages, along with MyGo!, which offers Moonbug content in

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...

El Bebe Productions

El Bebe Productions, a subsidiary of Moonbug founded in August 2011, owns the ''Little Baby Bum'' YouTube channel.

List of shows

Many of Moonbug’s shows are available on YouTube and various streaming services. Additionally, Moonbug's version of ''Arpo: The Robot for All Kids'' airs on Pakistan's Champion TV, while

has been broadcast on

Cartoonito Cartoonito is a brand name used by Warner Bros. Discovery for a collection of television networks and Block programming, programming blocks aimed at preschool children. The name combines the "cartoon" with the Spanish language, Spanish suffix " ...

in the UK and Ireland since 2021 and on

Super RTL Super RTL is a German free-to-air television network owned by RTL Deutschland. The channel originally launched in 1995 as a joint venture between RTL Group predecessor company CLT-UFA and Disney's Buena Vista International Television Investment ...

in Germany. In 2022, Moonbug signed a deal with WarnerMedia to broadcast several of its shows on Cartoonito in the United States. Moonbug have featured several shows on its own channels, including ''

BoBoiBoy Galaxy ''BoBoiBoy Galaxy'' is a Malaysian animated television series. It is a sequel to ''BoBoiBoy'' and '' BoBoiBoy: The Movie'' focusing more on adventures-based storyline. It began airing its first season with 24 episodes from November 2016 to June ...

'', ''

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. They were turned into plush teddy bears and featured in ''The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings'' (1983) and ...

'', ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'', ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for ...

'', ''

Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside ...

'' and ''

Real Wheels ''Real Wheels'', also known as ''There Goes A...'', ''Live Action Video for Kids'', and ''Dream Big'', is a live-action series of children's educational videos for ages 3–8 that features a specified vehicle and the different jobs it has alon ...

''.

Original shows

*'' Blippi Wonders'' (29 September 2021–) *'' Cocomelon Lane'' (17 November 2023–) *''Lellobee City Farm'' *'' Digley & Dazey'' (7 March 2020–) *'' Go Buster'' (2018) *'' Mia's Magic Playground'' (12 November 2020–) *'' Little Baby Bum: Music Time'' (25 September 2023–) *'' Playtime with Twinkle'' *''Morphle and the Magic Pets'' (20 March 2024–) *''The Ring-A-Tangs'' *''The Sharksons''

Distributed shows

*''Arpo: The Robot for All Kids'' (2 April–2 July 2012, 2019–) *''

'' (18 February 2014–) *'' Gecko's Garage'' (25 September 2015–) *'' Glove and Boots'' (2018–2019; acquired from

Bento Box Entertainment Bento Box Entertainment, formerly known as Bento Box Animation, is an American animation studio and entertainment company located in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2009 by executive producers Scot ...

) *'' KiiYii'' *'' My Magic Pet Morphle'' (26 March 2015–) *''

'' (2010–) *''T-Rex Ranch'' *''

'' *''

Shows based on licensed properties

*'' Care Bears: Unlock the Music'' (1 July 2020–) *''Let's Go Cozy Coupe'' (24 August 2020–) *''Squishville'' (26 June 2021–)

YouTube channels

*Little Angel * Little Baby Bum *

Criticism and controversies

Performing rights

In March 2022,

The Ivors Academy The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...

and the Musicians' Union in the UK and Ireland criticized Moonbug for using "letters of direction" to have composers assign their performing rights royalties to the company.

LGBT content

In August 2023, an episode of ''Lellobee'' featuring a gay couple and their child aired on IndiKids, an in-house channel produced by

IndiHome IndiHome (abbreviated from Indonesia Digital Home) is a home telephone, internet, and Internet Protocol television services owned by Telkomsel since July 1, 2023. Prior to Telkomsel's takeover, it was owned by Telkomsel's majority shareholder ...

, which sparked outrage in Indonesia. This led to the removal of Moonbug content from IndiHome on 29 August. A similar episode of ''Lellobee'' had previously caused controversy in Malaysia in January 2022.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Moonbug Entertainment 2018 establishments in England British animation studios Mass media companies established in 2018 British companies established in 2018 Mass media companies based in London Internet properties established in 2018 Moonbug Entertainment 2021 mergers and acquisitions British subsidiaries of foreign companies Television channels and stations established in 2022 Online mass media companies of the United Kingdom