 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation studio Media distribution |
| Founded | 9 February 2018; 7 years ago (2018-02-09) inLondon,England,[1] United Kingdom |
| Founder | René Rechtman |
| Headquarters | 3-6, 2nd Floor, LABS Upper Lock, Water Ln, London NW1 8JZ ,United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | René Rechtman (CEO) John Robson (COO)[2] |
| Products | SeeList of shows |
| Revenue | £39.6 million (US$ 53.8 million)[3] (2020) |
Number of employees | ~309 employees[4] (2021) |
| Parent | Candle Media |
| Subsidiaries | El Bebe Productions Limited[5] |
| Website | moonbug |
Moonbug Entertainment Ltd. is a British children's media company and multi-channel network headquartered inLondon, with an office inLos Angeles.[6][7] Founded in 2018 and owned byCandle Media, Moonbug creates and distributes children’s video and audio content. It is known for managing popularYouTube channelsCocomelon andLittle Baby Bum, as well as series such asMia's Magic Playground,Blippi, andMy Magic Pet Morphle.
Moonbug’s programming spans animation, live-action, and puppet shows and is available on over 100 platforms in 26 languages.[8][9]
Moonbug Entertainment was co-founded in 2018 byRené Rechtman, former President of International atMaker Studios, and John Robson, former Managing Director ofWildBrain.[11][12] The company was initially incorporated as Project ABC Holdings Limited on 9 February 2018.[1]
In December 2020, David Levine, former Vice President of Children’s Programming for Disney Channels in Europe, was appointed to lead the studio.[13][14] In November 2021, Moonbug was acquired by Candle Media, led by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, with backing from Blackstone.[15][16]
In December 2023, the company laid off nearly 30 employees and canceled several shows to focus onCocomelon andBlippi. Moonbug also planned to explore artificial intelligence and new technologies while emphasizing music and video games.[17] In February 2024, Moonbug shut down its subsidiary One Animation.[18]
On 19 December 2024, one of its co-founders, John Robson left the company.[19]
In September 2018, Moonbug acquired the YouTube channel Little Baby Bum for an estimated $9 million.[20] In February 2019, the company acquiredMy Magic Pet Morphle (formerly Morphle TV),[21][22] and on 6 August 2019, it acquiredSupa Strikas.[23] On 31 July 2020, Moonbug purchased Cocomelon andBlippi together for $120 million.[24][2]
In February 2020, Moonbug acquired the South Korean animated seriesArpo: The Robot for All Kids, which originally aired in 2012 onMBC TV.[25] The series is produced by Canary Islands-based studio 3Doubles Producciones for Moonbug on YouTube.[26]
On 10 February 2022, Moonbug acquired the YouTube network Little Angel.[27] On 24 May 2022, the company acquired Singapore-based media company One Animation, producer ofOddbods andRob the Robot.[28]
In April 2020, the company partnered with Chinese video platformXigua Video to distributeLittle Baby Bum in China.[29] Later, in September 2020, Moonbug signed a distribution deal with Tencent Video to feature shows such asGo Buster,Playtime with Twinkle,KiiYii, andThe Sharksons. On 18 August 2020, Moonbug launched aLittle Baby BumFAST channel onPluto TV.[30]
In September 2020, Moonbug Entertainment partnered withUnited Talent Agency to enhance domestic publishing and video game rights for children's products in North America.[31]
In August 2021, it was announcedUniversal Music Group (UMG) would oversee distribution, publishing and licensing for Moonbug Music.[32] In May 2023, Moonbug announced a partnership withAudible to launch two new podcast series based onLittle Baby Bum andLellobee City Farm.[33]
Moonbug Kids is amulti-channel network owned by Moonbug Entertainment, featuring channels on YouTube,Netflix,Hulu,Roku,Amazon Prime Video,Sky UK,[34]Joyn (Germany),[citation needed]Mediaset (Italy),[35]Cignal (Philippines),Astro (Malaysia),[36] andOSN (Middle East).[37] On YouTube, it includes 22 main channels and 12 additional channels in other languages, along with MyGo!, which offers Moonbug content insign language.[citation needed]
El Bebe Productions, a subsidiary of Moonbug founded in August 2011, owns theLittle Baby Bum YouTube channel.[citation needed]
Many of Moonbug’s shows are available on YouTube and various streaming services. Additionally, Moonbug's version ofArpo: The Robot for All Kids airs on Pakistan's Champion TV, whileCocomelon has been broadcast onCartoonito in the UK and Ireland since 2021 and onSuper RTL in Germany.[38] In 2022, Moonbug signed a deal with WarnerMedia to broadcast several of its shows on Cartoonito in the United States.[39]
Moonbug have featured several shows on its own channels, includingBoBoiBoy Galaxy,Care Bears,Sesame Street,Thomas & Friends,Mr. Bean andReal Wheels.[citation needed]
In March 2022,The Ivors Academy and theMusicians' Union in the UK and Ireland criticized Moonbug for using "letters of direction" to have composers assign their performing rights royalties to the company.[46][47]
In August 2023, an episode ofLellobee featuring a gay couple and their child aired on IndiKids, an in-house channel produced byIndiHome, which sparked outrage in Indonesia.[48] This led to the removal of Moonbug content from IndiHome on 29 August.[49] A similar episode ofLellobee had previously caused controversy in Malaysia in January 2022.[50]
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