Raft of International Broadcasters Buy New Thomas the Tank Engine Series (EXCLUSIVE)

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!” is being added to the timetables of a host of broadcasters around the world, including the ABC in Australia, Super RTL in Germany, Televisa in Mexico, and Treehouse in Canada.

Mattel owns the “Thomas & Friends” property and gave the TV series a major overhaul in “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!” In the new show, Thomas travels the world, talks to the viewers, and has new characters to interact with, including Nia, the first African engine.

In the U.S. the “Thomas & Friends” series traditionally played on PBS, but Thomas has changed tracks to Nick Jr. for the new-look show.

A raft of broadcasters from around the world have followed Nick’s lead and will show the new series. Buyers include Cartoonito in Italy, Minimi in Poland, Telekids in the Netherlands, VTM in Belgium, and AMC Minimax in eastern Europe.

Hop in Israel, Channel One in Russia, and TV Cultura in Brazil have also acquired the show. The international players will launch the series on their air later in 2018.

Alex Godfrey, senior director, content distribution for Europe, , said: “We are really excited for our esteemed international television partners to launch the new series later this year and can’t wait to see how the new series resonates with audiences around the world.”