News
Riki Group and Youku Kids to jointly produce the second season of “Tina and Tony”
St. Petersburg, October 1st, 2019 – Riki Group, a leading animation company in Russia, and Youku Kids, a division of Alibaba Group, a global digital commerce company, today announce the launch of the joint production of the second season of the animated TV series “Tina and Tony”. The new season will include 52 episodes, each with a duration of 5 minutes, in 3D / 2D technique, produced at Petersburg Animation Studio. The first 13 episodes will be produced by April 2020. The series will be released simultaneously in English, Russian and Chinese.
“After the huge success of the first season of “Tina and Tony”, we decided to continue the series production, and we launched production on the second season in September,” said Diana Yurinova, VP, international business development and distribution, Riki Group. “At the same time, we have already launched a licensing program in China, complementing this with a wide promotional campaign; we have also received the first offers from manufacturers of kids products. We are delighted that our series has received such strong recognition from the Chinese audience, and we expect an even faster growth in the popularity of “Tina and Tony”.”
The first season of the animated TV series “Tina and Tony” made its premiere on Alibaba’s video-streaming platform, Youku, the leading long form video streaming platform in China, in November 2018. On the day of the premiere, the first 13 episodes collectively garnered around 12 million views, with the number of total views to date approaching 2 billion.
Liao Huainan, General Manager of Youku Kids, said: “We are delighted to see the development of this cooperation with Fun Union and Riki Group to bring “Tina and Tony” to China. Our relationship started from a framework agreement made in September 2018, focused on the financing, production, promotion and distribution for new animated content created in Russia – to China and around the world; as well as relevant licensed products and goods based on this content. Youku is tapping into the growing demand for video streaming services in China and this partnership demonstrates our commitment to bring varied and high-quality content to the growing numbers of Chinese families who are seeking fun and interesting entertainment.
Riki Group is a leader of the Russian animation market; a leading Russian company in the field of production, management, licensing and promotion of animated media brands for a family audience. Riki Group was founded in 2003. The most well-known brands of the holding are “Kikoriki”, “BabyRiki”, “The Fixies” and “PINCODE”. They have 100% brand recognition among target audience in Russia.
Youku is a leading multi-screen online video sharing and streaming platform in China and forms a key part of Alibaba Group’s digital media and entertainment business, under its “Double H”(Health and Happiness) strategy. Youku Kids offers high-quality programming, covering a comprehensive range of categories including animation series, nursery songs, puzzle games, e-books, and preschool education.