What We Know This New Kids’ Entertainment Company
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former Moonbug Entertainment employees have launched their own company, 8 Lions, to make kid-friendly content.
Jiella Esmat and Karine Ahton are heading up 8 Lions Entertainment, with plans to partner with content creators and provide them “with specialist entertainment solutions and expertise including strategy, distribution, all aspects of YouTube growth and monetisation, digital-first production, and 360 licensing,” per their website.
“We are sourcing and creating diverse, engaging entertainment that reflects the genuine interests of kids and teens,” Esmat told Deadline. “Young people’s consumption habits have changed irreversibly and continue to evolve. We’re ensuring content is available to them in ways that recognise and cater to their expectations.”
8 Lions’ roster already includes Jaime Amor’s Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube channel which, according to KidScreen.com, the entertainment company will turn into “a linear TV series called JAIME’S YOGA ADVENTURES, which will launch first in the UK as a Sky Original.”
The company also has an agreement in place with Acamar Films to “manage distribution and L&M for its flagship brand Bing in the MENA region,” as well as “develop a growth and monetization strategy for Jordan-based YouTube-first studio Pixitoon.”
“8 Lions’ launch team includes Lovely Chavez as VP Digital Strategy & Commercial Partnerships, former Director of Channels International at Moonbug and Channel Manager at Wildbrain. Helen Wong is Senior Commercial Manager, previously Market Development Manager for APAC and Senior Channel Manager at Moonbug, and Fletcher Williams is Corporate & Strategy Executive, former Head of Acquisitions and Strategy at Voldex Entertainment, and ex Moonbug and NBCU,” Deadline reported. “Jerome Mazandarani, ex-Managing Director of Manga Entertainment and Crunchyroll UK, is advising on Anime and adult animation related projects.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Moonbug’s power as a kids’ entertainment company:
Disney alums Kevin Mayer and Tom Stags recently bought the popular children’s show COCOMELON’s production company, Moonbug Entertainment.
According to Deadline, the duo is backed by Blackstone Firm, with the final price reaching $3 billion.
“John and I have built a category-leading, digital-first kids entertainment business based on strong values and content that is focused on digital platforms,” Moonbug’s founder and CEO René Rechtman said. “Our vision is to build global family franchises, which is wholly aligned with Kevin and Tom’s vision and experience. I have had the pleasure of working with them both earlier in my career and am thrilled to be reunited to build the next global powerhouse of entertainment. You could not find stronger partners in our industry.”
Deadline reported:
Moonbug programming appears in 27 languages on more than 100 platforms around the world. In addition to Netflix, it is carried by YouTube, Hulu, HBO, Amazon, and Sky. The CoComelon channel on YouTube channel is the No. 2 among all channels on the platform, with approximately 120 million global subscribers.
For Mayer and Staggs, who each were part of the upper management of Disney, the deal is a followup to their acquisition last summer of Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Mayer has been wearing multiple hats, serving as chairman of Len Blavatnik’s sports streaming operation DAZN and recently joining Discovery as a strategic advisor.
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