Wednesday, May 16, 2018

UK: Channel 5 Acquires Rights To 'Thomas & Friends' Season 22, 'Big World! Big Adventures!'; To Premiere On Milkshake! In September 2018

The new 22nd season of Mattel’s Thomas & Friends has been snapped up by the Viacom-owned UK commercial public service broadcaster (PSB) Channel 5 for its popular Milkshake! preschool block, where it will premiere this September!

Update (24/8): Milkshake! will start to premiere Thomas & Friends: "Big World! Big Adventures!" weekdays at 06:55am BST from Monday 3rd September 2018! Click here for full information!


The new season, entitled Big World! Big Adventures!, features a lineup of more inclusive characters, and also lets Thomas speak directly to the viewer for the first time. Prior to the series’ Milkshake! debut, Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie will run in more than 400 UK theaters from Friday 20th July 2018, thanks to a new Mattel deal with National Amusements.

The new 26 x 11-minute Thomas & Friends series also recently sold to Nickelodeon (US), ABC TV (Australia), Televisa (Mexico), TV Cultura (Brazil), and Super RTL (Germany).

Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie and Big World! Big Adventures! will make its debut on Nickelodeon USA later this year, following Nickelodeon partnering with Mattel to bring the iconic intellectual property (IP) from its longtime PBS home to the number-one channel for kids. The show launched on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. in the USA in March 2018 with the debut of season 21.

Under the partnership, Nickelodeon also serves as the exclusive consumer products agent for Thomas & Friends in the USA across multiple merchandise categories including apparel, accessories, home goods, consumer electronics, and more.


Back in the UK, Thomas & Friends recently partnered with London Bridge railway station for a four-week campaign to promote free wifi in the station during April 2018.

The campaign saw Thomas on the big screen, featuring on electronic billboards and directing travelling families to the wifi’s portal and interactive ‘Mattel Kids Zone’.

The portal features video content, books and quizzes, helping to keep children entertained during the school holidays. In addition, the ‘Day Out With Thomas’ experience will also be promoted.

Thomas & Friends will return to the portal with the new trailer for the summer film Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie, taking over the home page for one week from Monday 28th May 2018.

The campaigns will also feature on the portal at London’s Euston station.

Thomas the Tank Engine was originally created over 70 years ago by the Rev W Awdry, as a storybook for his son. That story quickly grew to become the award-winning global brand franchise it is today, enjoyed by families around the world across multiple touch-points and formats, including; toys, apps; consumer products; publishing; live attractions and much more with over 1 engine sold per second. Thomas & Friends is aired in over 160 territories, in over 50 languages with over 1.16 billion lifetime views on YouTube, and offers more than 80 hours of original content produced from 500 episodes and 12 specials.

More Milkshake!: 9 Story Distribution International Licenses 'Luo Bao Bei' to Channel 5’s Milkshake!

Source: Kidscreen, Preschool News; Additional source: Google Images.
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