Little Princess returns as Sky UK takes full catalogue in Banijay deals
The Little Princess is getting a second reign on television. Banijay Kids & Family has sold the complete catalogue of the animated series to Sky UK, alongside new deals in the Nordics, Slovenia and Italy, as reported by Variety.
Sky UK has taken all series and specials. That is the full run. The package covers four seasons and 135 episodes, plus the specials made alongside them.
The show needs little introduction for parents of young children. It is based on the picture books by author and illustrator Tony Ross, about a small, forthright princess who tests every rule in the castle. It launched on Channel 4's Milkshake, the channel's morning block for children's programmes, in the UK in 2006 and ran until 2020.
Its first life was wide. The series was released in 140 territories during its initial run on linear TV, the traditional scheduled channels, and earned four BAFTA nominations. It is produced by The Illuminated Film Company.
The other three deals each cover a different window. Nordisk Film has taken Seasons 1 to 3 and specials for SVOD, meaning streaming on a subscription on-demand service, across the Nordics. RTV Slovenia has taken Seasons 1 and 2 for its audience in Slovenia. Telecom Italia's TIM has taken the series for TIMVision, its streaming platform in Italy.
For families, this means choice. A child who meets the Princess on Sky in Britain could meet the same episodes on a subscription service in Sweden or on a national broadcaster in Slovenia, just in a different slot.
The agreements were announced at Mipcom, the international television market held in Cannes where distributors sell finished shows territory by territory. Catalogue sales of this kind, meaning deals for completed series rather than new commissions, keep older children's series in circulation long after production ends.
