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Madrid, Spain (August 8, 2011): Zinkia Entertainment, creators of the award-winning, global children’s property, Pocoyo, has signed an agreement with the world’s leading music publisher, EMI Music Publishing, to administer global music rights (excluding Spain and the UK) for the multi-platform brand.

Under the new agreement, EMI Music Publishing will administer all music rights relating to Pocoyo including theme music, incidental music and the main and end title music for all physical and digital releases, including the television series and planned feature film. Two seasons of Pocoyo have been produced to date; with production almost finalized on season 3, bringing the total number of episodes to 156 x 7’.  

“EMI Music Publishing is the latest in a series of key strategic partners we have secured as we continue to build the Pocoyo brand worldwide,” commented Maria Doolan, Managing Director, Brand and Business Development, Zinkia Entertainment. “Music plays an integral part in the brand identity of and attraction for Pocoyo, and there is enormous potential to market and exploit the music element worldwide.”

“Pocoyo is an exciting property and proven global brand, and we are looking forward to working with Zinkia to extend the music element of the offering,” stated Jonathan Channon, Executive Vice President Media and Business Development at EMI Music Publishing. “Adding Zinkia to our portfolio of production and media companies further develops our strategy to focus on the very successful area of children’s programming.”

Since Pocoyo first appeared on the small screen in 2005, the property has expanded its global presence significantly. Currently licensed to broadcasters in over 150 territories worldwide, Pocoyo has earned a host of international accolades including a prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for Best Animated Preschool Series, three Pucinella Prizes at Italy’s Cartoons on the Bay Festival and Best TV Series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

Pocoyo has achieved major milestones online and across social media platforms. Pocoyo’s YouTube Channel now receives over 50 million hits per month, totaling over 500 million hits in the past two years.  Official Pocoyo on Facebook has won over 500,000 fans; plus there are 5 million unique visitors on the Pocoyo blog; and more than 5,000 Twitter followers.   Pocoyo’s online virtual world, www.pocoyoworld.com, has attracted more than 11 million unique visitors, and the Pocoyo app, Pocoyize, which allows users to create their own Pocoyo-style avatar, has proven a huge hit both online and via iPhone® with approximately 12 million people Pocoyized to date. The official Pocoyowebsite has amassed more than 27.5 million content downloads. The Pocoyize iPhone application has received an impressive 550,000 downloads in the United States alone, in addition to being a Top 5 seller in both Spain and Japan.

More about POCOYO
The award-winning animated series, about a young boy’s discovery of the world around him, represents a universe of core values that promotes a philosophy of curiosity, sincerity, tolerance, respect and love.  With these guiding principles, Pocoyo fosters “Learning through Laughter,” utilizing a blend of humor and learning which mimics children’s development to inspire and inform children about the world around them.
 

In the U.S., Pocoyo airs on a weekend timeslot on Nick Jr., Nickelodeon’s 24-hour commercial-free, educational preschool network, as well as on Univision’s Planeta U and select PBS Stations.  The Pocoyotoy line from Bandai America, which captures the vibrant and exuberant world of Pocoyo, and a line of DVD titles from NCircle Entertainment are currently available at retailers across nationwide.

In 2011, Pocoyo was named the first Global Kids’ Ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund’s “Earth Hour and Beyond” campaign with a mission to raise environmental awareness among children and to encourage children to play a vital role in saving our planet.
 

About Zinkia Entertainment
Founded in 2001, Zinkia Entertainment (Zinkia) specializes in the creation and management of entertainment properties for today’s global marketplace.   Zinkia’s primary focus is the development and production of content for all media platforms to engage, entertain and educate children of all cultures.   Zinkia is the exclusive worldwide licensor of global brand sensation POCOYO, one of Spain’s most successful animation productions, with a potential global audience reach of 3.5 million. The Company is currently developing new properties including MOLA NOGURU and THE FISHTALE SAGA.  In April 2011, Zinkia acquired a 51% stake in London-based family entertainment company Cake.  Zinkia is headquarted in Madrid, Spain and operates offices in China.
 

About EMI Music Publishing
EMI Music Publishing is the world's leading publisher of popular music, representing more than one million copyrights including some of the best known songs ever written. Iconic songs in the EMI Music Publishing catalog include “New York New York”, “You’ve Got A Friend”, “The James Bond Theme”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “Always On My Mind”, “Over The Rainbow”, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and “Singin’ In the Rain”. Its current hit-making writers and producers include Arctic Monkeys, Beyoncé, James Blunt, Jay-Z, Norah Jones, Pink, Stargate, TinieTempah and Kanye West.