Nick Lat Am eyes animation

Nickelodeon Latin America is looking to launch a number of local animated series this year to complement the raft of live action coproductions it has greenlit.

It will coproduce teen novela Isa TKM with Sony Pictures Television in Venezuela and has also inked a deal to coproduce La Maga, Illusion Studios’ Wizard of Oz remake that is being distributed by Dori Media.

But Tatiana Rodriguez, VP, programming and creative strategy, Nickelodeon Latin America, told TBIvision that it is currently in negotiations with independent producers across Latin America and in the United States to develop a number of animation projects.

"We want to move more into animation. There’s been a bit of a live-action boom recently but we don’t want to forget that 70% of our shows are animated," she said.

This also comes as Nickelodeon prepares to launch preschool channel Nick Jr. across the region from July.

Nick Lat Am is also in talks to adapt its series of Unicef-backed animated interstitials – Verdito – for Nickelodeon’s worldwide channels. The green, square shaped animated character was designed to promote the environment.