Kids on-demand service stocks up

Preschool streaming app Curious World has added to its line-up with several new acquisitions.

The kids service is run by New York-based publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It added video to its games and learning offering last year, and has now sealed new deals with The Fred Rogers Company and the creators of preschool animated series Peg + Cat.

From Fred Rogers, the digital service has taken short form series Through the Woods, about a young boy and his dog and their adventures in their backward woods.

CJ Kettler, executive VP and chief of consumer brands and strategy, HMH (pictured) said: “Curious World’s philosophy aligns perfectly with The Fred Rogers Company’s commitment to creating kids’ media that families can trust to inspire off-screen learning, and support an interest in life science and nature.”

From Peg + Cat creators Billy Aronson and Jennifer Oxley, Curious World has landed Melia and Jo. The shortform series was inspired by fearless pilot Amelia Earhart and iconic singer-entertainer Josephine Baker, attempting to capture the women’s passion for adventure.

It follows two five-year-old best friends who, using Melia’s inventing smarts and Jo’s performance skills, take household junk and transform it into something that will help people and the world.

“We always love doing shows about strong girls and the power of friendship, but the timing of this show makes those things really urgent,” said Oxley, alluding the current political climate developing around women. “Melia and Jo shows how kids can use their brains, their hands, their guts to change the world.”

Kettler told TBI about the plans for Curious World late last year.