Banijay strikes deal with ITVS-owned Tetra Media to buy ‘Hello Kitty’ prodco Monello

Hello Kitty

Banijay has substantially expanded its children’s catalogue after striking a deal to acquire Monello Productions from ITV Studios-owned Tetra Media Studio.

The prodco was launched in 2013 by former Télé Images producer Giorgio Welter and is behind shows including the upcoming CGI series of Hello Kitty.

Giorgio Welter

Monello is also producing two shows for Rai in Italy, with When I Was Your Age and the fourth season of Street Football, the latter of which is being co-produced with Banijay’s Zodiak Kids.

The company is run by Welter, who is president, and COO Cécile Sady. Its animated series produced to date have also included Max And Maestro, Marblegen and Rocky Kwaterner.

The outfit becomes the third label for Banijay Kids, joining Zodiak Kids and Tiger Aspect Kids And Family. Financial details have not been revealed but the deal will add more than 2,200 hours of programming to Banijay’s existing children’s catalogue.

Marco Bassetti, CEO at Banijay, said: “Monello perfectly supports our ambitions to expand our kids activity at Banijay. Hello Kitty, Street Football and its amazing development line-up are a hugely important commercial asset for the business and with Zodiak Kids, we now have an impressive catalogue of children’s content for buyers and licensees alike, which we only see growing.”

Welter added: “Synergies for distribution, licensing and new media are very important in a competitive market like animation so it makes total sense to be alongside Zodiak Kids.”

Monello’s former parent, France-based Tetra Media Studio, was acquired by ITVS in 2017.