DQE Sells Italian Jungle Book Rights to Leading Broadcaster RAI DUE

HYDERABAD, India, February 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- The Jungle Book Nominated in 5 Categories at Cartoon on the Bay - Pulcinella Awards, Italy

DQE, the global entertainment production and distribution company, today announces it has signed an agreement for the exclusive broadcast and distribution right for The Jungle Book 3D TV series in Italy to RAI DUE ("RAI 2"), an Italian television broadcaster.

The agreement was signed through DQE's co-production partner ZDF Enterprises, Germany and will see RAI 2 hold all the broadcasting rights to "The Jungle Book" in Italy.

RAI 2 is one of the three main television channels broadcast by Italian broadcaster RAI, alongside RAI 1 and RAI 3. RAI is the biggest television company in Italy having the highest audience penetration for this region.

ZDF Enterprises is a subsidiary of ZDF one of the biggest and most renowned television broadcasters in Europe, and is responsible for worldwide program sales, the implementation of international co productions, license purchasing for quality programs, marketing online rights and the merchandising of strong ZDF program brands.

Cartoons On The Bay, Italy: Nomination in 5 categories:

In continuation of the tremendous response to The Jungle Book series produced by DQE, season 1 of which has already started broadcast in several key territories such as Australia (on ABC), Canada ( On TVO), UK (on BBC), France ( on TF1) the series has been nominated in The Best 'TV series for Kids' category at the prestigious Pulcinella awards 2011 to be held at Cartoons on the Bay, Italy.

The series will also compete for - Best Animated Character of the Year, Best European Production of the Year, Best Soundtrack of the Year, Best Book Based Animation Work.

Cartoons on the Bay 2011 is an Italian international festival held in the month of April in Rapallo, Italy for Animation: Films, TV Series and Fairy Tales .It is considered as one of the most prestigious awards for animation.

Tapaas Chakravarti, Chairman & CEO of DQE Group, commented:

"RAI 2 is one of the leading television broadcasters in Europe and we are delighted that they have decided to broadcast The Jungle Book in Italy from next month onwards.

The Jungle Book has already started to air on the Disney channel for the South East Asian region and will also soon start to air on the Disney Channel in India bringing our home grown production into the homes and hearts of children all over the world."

Giorgio Buscaglia, Head of Fiction on Rai Due, also commented:

"It is a pleasure to include 'the Jungle Book' into our morning schedule from March 23 onwards. We believe our morning slot will be enriched with this unique product and we believe this version of Kipling's iconic tale will certainly captivate audiences of our network."

Fred Burcksen, Vice President at ZDF Enterprises, added:

"We are delighted that DQE's Jungle Book has found a home in Italy at Rai Due. It's a perfect fit."

About DQE

DQE is one of the leading producers of animation, visual effects, game art and entertainment content for the global media and entertainment industry with a workforce of over 3500 permanent employees and a global client - partner base of over 90 producers, distributors, broadcasters and licensors including Walt Disney Television Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios Inc., Electronic Arts, Marvel Comics, American Greetings, NBC-Universal, BBC Group, M6/ France TV/ TF-1 Broadcasting groups from France, ZDF Germany and many more world-wide.

DQE has produced/co-produced and distributed iconic brands such as Iron Man (3D animated TV series, now in season 2) Twisted Whiskers, Mikido, Casper, Pinky & Perky, second season of Large Family, Three seasons of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and is now producing properties like Little Prince, Little Nicolas and Charlie Chaplin. DQE has a library of over 450 hours of international programs for distribution. DQE has also developed and produced 'The Jungle Book' as a 52 episode animated series and a 60 minute TV feature, Toomai-The Elephant Boy which is a live action TV series as well as Indian IPs which are in production like Mysteries of Feluda, and Omkar. DQE's production facilities are based in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Kolkata and it has international sales representatives in Los Angeles, Paris and London.

     
    DQ Entertainment International
    Sumedha Saraogi
    sumedha@dqentertainment.com
    Tel: +91-40-2355-3726/27

    DQ Entertainment International 
    P R Vishnu
    Vishnu@dqentertainment.com
    Tel: +91-40-2355-3726/27