Marathon Media's First "Squash and Stretch" Series to be produced with Nickelodeon and French net Gulli

Paris, France (Sept 25, 2012) (Virtual Press Office) -- Marathon Media, part of Zodiak Kids, is starting production on Blake and the Aliens [working title], an exciting new animated comedy series developed in partnership with Nickelodeon and Gulli (France).

Blake and the Aliens (52 x 13 min) is Marathon Media's first "board-driven" squash-and-stretch series, a pure cartoon style comedy filled with visual gags, wherein the story's fast pace is led by the exaggerated actions of its characters.

Vincent Chalvon-Demersay (CEO, Marathon Media) and David Michel (General Manager, Marathon Media) comment, "We're thrilled to be producing Blake and the Aliens. This board-driven cartoon series with truly delirious characters is a first for Marathon Media. We have a feeling this series might be just as exciting to produce as it will be to watch!"

Jules Borkent, Senior Vice President, Global Acquisitions and International Programming for Nickelodeon adds, "We are especially excited about this project and to be working with Marathon Media as it's our first development partnership with a French producer around an acquired series.  This proven model enables us to deliver relevant content that resonates with our audiences worldwide and Blake and the Aliens will be a fantastic addition."

This hilarious new animated comedy starts one morning when a 13-year-old boy gets jumped by three small, evil, alien squirrels who have been sent to earth from the future with just one mission: thwart Blake in anything he wants to accomplish, by any means necessary, so that he will never grow up to be the future famous Captain Blake, Defender of the Universe, and sworn enemy of their planet!

The series boasts a world-renowned creative team with long-standing credentials in animation: executive producers Antoine Guilbaud (Phineas & Ferb) and Kaz Prapuolenis (SpongeBob SquarePants, Underworld, Phineas & Ferb); writer Reid Harrison (Rekkit Rabbit, The Simpsons); director Eric Gosselet (Rekkit, MBC), and producers Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel (Totally Spies!, Gormiti, Rekkit Rabbit). Production on Blake and the Aliens [working title] will begin in September at Marathon Media's studios, with a broadcast launch date on Nickelodeon worldwide and Gulli (France) planned for winter 2013.

All TV rights will be managed by Zodiak Kids while licensing will be handled by Zodiak Kids CP Paris.

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About Marathon Media
Marathon Media, a Zodiak Kids company, is one of France's biggest animation producers, and one of the world's leading cartoon studios. Based in Paris, the company is managed by Vincent Chalvon Demersay and David Michel. Its international successes include Rekkit Rabbit, Gormiti, Spiez, Monster Buster Club, Martin Mystery, Team Galaxy, Marsupilami, and of course the smash hit series Totally Spies! Each brand's extraordinary track record in TV extends into merchandising, with activities across categories such as toys, home entertainment, multimedia, stationery, publishing and much more. Marathon Media is a cornerstone of Zodiak Media and a key company within Zodiak Kids.

About Zodiak Kids
Zodiak Kids is the global independent leader in kids entertainment which unites all of the group's kids production, distribution and consumer products entities under one banner. Zodiak Kids has established itself as one of the top independent leaders in the global kids programming market today and encompasses the group's dedicated kids production companies (Marathon Media and Tele Images Productions (France), The Foundation (UK) and Zodiak Active Kids Entertainment (Italy)). Sales for Zodiak kids are handled by a dedicated team within Zodiak Rights, one of the leading international distributors in the industry.  All aspects of Licensing are handled by a dedicated division with highly experienced teams based in London and Paris (Zodiak Kids CP Paris and Zodiak Kids CP London).

About Zodiak Kids CP Paris
Zodiak Kids CP Paris is a part of Zodiak Kids headed by industry veteran Patricia de Wilde. The company manages the international licensing rights of all properties produced by sister company Marathon Media (Redakai, Gormiti, Totally Spies!) and the French rights of some Zodiak Kids CP London properties (Tickety Tock, Little Princess). Additionally it manages third party properties in France (Where's Wally?) and Europe (Ddee, The Saddle Club).

For additional information please visit: www.totallyspies.com/, www.marathon-media.fr, www.zodiakkids.com/

For more information please contact:

Valerie Tailland
Head of Communication, Zodiak Media
+331 5310 9132      
valerie.tailland@zodiakmedia.com

Lisa Hryniewicz
Koko Media
+44 203 249 0056
lisa@koko-media.com