Cyber Group Studios will showcase, for the first time, the episodes of one of its most ambitious productions to date: Zou (52x11'). The HD CGI series, coproduced by Cyber Group Studios and the Singaporean based company Scrawl Studios, tells the daily life of the lovable five-year old zebra and his extended family. The series has already been prebought by Disney Junior in Europe Middle East and Africa, in Latin America, in Australia, in New Zealand, and in South East Asia, as well as France Télévisions, Télé Québec in Canada, TV2 in Norway, YLE in Finland, Karusel in CIS and Welpol in Poland.
“Zou has been very well received by the broadcasters since the beginning of the production, says Carole Brin, Head of International Sales and Acquisitions, and we'll be very proud to show them the first episodes at MIPjunior. The production value which includes new technological developments is really high and we know that the series will seduce all buyers looking for shows for aimed at 3-7."
In addition to Zou, Cyber Group will be introducing for the first time in Cannes two new properties.
Patch Pillows (78x7’), is produced by GDC and AGOGO Corporation, and will soon be aired on CCTV. This utterly delightful and charming series for preschoolers is about a group of patchwork pillows and their many friends.
Nutri Ventures (26x22’), produced by Nutri Ventures Corporation, welcomes children from 6 to 10 y.o. to the world of healthy eating. The series was coproduced with RTP in Portugal, and has already been presold to Canal Panda.

Tales of Tatonka (52x13’), which was launched at MIPCOM 2010 and is still in production, is a real hit worldwide with already more than 20 broadcasters covering over 80 territories. The series is outperforming in France on Tiji, and has been picked up by RAI 2 in Italy, Karusel and Mysteria in CIS, TéléQuébec in Canada, Okto in Singapore, France TV, TVB in Hong Kong, RSI in Switzerland, Minimax in Hungary, RTBF in Belgium, TV5 worldwide, Noga in Israel, Minimax in Eastern Europe, True Visions in Thailand, KTH in Korea, Spectrum in Indonesia, TVES in Venezuela, ETV in Estonia, Barrandov in Czech Republic, Irib in Iran.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recognizes excellence in television produced and aired outside of the United States at a black-tie event in New York, attended by major figures from the global television community. The event took place at the St James & Albany in Paris and the jury was composed of several leading TV executives from some of the biggest television broadcasters around the world: The Walt Disney Company, Cartoon Network, France TV, Spacetoon, ZDF, BBC, Rai, etc. The jurors devoted the entire day to the judging process, which was supervised by the Emmy Judging Director; Ernst & Young will tabulate the votes. The programs screened comprised productions from the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. “We are very honored by our partnership with the Academy, and delighted we were able to attract some key representatives from many countries to participate to this event”, declared Pierre Sissmann, Chairman and CEO of Cyber Group Studios, and an active member of The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. “The quality and diversity of the shows produced for kids around the world is amazing and really motivating. You can feel a common ambition for content in all the shows that we have screened”, declared Julien Borde, Director Children and Youth Program Director, France Televisions. Arne Lohmann, Director of Coproductions of ZDF Enterprises, added "I was impressed by the variety and quality of the semifinalists. Therefore the final decision was a difficult one. Thanks to all participants and their great work." “It was an honour to sit on the Emmy semi-final jury in Paris, finally commented Jackie Edwards - Content and Acquisitions Manager at CBeebies. It is so refreshing and invigorating to be reminded of the breadth and quality of programming available to children and young people internationally, and I'm very proud to be a part of the rigorous selection process for this award." The results of this event will be combined by the Academy with the other semi-final results, and the winner will be announced at The International Emmy Awards Gala on the 21st of November in New York.

Cloud Bread, a 78 x 7’ 3D CGI series tells the story about two curious children that find a small piece of cloud snagged on a twig. They take it to their mom and she bakes it into bread. When they eat it, they begin to float like clouds. This wonderful new series combines stories full of warmth & strong values with all the fantasy and whimsy of a child’s imagination. Cloud bread takes us into a world of striking animation design, brought to life in three dazzling dimensions. Produced by GIMC, a Korea based studio, Cloud Bread explores edutainment in a new way through 3D vision. Created, funded and produced by GIMC and Carloon Film&TV Animation in China, and supervised by Larry Huber, a renowned animation producer who has worked for years for Nickelodeon, Cloud Bread is a unique way to appeal to preschoolers through a total immersion in the image. Debuting on KBS this fall in Korea, the full stereoscopic episodes of the series will be available together with a regular CGI version and fully delivered in early 2011. “We are thrilled of this association with GIMC, in view of our long-term commitment to top preschool properties and also to the development of new technology to enhance entertainment for our public” declares Pierre Sissmann, President of Cyber Group Studios. “The launch of Cloud Bread in 3D as a world premiere marks a very important step in delivering edutainment to children around the world and we are pleased to be associated to Cyber Group Studios in Europe, whose own pre-school series have already travelled the five continents”, declares Heung-Soo Park, GIMC’s President and former founder of EBS. Cloud Bread 3D episodes will be on display in Cannes throughout MIPCOM at Cyber Group Studios booth R31.13.

Ozie Boo “Save the planet”, coproduced with French pre-school network TiJi, aims at explaining to young kids through an interactive way, the environmental issues facing their future. Mixing animation and live-action high definition images, the series covers four major themes such as species in danger, natural resources and climate, protection of the planet and pollution. Benefitting from the editorial advice of WWF-FRANCE experts, Ozie Boo “Save the planet”, which has been close to two years in the making, presents facts in an interactive and entertaining way to young children geared at stimulating their interest on the world they live in. WWF-France is very proud to be part of this initiative which aims at further educating children about the environmental challenges facing the world in which they live in. “Today’s children will become tomorrow’s eco-citizens; they are particularly sensitive to the nature and to the flora and fauna condition when they discover the world’s beauty. TiJi had to make available to families and teachers a series to sensitize children to little gestures that have large effects on the health of our Earth, through characters that they know and appreciate, declares Caroline Adelus, Director of the network. The Co-production team of Lagardere’s TV division has heavily invested on the content to offer tailormade to our viewers, combined with the WWF-FRANCE scientists’ knowledge and the talent of Cyber Group Studios: the series is of outstanding quality… This program is a gem… and will be aired on TiJi.” “We are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to work with WWF-FRANCE and TiJi on this very exciting series, says Pierre Sissmann, President of Cyber Group Studios who adds, It is important that the kids of today think about the world of tomorrow they need to respect and protect and we hope that the Ozie Boos already present in over 160 countries will help contribute to that objective” Ozie Boo “Save the planet” which is debuting this Fall on TiJi in France has already been presold to over 20 countries around the world to broadcasters such as Radio Canada, Astro in Malaysia, MTV3 in Finland, Spectrum in Indonesia, Canal Panda in Portugal, Irib in Iran, Al Jazeera Children’s Channel in Middle East, TiJi for CIS, ATE in Lebanon, Content Union in Kazakhstan, TV5 Monde for worldwide broadcast… who all have a strong mission in children edutainment.

Timoon Animation and Cyber Group Studios will coproduce FISH’ N CHIPS, an action / comedy series telling the adventures of Coney Island aquarium’s residents and BAMBALA-YÉ !, a wild musical / comedy series in Africa. FISH’ N CHIPS is an original battle between a cat who is a champion deep-sea diver and a fish that is convinced he is evolving into… a mammal! Racing and chasing each other through the mythical setting of New York City, a unique, unorthodox combat right under the noses of the millions of inhabitants and tourists who visit the New York aquarium and Coney Island boardwalk every day… BAMBALA-YÉ ! takes place in Africa and features a group of wacky and out-of-control musician animals. Throughout fast-pace and funny adventures, they will sing the all-time standards of black music. Access to these worldwide blockbuster songs has been made possible thanks to an agreement with EMI Publishing Worldwide. BAMBALA-YÉ! story and characters have been created with the intention to be adapted to the four screens (TV, PC/Internet, mobile phones and movie theater). Cyber Group Studios and Timoon Animation will handle together the art and editorial direction as well as the coordination with broadcasters. Cyber Group Studios will manage the series’ international distribution and licensing, whose strategy will be defined together with Timoon Animation. Arnaud Molinié, CEO of Lagardère Entertainment said: « Animation is one of Lagardère Entertainment’s key areas of development. Beyond our new ambitions for Timoon, this partnership makes a lot of sense, both from an artistic and a business standpoint. Furthermore, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to join forces with Pierre Sissmann who is one of the animation industry key players in France and internationally ». « I am delighted to partner with Timoon Animation. This agreement will allow us to gather our respective strengths to create two 3D series with strong international potential and broad audience. I believe that their fast-pace action, humor and great soundtrack will please both kids and parents. Moreover, these series fit perfectly our company’s strategy to produce top quality, innovative, international and multimedia content » commented Pierre Sissmann, President of Cyber Group Studios. Boris Hertzog and Sandrine Nguyen, Managing Directors of Timoon Animation, added « these ambitious series are a unique opportunity to fuel our development and leverage our deep 3D animation expertise into new artistic and storytelling concepts tailor-made for international markets for a larger audience. We are convinced that the strong complementarity of our teams will foster creativity in a powerful way ». Billy, Producer at Cyber Group Studios commented: « Cyber Group Studios’ team demonstrated its capability in creating international intellectual properties for preschool kids, for example with OzieBoo! TV series. This partnership with Timoon Animation will give us the opportunity to apply our creative and technology expertise to an older age group ». Broadcasting agreement with industry key players are being finalized and should be announced soon.

Paris , March 30th 2009. Cyber Group Animation becomes Cyber Group Studios in order to present a better reflection of the diversity of it productions, which comprise animation films and series, drama and documentaries. The company is also pleased to announce that Jean-Marie Colombani is joining the Board as Vice-President of the Strategy Committee. “I am particularly happy and honoured to welcome to our company Jean-Marie Colombani, whose experience in matters of content and company management will be a precious asset in helping us guide the organic and external growth of Cyber Group Studios, in France and abroad” stated Pierre Sissmann, Chairman of the Board of Director. Jean-Marie Colombani declared that he was “particularly happy to be sharing Cyber Group's adventure at a key moment in its development, which will include the opening of a division devoted to news and documentaries. Jean-Marie Colombani was Chairman of the Board of Le Monde SA and director of the Le Monde newspaper from 1994 to 2007 and in early 2009 was co-founder, along with Jacques Attali, Johan Hufnagel, Éric le Boucher and Éric Leser, of an on-line news website slate.fr , the French version of the American site of the same name, slate.com.

Actukids organised last Monday January 12th 2009 the 3rd Edition of the Junior Communication Award. This prize rewards advertisers and their agencies for their campaigns' efficiency and creativity, but also for the respect of ethics in the messages conception such as consideration of the judgmental abilities of children, refusal to overconsumption incitement… This is also about rewarding communication media for their editorial quality, and the new licences that keep arriving in the youth media-related universe. A prestigious jury made of youth and media world's specialists will award 4 Prizes for best advertisement aiming at children, best youth media, best out-of-media communication aiming at children, and the new kid-universe licence with highest development potential.