DreamWorks

NBCUniversal has partnered with French telecom SFR to launch its linear DreamWorks channel in France, building on an expansion strategy that has already seen the 24-hour net for kids and families roll out in Mexico, Chile and Brazil this year alone. DreamWorks is now available in 43 territories total, reaching a cumulative audience of 35 million viewers. The French channel will feature animated series from DreamWorks Animation such as The Adventures of Puss in Boots and All Hail King Julien.

Dandelooo

The French distribution company has closed new deals with Canadian broadcasters for three of its animated preschool series. Société Radio Canada (SRC) has acquired Picolo Pictures’ Shooom’s Odyssey 26-minute special (about a baby owl trying to find a caretaker) and Supamonks Studio’s Pompon Little Bear (pictured), a 39 x seven-minute series based on Benjamin Chaud’s The Bear books. TFO, Knowledge Network and TVOKids also picked up broadcast rights to Pompon Little Bear, along with Teidees and Televisió de Catalunya’s Jasmine & Jambo (26 x seven minutes), starring two friends who share a passion for music.

Channel 4 

Britain’s Channel 4 has signed on as a commissioning broadcaster for Yeti Television’s competition Christmas special, Sandi Toksvig’s Tiny Christmas Challenge. This 60-minute family-friendly one-off pits two teams of amateur crafters against each other in a challenge to transform a miniature alpine cabin into the ultimate Christmas retreat. Production is wrapping now, and the show will air on Channel 4 in December. Yeti and C4 have previously collaborated on Big Tiny Design Challenge, which premiered earlier this year on linear channel More4.