YFE Distributes BKN Animation for EMMI

Animation brand management group BKN International AG, which dissolved a handful of years ago, may have faded into the sunset, but many of the company's catalogue of several titles remain in search of a good home. Notable cartoons, like the slickly designed Foot 2 Rue (Street Football) and English-German co-production Hexe Lilli (Lilly the Witch), have since been folded into Emba Media Management International Ltd. (EMMI), which sprung up in the wake of BKN's insolvency. Now, Emba Media and its affiliates are making reasonable headway in getting its former BKN list of cartoons back on the market.

According to a recent news release, Cyprus-based EMMI will be relying on the resources of Your Family Entertainment (Munich, Germany), for the exclusive distribution of its catalogue across two-dozen countries throughout Europe. EMMI, as well as its UK extension EMBA Media Associates (Guildford, England), are planning to insert their diverse if slowly aging library into new European territories. Your Family Entertainment has been in the German licensing and distribution business for children's programming for nearly three decades, most recently building momentum for its 2D adventure series Oscar the Balloonist.

"We are pleased to be associated with Your Family Entertainment, a recognized leader in managing children's media properties," Chris Demetriou, Director and Owner of EMMI, commented in a press note. "Stefan Piech [CEO, Your Family Entertainment] and his dynamic and experienced team make YFE the ideal partner to manage the world's fourth largest children's animation library across Europe."

from Street Football

from Roswell Conspiracies

Your Family Entertainment will be exploiting EMMI's twenty-seven title library of former BKN animation, including the comedy Dork Hunters from Outer Space, which is comprised of two seasons and a movie; the Spain-Italy co-production Stone Age, tracking the daily musings of kids on prehistoric Earth; the long-running French animated television series Street Football; and the various animated Kong films and series.

Also included are host of several other items, some familiar, for better or for worse: The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Highlander: the animated series, Street Sharks, Double Dragon, and so on.

BKN-managed animation has wound up in multiple places since their owner closed up shop back in 2009. New York-based 41 Entertainment, for example, headed by former BKN executive Allen Bohbot, also possess a number of titles from the defunct German rights holder: Kong: the animated series, Roswell Conspiracies, Stone Age, Dork Hunters, and most importantly, Blake: Double Identity, which has been shopped at the MIPCOM Jr. and MIPCOM media markets in each of the past two years.