Academy-award nominated French studio Xilam Animation, behind “I Lost My Body,” has closed a raft of licensing deals on its new flagship CG-animated preschool show “Piggy Builders,” commissioned by the BBC, France Télévisions and ZDF.
New broadcasters on board take in Warner Bros. Discovery in Italy, SVT in Sweden, Yle in Finland, VRT Ketnet in Flemish Belgium, Téléquebec in French Canda and RTS in Switzerland.
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At this week’s prime French TV market, the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre, Xilam Animation’s sales team led by executive vice president distribution Safaa Benazzouz will be negotiating further deals on the 52-part, 11-minute show, while newly appointed licensing agent France TV Distribution will focus on France, Belgium and Switzerland.
“Since introducing “Piggy Builders” to the international market, the response across the board has been fantastic, firstly with BBC, France Télévisions and ZDF jointly boarding the series, and now welcoming a range of additional leading broadcasters into the fold,” said Benazzouz. “We’re very much looking forward to seeing our little piggies entertain young audiences and their families around the world, through their humorous adventures and charming stories of teamwork.”
Helmed by Romain Villemaine (“Ricky Zoom,” “Maya the Bee”) the charming piggy trio Cornelia, Cesar and Charlie, who live in a Fine Forest and share their love for building and problem solving, had their first encounter with U.K. preschool kids July 28 when it first launched on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.
“Piggy Builders” is headlining Xilam’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous slate, together with its other preschool original comedy “Submarine Jim” from Frédéric Martin, creator of Xilam’s hit brand “Oggy Oggy.”
Jointly-ordered by France Télévisions and Super RTL in Germany, the 52 x 11’ 2D animated series follows young dolphin Jim and his underwater friends in a whirlwind journey across land and sea, aboard the world’s first-ever submarine on wheels. The series, for 6-9s, will be delivered second quarter 2026.
Among returning brands, the short-form non-dialogue comedy “Where’s Chicky,” ordered by France Télévisions for a fourth season, was recently completed by Xilam’s CGI specialist studio Cube Creative Productions. The cute little chick, created by William Hoareau, has turned into a massive digital hit for Xilam, with 6.3 billion views and 10 million subscribers on YouTube across the four seasons.
A proof of Xilam’s enduring success with slapstick comedy, its most popular IP “Zig & Sharko” boasts more than 37 million subscribers on YouTube, plus 20 billion views across eight dedicated channels worldwide. Olivier Jean-Marie’s four-season show also ran successfully on Netflix and is now celebrating its 15th anniversary with a wide consumer-oriented merchandising campaign.
Both “Zig & Sharko” Season 3 and “Where’s Chicky” were honored at the Unifrance TV Export Awards, grabbing the best-selling French audiovisual program in the animation category in 2024 and in 2022 respectively.
Benazzouz said attending the annual TV showcase of French programs, organized by the French promotional body Unifrance, “has become a tradition.” It’s a great way to kick off our market season, and the event offers us an ideal opportunity to meet with both new and existing partners,” she said.
Headed by CEO Marc du Pontavice, Xilam’ Animation’s strong toon offer for kids and adults covers more than 2,800 TV episodes and three feature films, including the Oscar-nominated “I Lost My Body” by Jérémy Clapin which was acquired by Netflix following its top win at Cannes Critics’ Week 2019.
The Unifrance Rendez-Vous runs over Sept. 1-5 in the major French port-city of Le Havre.
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