Igglepiggle is coming to the U.S. as BBC Worldwide and Ragdoll Productions close a deal to sell In the Night Garden to the Discovery Communications-Hasbro multi-platform joint venture, The Hub.

Beginning October 2010, preschool children in the U.S. will be able to join Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy on their adventures with Makka Pakka and friends as In the Night Garden airs in the U.S. for the first time.

Produced by Ragdoll Productions for Ragdoll Worldwide, Ltd., In the Night Garden is a BBC Worldwide/Ragdoll joint venture. The series is a modern televisual interpretation of a nursery rhyme picture book, and takes children on an imaginative journey to meet a host of toy characters.

The Hub has secured broadcasting rights for all 100 x 30 episodes of In the Night Garden.

Additionally, this summer, UK fans will have the opportunity to see In the Night Garden live as the show embarks on its first ever live tour of four major cities. The show debuts in Liverpool on July 17 and will travel to London, Glasgow, and Birmingham.

Discovery Communications, Inc., has announced the launch of TLC Baby, a brand of products dedicated to new and expecting parents.

Discovery Communications and Big Tent Entertainment are developing a comprehensive consumer products program for TLC Baby that represents practical items for “the everyday life, made simpler.” Big Tent Entertainment will focus on securing several foundation partners for the TLC Baby brand across multiple categories including learning and development, health and safety, bath, feeding, electronics, furniture, room decor, bedding/blankets, layette, and apparel.

Big Tent Entertainment, which currently represents Discovery Kids, is the newly appointed U.S. licensing agency of record for the overall TLC brand, including TLC Baby.

Discovery Communications announced today that it has entered into a global licensing agreement with Bonnier Publishing. Through the deal, Bonnier will develop an extensive line of Animal Planet-branded books, which will launch at retail in spring 2011.

Capturing the theme of Animal Planet, the new book program will include a wide variety of books appealing to children from 3-13 including novelty, reference, and activity book formats featuring both domestic and wild animals.

Three different companies within the Bonnier Publishing group will create the book products simultaneously on two continents: Templar Publishing (UK), Weldon Owen (Australia), and Five Mile Press (Australia).
In the U.S., the deal was brokered on behalf of Animal Planet by its licensing agent, the Joester Loria Group (JLG).

Happy Friday!

What are your plans for this weekend? We’ll tell you what they are! This Sunday, March 21, you will be watching Life, the new BBC Worldwide documentary, starting at 8pm.

The documentary will be broadcast in the U.S. simultaneously on seven different Discovery Communications television networks: Discovery, The Learning Channel, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Planet Green, and Discovery Health Channel.

“So unless your television isn’t on, it’s going to be almost impossible to miss,” says Tom Keefer, SVP of global licensing for BBC Worldwide.

Life is the 11-part  “next chapter” to the popular BBC Worldwide nature documentary Planet Earth—the series that’s now on DVD in one in every 30 homes in America.

Check out a sneak preview on the Discovery Channel website now.

Discovery Communications continues to expand its publishing program through a North American-based publishing deal with Scholastic to launch two new children’s books, MythBusters Science Fair Book and Dogs 101, based on the series on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, respectively.  Does a clothed snowman melt faster than an unclothed snowman? Can cola shine a penny? In the MythBusters Science Fair Book, children can help bust or confirm myths much like the hosts of the Discovery Channel series. The 128-page, full-color book for children ages 10-14 will be available in spring 2011.

Dogs 101 will highlight different dog breeds and feature fun facts on each breed, including size and personality. The 64-page, full-color book features more than 150 images and will be available this summer for children ages 6-12 years.

This relationship with Scholastic follows on the heels of several other Discovery Communications publishing deals.  Discovery previously partnered with Meredith Corporation to create a children’s book titled Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe: Get the Real Dirt Behind the World’s Dirtiest Jobs, which was released in January. Discovery Communications also recently penned a deal with Bendon Publishing International for a line of children’s color and activity books.

The deal was brokered on behalf of Discovery and Animal Planet by its licensing agent, the Joester Loria Group (JLG).

Big news from the subcontinent: Discovery HD has launched in India. Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific announced today the launch of the channel, broadcast in English, which is currently available on Sun Direct. Sun Direct is India’s first DTH platform that offers high-definition services and will be a pay, seamless and ad-free channel. Discovery HD will be offered in 1080i along with 5.1 surround sound.

The launch of Discovery HD expands Discovery’s portfolio in India to six networks. Discovery broadcasts five other networks in India including Discovery Channel, Discovery Travel & Living, and Animal Planet. The three networks reach 118 million cumulative subscribers in India with programming customized in English, Hindi and Tamil.  The company recently launched two additional networks in January 2010 — Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo.

Discovery Communications has announced a North American-based deal with Ravensburger USA for Animal Planet-branded jigsaw puzzles. The new product line will debut at retail in September. The deal was brokered on behalf of Animal Planet by its licensing agent, the Joester Loria Group (JLG).

The new Animal Planet jigsaw puzzle line will launch with a 1,000-piece puzzle for adults, a 500-piece puzzle for tweens, and a 100-piece puzzle for children ages six and up. The puzzles, which are inspired by the animals and environments seen in the network’s programming, will focus on dogs and cats as well as ocean themes. Ravensburger USA will develop seven additional SKUs for 2011.