Dublin-based animation studio JAM Media has confirmed a deal with Disney for its popular pre-school animation series and RTÉjr show BeddyByes.
Set to premiere early next year on Disney Jr. and Disney+, the Irish show will be aired alongside kids' favourites Bluey and Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends on the US channel.
Speaking about the deal at the Dublin HQ of JAM Media this evening, John Rice, co-creator and producer of BeddyByes, said, "We hope that the deal will mean that the shows are brought into millions of households worldwide,"
Mr Rice added that the original idea for BeddyByes has a very personal connection for him, as it "came about a few years ago, because I was trying to get my three-year-son JJ to sleep!"
Mr Rice and his co producer Alan Shannon were both parents of younger children at the same time, and they realised that they were having "similar challenges, trying to get a routine going in the evening times for small children, so we thought that it could be a good idea to work on this for a show."
Each episode of the animated series supports healthy sleeping habits for pre-schoolers and offers a familiar daily routine for young children to follow.
The series features characters including MeMo and BaBa and it has been snapped up by commissioners of younger children’s television.
"Even though we had been making kids shows for years, we hadn't focussed on the younger age," he said.
TAM audience ratings do not measure under four-year-olds, and Mr Rice believes that this is part of the reason why there is so little content specifically made for these younger viewers.
"There is content is on YouTube, but it isn't particularly well thought out and a lot of is high octane," he said.
"We wanted to create something that would be a programme that would help settle children going to bed, so we brought in science and psychology to help us get it right."
JAM Media, which has offices in Dublin and in Northern Ireland, set about securing funding from across Ireland, which allowed them to put a package together to bring the idea out in to the market.
RTÉjr and BBC came on board in 2024 and JAM Media then brought the show to Animation Dingle, the annual festival in Kerry.
It was at Dingle that "we met the Disney people and it took off from there," Mr Rice said.
JAM media employs approximately 180 people across three productions and around 110 worked on BeddyByes.
Mr Rice is extremely hopeful about the potential of this contract with Disney for a number of reasons.
"The impact is incredibly positive for us, as the show will now be available to 250 million homes worldwide between Disney subscribers and the BBC too," he said.
He pointed to the merchandising possibilities and said that they are busy with the licencing process to secure this original intellectual property.
"Being positioned on a tile next to Pixar means we are at the races," he said, adding that "we are hoping that we will be able to build a substantial audience for our first series and get a second one commissioned."
Mr Rice is also delighted that the creative team is getting this recognition for their work from Disney, explaining that it is "incredibly affirming as most of our team are artists, and knowing that so many people will potentially see the show now is wonderful for all of us."
