Five-year deal for Ragdoll's new preschooler

In the UK, CiTV and breakfast broadcaster GMTV have made a five-year broadcast commitment to the new preschool series from Teletubbies-producer Ragdoll Productions. The deal sees the two networks sharing Ragdoll's new show Boohbah, a (104×20') live-action series aimed at the 3-6 set.

With production already underway, the first 52 episodes of the show will debut in spring next year, airing weekdays on CiTV and weekends on GMTV. The second 52 will follow the same broadcast pattern in 2004, as part of the deal.

Ragdoll has also inked a deal for UK and Eire home video and DVD rights with its long-standing partner VCI, and is handling international sales itself.

As previously reported here, the show is almost entirely cast with children, without any fluffy costumes, and gets its name from a word that the kids use to make adults disappear.